You may be interested to know that panel repair facilities in Queensland are not required to hold a license, nor are they obliged to undertake post apprenticeship training of any kind.
In fact, an owner or operator does not have to have a trade certificate.
Here in our facility, we believe that in order to complete a repair we should know how.
We should be able to perform each required operation correctly and safely for our clients and team.
I was asked these two brilliant questions just this week.
“How is it possible to have the same training modules in a current 4-year apprenticeship as those that were in an apprenticeship even 10 years ago, for a Panel Technician?”
What a great question. The simple answer is “it is not possible”.
If we look at the evolution of the motor vehicle in the past 10 years, we have seen some incredible advancements, then we compare that to the changes we have seen in the training modules.
Looking at the big picture there have been a few modules drop out, however not nearly enough to cover the vast array of new learning modules required to understand the way today’s vehicles need to be repaired. These new modules make up an elective components, the most likely way forward will be that individuals will specialise in a particular area. Not all technicians will know how to weld aluminium or know how to work with electric/hybrids. However, these can be completed post-graduation.
“What do you as a business do about that?”
Realistically it is not possible to extend an apprenticeship to five or six years, so as a facility our decision has been to extend training beyond that of our apprentices and into specialised repair training through industry recognised providers.
As a consumer, a little bit of research goes a long way. Exercise your right to choose a quality repairer.
