Toronto, Ontario — August 9, 2019 – Collision repair facilities who want Gold Class certification from I-CAR but worry about the wait can finally take a deep breath. I-CAR has just unveiled a new, free program that can speed up the Gold Class certification process by 50 percent.
The announcement came in on July 31, when the America-based training company released a downloadable package explaining the new certification practices for the program called the In-Shop Knowledge Assessment and the key reasoning behind this abrupt transition.
“While the need for training is evident, the best way to deliver it remains a challenge,” stated I-CAR in their five-page packet. “Redundant training, high costs and assessment problems all contribute to dissatisfaction early in the training process. In response to feedback from the collision repair industry, I-CAR developed an option to ensure technicians receive training aligned with their skill and experience level: the In-Shop Knowledge Assessment.”
Some of the key issues I-CAR certified facilities had with I-CAR’s previous certification steps were the fact that tech’s had to be away from the shop for training, seasoned techs didn’t feel challenged by the training, and previous written assessments had caused difficulty for employees whose first language was not English.
To resolve all of these issues, I-CAR’s In-Shop Knowledge Assesment was designed to challenge repairers by doing face-to-face training and assessments right in the shop.
“Technicians will get credit for demonstrated knowledge gained through experience and other learning options,” wrote I-CAR.
According to I-CAR, shops that choose to participate in the new assessment program will reach ProLevel 1 which “is the fastest path to Gold Class – more than twice as fast on average as a shop.”
So far, I-CAR has reported that the response to the new assessment has been “very positive” and techs are happy to save time and money.
“We are at the time of the greatest evolution of the automobile ever,” stated I-CAR CEO & President John Van Alstyne. “The collision repair industry is being flooded with sophisticated new technologies and cutting-edge vehicle advancements. The reality is, that if you are not training on new technologies, you are falling behind.”
For more information on I-CAR’s new training transition, visit their site at i-car.com
