Every day is an opportunity to improve; every day is a chance to work smarter, more efficiently and to a higher standard of quality, no matter what your job may be. If you’re a manager or owner, how will you steward your shop into the future better today than you did yesterday? As a technician or service writer, how can you better serve your clients, their vehicles and ultimately yourself, your team and your future?
These are well-intentioned questions, but good intentions do not make a profitable shop. The answer to many of these questions lies in training. Training provides the ability to augment your practices and stay up to date with the most crucial and contemporary methods, tools and techniques.
Quite simply, if you want to repair cars and make a profit, you have to invest in training for yourself and for your staff, especially as hybrid and electric vehicles gain more market share each year. It’s far too easy to focus on today without looking ahead to tomorrow, and before you know it, you’re trapped in the training bottleneck, catching up to OEM repair specifications from several weeks ago while shops around you forge ahead into the future. A proactive, highly qualified and knowledgeable staff is always something to strive for, especially as the complexity of contemporary vehicles continues to skyrocket.
Fortunately, the opportunity to train has never been more apparent, affordable or accessible. From virtual ASE and I-CAR classes to hands-on training sessions and more, the ability to augment your team’s abilities will help make your shop more efficient, profitable and celebrated. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies and organizations offer free training and instruction to help ease the financial burden of normal classes and certifications,
and ensure the industry’s technicians have an opportunity to get the instruction they need to prepare for the future. There are myriad options available to help your staff grow their skills. Across the United States, there are over 1,400 National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) secondary and post-secondary programs available (aseeducationfoundation.org), as well as numerous other classes, trainings, certifications and instructions.
Training Resources
Don't sleep on these opportunities for your team and shop
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Here are just a few of the many resources available:
Advance Auto Parts - Technicians can access CTI+WTI training to access classes on diesel, hybrid, diagnostics, management and more.
ALLDATA - In 2012, ALLDATA launched an online training site for collision repairers and automotive technicians. It started with the ALLDATA Training Garage. The site offers resources like color wiring diagrams and OEM diagrams.
Automotive Management Institute - The AMI offers online courses for the wiTECH Diagnostic system.
BOLT ON University - BOU offers first-hand knowledge and training for all BOLT ON software, products and services.
CareerSafe - CareerSafe Offers online safety training courses, including an OSHA 10-Hour General Industry course customized for the automotive industry.
Hunter - Hunter Engineering offers Hunter University, an online self-study program for technicians and industry professionals for training on alignments, tire service and road force balancing techniques.
S/P2 - S/P2 offers online training courses for automotive service, collision repair and refinish, heavy duty/diesel and welding technicians.
Snap-On - The diagnostic tool and repair company offers training videos for every tool at no charge.
Standard Motor Products - Standard Motor Products has been offering online training for over a decade now and services over 60,000 technicians worldwide.
sw Service Solutions - swService Solutions offers online training for service advisors.
