How to train new technicians on your workshop testing equipment

By Pavan Jheeta
Dennis Eagle 2

Onboarding new hires is never easy — for both the employer, and the employee.

And in a workshop full of diverse equipment, new technicians have their work cut out for them.

So to give them the support they need to get up to speed, you’ll need a thorough training plan that covers every type of testing equipment.

Here’s are the guidelines you need to get started:

 

Plan the whole training journey

When someone’s new to your workshop (or new to the industry), they have a lot of learning ahead of them.

There could be dozens of types of testing equipment they need to get used to — and that could mean weeks or months of training before they’re up and running as a confident tech.

As well as thinking about the training for each piece of kit, you need to think about the long-term — and plan a structured progression for their entire onboarding period.

So what does that look like for training new staff on testing equipment?

It could mean starting with:

Once they’ve got a good grip on the easy testing equipment, they can later move on to the more complex and demanding bits of kit — like Brake Testers and Compact Pits.

But it’s not just about easing them in with simple training:

It’s about making sure the whole learning process is engaging and rewarding for your new technicians — so they can stay motivated, and see real progress as their knowledge and experience grows.

 

Mix theory and practice

No matter what kind of training you’re doing, you need to think about the different ways that different people learn.

That usually breaks down into four types of learning styles:

  • Visual — through seeing images and diagrams
  • Auditory — through listening to others
  • Reading and writing
  • Kinaesthetic — through practical and hands-on learning.

Of course, all workshop jobs are going to naturally be practical and hands-on. But different technicians will respond better to different styles of learning — so your training should include as many different styles as possible.

How does that work in practice?

The best workshop training involves a mix of:

  • Product manuals (visual)
  • Training workbooks and online workshop training (reading and writing)
  • Group demonstrations, discussions, and quizzes (auditory)
  • Physical experience with the testing equipment (kinaesthetic).

With the right mix of learning styles, you’re giving every new tech the chance to learn in a way that suits them — so every new hire can get up to speed as quickly as possible.

 

Pair them with an expert

Unless you’re opening a brand-new workshop, you’ll already have some experienced techs on site

And their experience is a huge asset to your training.

These experienced techs know the ins and outs of the equipment and the workload in a way that an external trainer might never really understand. They know the processes and expectations of your particular workshop, and how to get the most out of your testing equipment while staying efficient and productive.

But more important: they’ve been through the training process themselves.

They can prioritise and streamline what your new hires need to know: the information that’s most urgent and relevant, and the information that can wait until later.

This ‘shadowing’ approach to training is great for helping your new techs to jump into practical learning. But it’s also great for your experienced techs, too — giving them a sense of pride and responsibility, and a new set of goals as a break from their everyday work.

Just make sure you choose your experts carefully:

You don’t want a new tech to learn bad habits or take shortcuts in their job — and you don’t want them to copy any risky behaviours.

 

Track their progress

If you’re running a larger workshop — or you’ve recently hired a batch of new techs — it can be hard to keep up with the training levels of all your staff.

So as well as building a solid progression plan, you’ll also need systems in place to monitor their progress and proficiency across all the types of testing equipment you have.

That could mean using dedicated HR software — or it could be as simple as tracking their training on a spreadsheet.

With a thorough record of every new team member and the equipment they’ve learned, you’ll be better placed to create staffing schedules, and assign technicians to different jobs with confidence.

But it’s not just about keeping records for yourself:

It’s a chance to show each new team member how far they’ve come, and share their successes with the team over time — helping your new hired to feel more motivated and rewarded, and hungry for the next bit of training further down the line.