A newly qualified vehicle technician who found work as an intern through Autotech Academy has been offered a permanent role by a BMW dealer that was struggling to find staff.

Delphi Technologies has released a new 10-part Tesla e-learning module on Delphi Academy that coincides with the release of Tesla Model S and Model X coverage on Delphi’s BlueTech VCI diagnostic tool,

The AA Ireland has launched AA Training Academy – Powered by Autotech Training, in collaboration with Autotech Training.It will provide electric vehicle training to the AA Ireland’s patrol network, and then be made available to to the wider automotive aftermarket in Ireland.

TMD Friction’s specialist training team recently visited service charity Mission Motorsport, to run its Mintex Masterclass training programme.

Opus IVS recently ran a pair of Technical Open Evenings in collaboration with the IGA, held at the RMI Academy of Skills in Runcorn.

Pneumatics specialist PCL continues to recruit apprentices in Sheffield and the surrounding areas. Since 2013, work placements and apprenticeships have been offered across its departments.

Machining Apprentice Dylan Roome joined PCL from school in 2020: “I have become competent at setting our CNC lathes to produce high and low volume components, because of this I have been chosen to train on our brand-new sliding head machine which arrived in October.”

QA Technician Evie Asquith completed a Diploma in Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering as an apprentice with PCL, and is now working towards a part-time Manufacturing Engineer degree: “ I enjoy the opportunities at PCL, including courses, growth and knowledge in industry and PCL.”

Product Development Engineer Jack Gibbs came to PCL straight out of school at 16 and has since successfully completed his Bachelor of Engineering degree.

He said: “The guidance they have provided has helped me go from leaving school at 16 to becoming a degree graduate at 22, as well as developing vital engineering skills along the way.”

The record for the number of e-learning hours undertaken by a garage on the Delphi Academy e-learning platform has been broken by a workshop in Wales.

39,000 UK mechanics were EV-qualified by the end of 2022, according to new figures from the IMI, up 14,800 on the previous year, but the uptake of the relevant skills needs to be accelerated to avoid a potential 16,000 technician shortfall by 2032, the organisation has warned.

Automechanika Birmingham 2023, taking place 6-8 June, is set to include a number of training hubs, covering all aspects of the industry.

A fresh batch of battery E-learning, courtesy of the VARTA Training Academy, is now available via the VARTA Partner Portal.

Suffolk New College is playing host to OESAA Academy Live on Friday 31 March and Saturday 1 April, giving techs in East Anglia the chance to hear from a range of technical trainers.

A pair of technical open evenings led by Opus IVS are being held at the RMI Academy in Runcorn on Wednesday 19 April and Thursday 20 April.

A number of double clutch training dates across April, June and November have been added by Schaeffler.

The joint technical training that has been offered by Schaeffler and BILSTEIN via the REPXPERT garage portal is set to continue, with the ongoing co-operation between the two companies being extended following the full launch in early 2022

Ring Automotive has teamed up with TMD Friction UK on technician training at the braking provider’s new East Yorkshire research and development base.

Lincoln College, which has just opened a brand-new automotive workshop and Apprentice Centre converted from a disused sports hall, has been named as a TechSafe Centre of Excellence by the IMI.

Autotech Academy’s internship initiative has been boosted through the addition of IMI Affiliate Membership.

The R&D team at TMD Friction UK recently completed the latest IMI-accredited electric and hybrid vehicle training at the company’s research and development facility at Seaton Ross, East Yorkshire.

MAHLE Aftermarket will be taking part in 2023’s OESAA Academy Live events, having recently joined the organisation.

Exol Lubricants recently donated a batch of its Optima engine oil to a school for pupils aged 5-18 with complex educational needs.

Comline Auto Parts recently went above and beyond when responding to a college request for one of its common fault poster, by also providing tools for the classroom and workshop environment in the form of pens, post-it notes, magnetic pick-up tools and air-fresheners.

Autogem is running online training sessions in the use of TPMS kit in the wake of a recent customer survey run by the company.

Autotech Training recently sent its Business Development Director Dave Walker on a 1,600 mile round-trip to the Shetland Islands in a Autotech Training branded hybrid vehicle to help the Shetland Islands Council upskill its technicians for EVs to enable the the authority to progressively electrify its fleets of 320 vehicles.

Schaeffler’s REPXPERT team took the Academy Live roadshow to York College in November, and 111 technicians were in attendance on the day to make sure they found out all the latest tech and methods.

