Boost for technician training
A new online training platform has been launched with the goal of providing independent car repair businesses with “a level of technician training previously reserved for large franchise workshops”.
Autoskill Pro went live this month and was created by Auckland-based Steve McAneney, who has nearly three decades of automotive training experience around the world.
McAneney, pictured, has worked alongside dealerships and technicians in Europe, Asia and South America and is now bringing his knowledge to the New Zealand market.
He says access to current, high-quality training has long been a pain point for New Zealand’s thousands of independent workshops.
“Their only available options were a few Unitec and private courses. You can literally count the providers on one hand,” he adds.
“I saw a gap in the market and wanted to help. I searched for a provider who delivered high-quality training material and settled on Autodata.
“Their videos are highly professional, informative and less than 10 minutes long, perfect for a busy workshop.”
McAneney explains he has rearranged the Autodata content into themed “courses”, each comprising video “lessons” and blending practical skills with essential technical theory.
Each lesson features a quick, targeted multiple-choice test designed to reinforce the main points and keep the learner moving forward.
The platform also incorporates gamification features such as badges and points, but McAneney stresses the key objective is for technicians to complete courses and become more useful assets to their employers.
To support the completion of courses and to give technicians confidence boosts, the website has a “personal coach”, which allows McAneney or a delegated coach to monitor a user’s progress in real time.
“If I see anyone who seems to be struggling, I’ll contact them, and possibly their employer if they've provided details, to try to find ways to maintain progress,” he says.
Autoskill Pro offers business owners the chance to enrol staff on an annual subscription, giving them access to curated video courses, ongoing updates and troubleshooting videos that focus on specific repair situations or fault codes.
“Even if the technician has finished all the courses, they will still have the video resource, which they can search any time,” adds McAneney.
While the initial focus is on supporting independent garages, he believes Autoskill Pro’s format and approach can also be valuable to franchise and OEM workshops.
Plans for the future include adding an AI assistant to the platform, augmented reality modules, live online seminars and more face-to-face training, providing a spectrum of learning tailored to the evolving needs of workshops.
For more details, visit autoskillpro.nz.
