GM training or the lack there of.

[bwaymire]

GM TRAINING

Since the elinination of most of the training centers I am running into trouble getting my techs trained. I'm sure I am not alone. If you are aware of any GM service clubs that have sent letters to Peter Lord I would like copies so I could personally present them to Jack Smith.

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[jrcal]

Would you be interested in our comments about the Distance Learning so far?

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JC

[bwaymire]

Yes I would like any information that anyone has with regard to training and the steps you have taken to let GM know how you feel.

[jrcal]

Like you, we have had trouble getting all the required training completed by Sept of each year. The GM training center classes were always filled up before the monthly schedule was even sent out. You had to put each tech on a wait list and, after several months, maybe the class would be offered.
When details of the Distance Learning program were revealed, I was very optimistic. Having the tech in the dealership while in class, offering the same
class several times a month, and only losing productivity for a few hours in the day are very appealing to us.

We signed up for every class that was offered for the month of Oct. My techs were arguing over who should be at the first class.

The first class never got broadcast due to technical difficulty. A couple of classes had no sound. Two classes lost the function of the "One Touch" keypad which allows the interaction of the instructor and student. Yesterday the afternoon class lost the signal for about 25 minutes. Ok so the system is new and has a lot of bugs to be worked out technically.

How do the techs feel about the classes?

My young and upcoming techs have sat in two classes so far and seemed to like them. Any technical material appeals to them and they seem eager to learn more. Their background of vo-tech classes makes them seem to adapt to the Distance Learning environment better.

My veteran techs are less enthusiastic. One tech who sat through the Advanced HVAC class told me only "theory of operation" was discussed. None of "this is what we are seeing give us problems" or "reference this bulletin for details on this system". As the tech put it: "when we are in class at the old training centers we discussed what repairs we were seeing in the field and how they approached repairs to those problems." An "exchanging of ideas" if you will. " Also, we were able to apply what we were learning on a real car that was in the class right then and there." He seemed to echo the other veteran techs. Distance Learning can't offer this.

I sat through some of the classes myself just to form my own opinion. The three instuctors I watched seem well prepared and knowledgeable. They all make good use of the high tech tools to present the material. Putting up a digital picture of the component "as it appears on the car" did help in locating what it looks like on the car. Video clips were used in one class to illustrate certain principles of operation on "frequency orders". Again, nice high tech tools that add to the lecture on theory of operation. However, most of material was presented by just "standing in front of the camera and talking."

These classes are just that: classes that discuss theory. They can be boring to some of the veteran techs that are there to brush up on new systems. Some classes are more interesting than others of course. Techs that are comfortable with a school room approach to teaching will adapt well. Techs that are used to the "hands on" approach will have trouble staying awake in the class. The old training instuctors had the ability to make theory of operation more interesting because they could gather the students around the vehicle and demonstate the operation of each component. The interaction was how the tech learned, not by reading from the class handbook. By comparison, DL seems pretty boring. Mostly talking (lecture style) gets old quick. They can't keep the student interested with "hands on" techniques used in "bugged vehicles" in the training center class room.

Distance Learning cannot compare to the training the techs get at the training centers. However, once some of the bugs are worked out, DL should serve as a good source of training aimed at keeping techs abreast of the rapidly changing systems on these new automobiles we sell and service. Because DL is much more accessable to more techs than GM Training Centers ever could be, we look forward to having more techs trained on new systems before the first vehicle equipped with that new system ever arrives at our dealership. Then the techs can take the same course over again (later) to refreshen their minds on these systems if they want to.

Hopefully the instructors at the Distance Learning Centers can find new approaches to teaching besides standing in front of a camera! We know they are capable of so much more.




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JC