Upcoming plans

McGee said among the news and plans for the coming year:

•There will be no price increase for I- CAR training.

•A long-promised hands-on qualification test, similar to those I-CAR now offers in welding but covering refinishing, will be introduced.

•I-CAR will offer more weekday classes, and classes held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. rather than only evening and weekend classes.

•The I-CAR Board has approved a physical expansion of I-CAR's 31-employee Tech Centre in Appleton, Wisconsin.

•I-CAR's website will continue to improve by eventually enabling students to check their training histories online, as well as to register and pay for courses online.

•And the organization will celebrate its 25th anniversary at its annual meeting next August in its hometown, Chicago.

As it has been for several years, I-CAR continues to research alternative methods for delivering training rather than just through instructor-led classroom settings. Satellite and online training are among the alternatives that McGee said could likely expand the availability of I-CAR training while classroom training would still be offered. A recent trial of satellite training used in Canada was successful, McGee said, but was limited to one-way audio and video communication, hindering interaction between students and instructors.

Also at the annual meeting, sworn in as members of I-CAR's Executive Committee for the coming year were: Chairman Gene Hamilton, a Georgia shop owner; Vice Chairman Nick Notte of Mitchell International; Secretary / Treasurer Rod Enlow of USAA; Past Chairman Roger Wright of AIG; and member-at-large Robby Robbs.

Education Foundation news

Also speaking at the I-CAR annual meeting, Ron Ray, executive director of the I-CAR Education Foundation said more than 150 schools are now using I-CAR's "enhanced delivery" collision repair curriculum. He announced that Allstate Insurance recently gave a $40,000 grant to the Foundation to supply the curriculum to seven schools, including the Automotive Training Center in Exton, Pennsylvania (near Philadelphia).

The other six schools will be chosen in part based on their proximity to Allstate-owned Sterling Collision Centers. Students at those schools will also have an opportunity to work with specially-trained mentors at the Sterling shops during summer internships.

Ray said students completing their training at qualifying schools this past year have also received more than 1,000 Gold Class points, earned because their schools meet the Industry Training Alliance program requirements. About 35 schools have qualified to participate.

The Training Alliance recognizes paint company and other supplier training that is comparable to I-CAR training; students completing qualifying courses can for a small fee receive points - without taking the comparable I-CAR course - that can help their employer earn the Gold Class designation. Similarly, students at schools participating in the Training Alliance can graduate with Gold Class points. The Universal Technical Institute (UTI) in Houston, Texas, for example, includes the Gold Class point processing fee in its tuition, Ray said.

John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon, who has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988.