How to Create Customized Training for Different Levels and Roles

Everyone on your team brings something different to the table. Their varying skills, experience levels, and even weaknesses make your team strong, but these differences can also make training a bit of a headache. How do you make sure each person gets the training they actually need for their specific job?

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially when you’ve got a shop to run and not enough hours in the day, but it doesn’t have to be so complicated. With a clear plan and the right tools, you can create customized training that fits each person’s role without driving yourself crazy in the process. Let’s talk about how to make that happen.

Table of Contents

• Tailor Training for Different Experience Levels
  • Entry-Level Employees
  • Intermediate-Level Employees
  • Experienced Employees 
• Create Training Plans Aligned to Specific Roles 
• Incorporate Adaptive Learning Technologies

1. Tailor Training for Different Experience Levels

Every team member is at a different point in their career, so a one-size-fits-all approach to training just won’t cut it. A customized training program that adjusts to all experience levels ensures your team gets the tools needed to do their best work. Here’s how to approach training for different levels in your shop:

Entry-Level Employees

When someone is new to the automotive industry, they’re stepping into a fast-paced, detail-oriented environment that requires a strong foundation. Training for entry-level employees should be designed to help them build confidence while mastering the basics. Rushing them into more complex tasks can overwhelm them, so it’s critical to focus on the essentials first. 

Teach the Fundamentals

Everything is new at this stage, so the first priority is to lay a solid groundwork. Customized training for entry-level employees should cover:

• Industry basics: New hires need a clear understanding of how the automotive industry works, including the types of vehicles they’ll be working on, common tools, and the workflow of a typical day in the shop.
• Safety protocols: Safety is non-negotiable. Make sure they understand how to handle equipment safely, what protective gear is required, and how to keep themselves and others safe in a busy shop environment.
• Shop standards and policies: Every shop operates differently, so it’s important that new employees learn your specific standards quickly. This includes everything from how to communicate with other team members to the importance of staying organized and maintaining cleanliness in the workspace.

Clear Guidance and Mentorship

One of the best ways to help entry-level employees succeed is by pairing them with more experienced team members who can offer real-time advice and support. This mentorship approach makes sure they’re learning in a hands-on, practical way that’s guided by the experience of others.

• Shadowing experienced technicians: New hires can watch and learn from more seasoned techs, picking up on tricks of the trade that might not come from formal training.
• Real-time feedback: Mentors can provide immediate feedback on tasks, correcting mistakes or offering advice on the spot, which speeds up the learning process.
• Creating a support system: Knowing they have someone to turn to with questions helps relieve the stress of being the new person. It fosters a sense of belonging and encourages new hires to ask for help when they need it.

This type of dynamic training is ongoing and adaptable, allowing new hires to gradually take on more complex tasks as they gain confidence.

Intermediate-Level Employees

Once your employees have mastered the basics, it’s time to help them take things to the next level. Intermediate-level employees already have a solid foundation, so the goal is to build on that by teaching them more advanced techniques that are directly relevant to their day-to-day work. This stage is all about helping them become more self-sufficient and start to hone their skills in specific areas. Here's how to approach training for this group:

Expand on Foundational Skills

Now that these employees are comfortable with the fundamentals, it’s time to introduce them to more complex tasks. For example, they’ve probably nailed basic maintenance like tire replacements and oil changes, so they’re ready to handle things like: 

• Brake work: Start introducing them to tasks that involve more attention to detail and critical thinking, such as brake system inspections and repairs.
• Electrical repairs: Have them work on simple electrical issues, like replacing batteries or fuses, and build up to diagnosing more complicated electrical faults.
• Basic diagnostics: While they’re not ready for the full range of diagnostics, you can begin teaching them how to identify common issues and use basic diagnostic tools.
  
  

The key is to gradually increase the complexity of the tasks they’re tackling without throwing too much at them all at once.

Deepen Subject Area Expertise

As intermediate-level employees grow in confidence, it’s important to give them opportunities to specialize. Maybe one employee shows a knack for electrical work, while another is great with diagnostics. This is the perfect time to let them dive deeper into those areas and really hone their skills. Customized training can be tailored to each person’s strengths, allowing them to develop expertise in the areas they’re most interested in.