The seventh episode in the ongoing video series “Suspension Fundamentals – powered by BILSTEIN Academy” has been released to YouTube. This instalment covers which applications suit which BILSTEIN shock absorber. In the video, Rainer Popiol and Mustafa Yavuz, BILSTEIN’s shock absorber experts, offer suggestions on how to provide customers with the right shock absorber.

The winners of the IMI’s 2022 Skills Competition have been named, and their victory means they will be going international the World Skills Competition in 2024.

The RMI Academy of Automotive Skills– 2022/23 MOT Annual Training Workbooks
With the 2022/2023 MOT Annual Training Deadline drawing near, the RMI Academy of Automotive Skills is reminding Testers that its Annual Training workbooks for Class 4 & 7 and Class 1 & 2 vehicles are available.

The free trial of NGK’s new training initiative proved to be popular with visitors to the Mechanex show at Sandown Park recently.

Three years on from its original launch, GS Yuasa has takeen its battery training online platform onto the continent by including content in German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish.

LKQ Euro Car Parts has launched a new top Platinum membership tier for its LKQ Academy, covering all its IMI-approved courses. LKQ Academy Platinum offers garages access to 20 training days – across 25 locations – and 20 eLearning courses each year for £2,499 a year, with no limit on staff numbers from each business taking courses.

NGK has launched a new online technical training portal; NGK Academy, which went live today (Tuesday 1 November), with a three-month full access trial for garages that belong to the NGK BoxClever loyalty scheme being offered.

Macclesfield-based Craig Hodson, has become the 100th technician to be trained at a recently-established vehicle repair centre run by mobile small and medium area repair technique (SMART) specialists Revive! Auto Innovations.

TechMan will be joining the Schaeffler REPXPERT UK Academy Live free training event, being held at York College on Saturday 4 November.

HELLA is running an interactive webinar on the theme of Universal Lighting today (25 October), which is also set to take place on Thursday (27 October) and next Wednesday (2 November). The webinar is aimed at workshops and wholesalers, as well as other parties.

BMW Group UK Academy in Berkshire has been named as the first IMI TechSafe Centre of Excellence, recognising its use and promotion of IMI TechSafe standards.

LKQ Euro Car Parts says demand for the IMI-accredited EV and hybrid training offered through LKQ Academy has increased by more than 300% in just two years.

Point S Tyre & Autocare has appointed of Jon Taylor as its UK and European Training Manager, as part of an overall plan to become the largest qualified and certified European network for EV maintenance by 2026. Jon previously led the development of PHEV and EV training programmes for Jaguar Land Rover.

TMD Friction’s technical training team recently provided a Mintex Masterclass training evening covering braking manufacturing methods and product care for the team at Autosupplies Chesterfield.

Lucas Oil Products (UK) have teamed up with Bangor-based Coleg Menai to enable students on its Motorsport Engineering Level 2 programme to learn how fuel and oil additive technology is used to advance vehicle maintenance methods and improve performance.

Cars seized by the Police that were set to be scrapped have been given a second lease of life as part of a school programme intended to help troubled teens and pre-teens.

Q1 2022 saw the highest ever increase in then number of EV-qualified technicians for a single three-month period, according to figures collated by the IMI, with the expected shortfall between the number of EVs, and the number of qualified techs now not expected until 2028, instead of 2026.

Delphi Technologies Aftermarket is looking to remind technicians about the security gateway training it has added to the slate at the Delphi Technologies Academy.

MEYLE is looking to remind technicians about the e-learning course on high-voltage vehicles it is running vis its MEYLE Academy digital learning platform.

Delphi Technologies is offering a new three-part training module on Pass-thru technology on its Delphi Technologies Academy online training platform.

With EV sales continuing to climb, Autotech Training is working with the AA to get all of its patrols trained up at least an IMI Level 2 electric/hybrid vehicle certification by the end of 2022.

Coventry University’s partnership with Aston Martin on staff degree programmes has led to seven new degree apprenticeship graduates, with 11 more on the way. The employees were studying at Coventry University as chartered manager degree apprentices (CMDA), and have graduated with BA (Hons) Management and Leadership at Work degrees.

LKQ Euro Car Parts is reminding mechanics to make sure they are FGAS-qualified in order to avoid being restricted from handling R134A Refrigerant, and is pointing those who need to get qualified towards the FGAS training being offered through its LKQ Academy.

TMD Friction’s UK technical team has passed the IMI Level 3 Award in Electric/Hybrid Vehicle System Repair and Replacement.

Repairify UK has provided IMI ADAS and EV training programmes for all its staff.

The ongoing collaboration that offered BILSTEIN’s suspension expertise via the REPXPERT platform is to be widened.