Members of the ASE Training Managers Council (ATMC) gathered in Dallas for the group’s 45th annual conference (held April 9-11) to share their collective knowledge, look into the future of how people will learn, and enjoy a unique networking opportunity for the transportation training industry. About a third of those attending were from the OE segment, a third from the aftermarket and a third from training vendors, software developers, publishers, industry organizations and others who serve the training industry.

“We enjoyed a record turnout for this year’s conference,” said Dave Milne, ATMC president. “This large, diverse group had opportunities to meet, mingle and share ideas and solutions to common problems. Networking opportunities like this benefit not only the participants, but also the companies that employ them.”

For the first time, the conference featured two professional development tracks, one for training managers and a new one for training developers. Breakout sessions included such varied topics as:

Creating Video In-house –a class on creating and editing training videos with readily available equipment and a minimum amount of time, led by Scott Brown of the Diagnostic Network.

Solving the Technician Shortage through Apprenticeships –an industry panel presentation on apprenticeship, school-to-work programs and mentorship. Featured speakers were Trish Serratore from ASE, Kyle Holt from S/P2 and Dudley Light from the Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship.

What Will Influence Technical Training in 2030? –a group participation session predicting the directions and needs of the automotive training industry in the next decade, led by Jim Goepfrich, ATMC chair.

Summaries of conference presentations are available at www.atmc.org.

A highlight of the conference was a summary of results from the 2019 ATMC Training Benchmarks Survey. With more than 4,500 responses from working service personnel, the survey continues to yield accurate insights into the demographics of the workforce and their preferences for, and participation in, training, according to ATMC.

Among the findings were:

·     The average age of the service professional workforce is 49 years old.

·     OE dealership technicians average 28 hours of structured training per year. Techs working in independent shops average 15 hours of structured training per year, and techs employed by fleets average 15 hours of training per year.

·     More than half of technicians perceive their areas of greatest training need are Electrical/Electronic and Hybrid/EV Systems.

·     There is a definite correlation between more training for techs and higher income.

In addition, Ken Benson, training field operations manager with Subaru of North America, summarized information collected in the OE Training Benchmarks Annual Survey. This survey focuses on facilities, techs per instructor, units-in-operation per tech, number of instructional hours per month and other metrics that help the OE managers benchmark their training programs against others.

Results from both surveys are summarized at www.atmc.org.