• Encourage specialization: If someone’s showing real potential in a certain area, provide additional training opportunities to help them deepen their knowledge. For example, if they’re excelling at brake work, let them take on more advanced brake jobs and guide them through it.
• Focus on skill-building: Use dynamic training methods to keep things engaging. This could mean offering hands-on workshops, bringing in new tools or tech, or even letting them shadow a senior tech on more complex jobs.
• More independence: As their skills grow, give them more responsibility. Start by having them work independently on jobs they’re comfortable with, while still providing guidance when they need it.
  
  
  

Experienced Employees

When it comes to your experienced employees, it’s not just about sharpening their technical skills—they’ve already mastered those. At this point, the focus shifts to leadership, communication, and staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends. These employees have been around the block and are key players in your shop’s success, and retention of these valuable team members should be a priority. Here’s how you can keep them engaged and growing while also using their expertise to benefit the whole team.

Focus on Leadership and Communication Skills

By now, your seasoned employees know their way around a vehicle, but leadership and communication are just as important as technical skills at this stage. They may already be the ones others turn to for advice or troubleshooting, so it makes sense to help them build on those natural leadership qualities.

• Mentoring and coaching: Encourage them to step into mentoring roles, guiding the newer or less experienced team members. This not only helps pass along their knowledge but also sharpens their communication and leadership abilities.
• Conflict resolution: When you’re in a leadership position, knowing how to navigate tough situations and challenges is crucial. Training that focuses on communication styles and problem-solving will help them handle these situations with confidence.
• Team management: If an employee shows interest in eventually stepping into a supervisory role, offer training on managing a team and handling customer service concerns.
  
  

Advanced Technical Skills

While leadership is a big part of what you’ll want to focus on for experienced employees, don’t forget that staying sharp with advanced technical skills is still important. The automotive industry is always evolving, so giving these employees opportunities to stay current with the latest tools and techniques is essential.

2. Create Training Plans Aligned to Specific Roles 

Before you start thinking about your team’s future, focus on the roles they’re in now. Giving your technicians and service advisors the right training for what they’re doing today helps build a solid foundation for growth down the road. Whether it’s sharpening diagnostic skills for your techs or improving communication and interpersonal skills for your service advisors, the training should match what they need to do their job well. And don’t forget, a bit of cross-training  can help boost teamwork and make your shop run more smoothly. 

Here are the key areas of focus for each role:

3. Incorporate Adaptive Learning Technologies

Managing training for a team with varying skill levels and roles can be challenging to manage on your own. That’s where AI-driven algorithms step in to streamline the process. This technology can create customized training based on each person’s performance and progress, ensuring that every team member receives the right training tailored to their current skill level and role.

Here's how adaptive learning technology works:

• Real-time adjustments: As employees go through their training, AI monitors their performance in real-time. If someone is excelling, the system will introduce more advanced material. If they’re struggling, it will slow down and focus on areas that need reinforcement.
  
  
• Tailored to skill levels: Newer technicians might focus on essential skills like basic diagnostics, while more experienced techs are pushed toward refining complex problem-solving and learning new technologies like EV systems. The AI adjusts learning paths based on individual skill levels to ensure continuous growth.
  
  
• Role-specific learning: The technology also personalizes training based on job roles. Technicians will focus more on diagnostics and repair techniques, while service advisors will receive targeted training in communication and customer service. The AI ensures that the training matches what they actually do on a day-to-day basis.
  
  
• Efficient learning: With adaptive learning, employees get exactly what they need. It eliminates unnecessary repetition, focusing instead on areas where they need to improve or providing new challenges to keep them progressing.

By using AI-driven technology for dynamic training, you ensure that your team’s learning experience is both relevant and effective, helping them grow in their specific roles and become even stronger contributors to the shop.

Read More: How to Measure the Effectiveness of AI-Based Automotive Training

Creating Dynamic and Customized Training for Your Team 

Building a skilled team requires dynamic training that grows with your team. By leveraging training tools like AI-driven algorithms, you can keep everyone moving forward at the right pace. This way, no one’s left behind, and your top performers are challenged to keep improving.

The real strength of customized training is how it benefits your shop as a whole. As your technicians and service advisors develop in their roles, the overall efficiency of your shop improves. With everyone equipped with the right skills for their job, your shop runs more smoothly, and your team is positioned for long-term success.

If you’re curious about how customized training can boost your shop’s performance, reach out to our team. We’d love to chat and explore how Today’s Class can support your team's training.