{"id":9578,"date":"2021-01-31T17:40:12","date_gmt":"2021-01-31T16:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=9578"},"modified":"2021-01-31T17:40:12","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T16:40:12","slug":"technician-training-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2021\/01\/31\/technician-training-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Technician Training Post Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo: Long Beach<\/em><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

The City of Long Beach, Calif., offers about three training classes a month. The fleet bureau isn\u2019t sure what hands-on training will look like once sessions resume.\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Public sector fleet organizations have suspended their on-site training programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and groups offering technical certifications have canceled on-site testing and extended certification expiration dates.<\/span><\/p>\n

As of May, states are cautiously opening up again. As public fleets try to go back to business as normal, expect more reliance on online training and testing, lower training budgets, and precautions to keep instructors and students safe.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Training is Affected <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Tomika Gordley is the training coordinator for the City of Long Beach, Calif., fleet and serves as the training coordinator for the Municipal Equipment Maintenance Association (MEMA) in Southern California.<\/span><\/p>\n

She said training has been disrupted at the fleet level as well as the association level.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have roughly three training classes a month, so it\u2019s drastically impacted our training opportunities here [in Long Beach]. For MEMA, we roughly try to aim for six training opportunities in a year and we haven\u2019t been able to hold one yet this year,\u201d she reported in late April.<\/span><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just because Long Beach had half its technicians working on-site for a week, then staying home the next week. It\u2019s also because vendors are reluctant to schedule classes because they are unsure about class sizes and demand, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Luckily, many vendors do provide online learning opportunities, offering hundreds of classes. Technicians who aren\u2019t in the shop are asked to take these classes while at home, and Gordley said the most popular ones are ASE (National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence) refresher classes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gordley isn\u2019t sure yet when in-person training will resume, but she does expect e-learning to continue to be available to technicians.<\/span><\/p>\n

The City of Columbus, Ohio, has its technicians working in four-hour shifts to allow for social distancing. After a six-week training hiatus (as of early May), Columbus is already looking forward. Fleet Administrator Kelly Reagan said he\u2019s looking into getting Cummins into the facility with compressed natural gas (CNG) motor training in the summer. The last time they did this, the class had 65 technicians \u2014 this summer, class size might be limited to as low as 25, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ASE\u2019s<\/span>
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ASE\u2019s new app gives technicians the ability to extend their A-series certifications online. <\/span>Photo: ASE<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Expiring Certifications Are Extended<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

ASE automatically extended expiration dates for those whose certifications are expiring June 30, moving it to Dec. 31<\/a>. This allows those who were unable to take recertification tests due to test site closures and social distancing rules more time to recertify. ASE also announced it would resume testing in select locations in mid May<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, the EVT Certification Commission has automatically extended any certifications expiring in 2020 to the end of the year, Dec. 31<\/a>. It canceled its June EVT nationwide exams and is expected to continue its next nationwide testing, scheduled for Oct. 14-20.<\/span><\/p>\n

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ASE\u2019s New App Allows for Certification Extensions<\/span><\/h2>\n

In addition to the six-month automatic extension for those whose certifications are expiring June 30, the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) is offering a new mobile application that allows technicians to maintain their certifications using their phone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s more information about the app from Trish Serratore, senior VP of communications at ASE:<\/span><\/p>\n