Can constant training become part of your shop’s culture? Angie and Ken Rocha of Rocha’s Automotive have made it happen. They incentivize technicians to keep up with fast-changing technology and treat training as an investment rather than an expense. Their result is a team that delivers top-notch service and stays engaged.
In episode 116 of Maximum Octane, the Rochas explain why investing in technician training pays off, how to build a culture of continuous learning, why finding the right techs matters, how to make training engaging, how to stay motivated, and why celebrating wins strengthens culture.
What You Will Learn
- Why you should invest in techs’ training
- How to create a culture of continuous learning
- About the importance of finding (and retaining) the right technicians
- Does culture attract talent
- How to make learning engaging
- How to keep yourself and your team motivated
- The importance of celebrating wins to strengthen culture
Why Invest in Technician Training
Angie and Ken open with why shops should invest in technician training. Vehicle technology evolves rapidly. Technicians who are not trained fall behind, take longer to diagnose problems, and make more mistakes. Trained technicians work faster and more accurately, improving both productivity and customer satisfaction.
ATI’s The Training Effect: The Power of an Effective Program on Your Shop explains how training affects results.
Thinking of training as an investment changes how a shop budgets for it. An expense is something to minimize. An investment is something you evaluate by its return. When a technician learns to diagnose a network communication fault or calibrate a driver assistance system correctly, the shop can accept work it might otherwise send down the street, reduce comebacks, and bill confidently for diagnostic time. Those returns rarely show up on the same line of the financial statement as the training cost, which is why many owners underestimate them.
There is also a cost to not training. Untrained technicians may throw parts at a problem, spend hours chasing a fault a trained tech would find quickly, or avoid certain jobs entirely. Customers feel that in longer wait times and higher bills, and the shop feels it in lost efficiency and morale.
Creating a Culture of Continuous Learning
Around the 10 minute mark, the Rochas discuss how to build a culture where learning never stops. That means scheduling training regularly, rewarding technicians for completing courses and earning certifications, and making learning part of everyday conversation. When training is expected and celebrated, it becomes part of who the shop is.
Culture shows up in small routines. A shop with a learning culture might start the week with a short huddle where a technician shares something new from a recent course, or keep a shared log of difficult diagnoses and how they were solved. Training dates are posted on the calendar months in advance rather than squeezed in when work is slow. Leaders ask “what did you learn?” as often as they ask “how many hours did you flag?”
The owner’s behavior sets the tone. When owners and managers attend training themselves and talk openly about what they are learning, the team sees that growth is expected at every level, not just for technicians who need to catch up.
Finding and Keeping the Right Technicians
Angie and Ken explain the importance of finding technicians who are eager to grow. Some people love learning and will take every opportunity. Others resist. Hiring people with a growth mindset makes building a learning culture much easier. Keeping those people requires showing them a path forward.
Geoff Berman discusses developing B and C techs in Build an All-Star Bench for Your Auto Repair Shop.
During interviews, a few questions can reveal a candidate’s attitude toward learning: What is the last training course you took, and what did you do with it? What vehicle system do you want to understand better? How do you keep up with new technology on your own time? Candidates who light up at these questions are usually the ones who will thrive in a learning culture. Those who see training as an interruption may struggle.
Retention depends on visible progress. A written career path that connects training and certifications to new responsibilities and higher pay gives technicians a reason to stay and grow with the shop instead of leaving to find the next step elsewhere.
Does Culture Attract Talent?
Around the 19 minute mark, the Rochas discuss whether culture attracts talent. Their experience suggests it does. Technicians who value growth seek out shops that invest in them. A reputation for training becomes a recruiting advantage.
Reputation travels quickly among technicians. Word spreads through training classes, parts counters, online groups, and former coworkers. A shop known for sending techs to quality training, investing in equipment, and helping people advance tends to receive more inquiries from strong candidates, sometimes before it even posts a job. Shops can amplify that reputation by mentioning training opportunities in job ads and sharing training days on social media.
Repair Information Is Not Training
The Rochas make an important point: repair information databases, such as Identifix, are valuable tools but not replacements for training. Looking up a known fix is different from understanding how a system works. Training builds the diagnostic thinking technicians need when the database does not have the answer.
The distinction matters most on difficult jobs. A database can tell a technician that a certain code on a certain model is often caused by a specific connector. It cannot help much when the symptom is intermittent, the vehicle has been modified, or the documented fix does not work. In those moments, a technician who understands circuit theory, network communication, and sound diagnostic process can work toward the answer. The best shops use both: information systems for speed, and training for understanding.
Making Learning Engaging
Around the 25 minute mark, Angie and Ken share how to make learning engaging. Ideas include hands-on sessions, peer teaching, short regular trainings, and connecting lessons to real repairs in the shop. Engaged learners retain more and apply it faster.
Training resources for technicians include ASE certification and industry training providers. Jim Bennett explains why leaders need training too in Why You Should Train Your Trainers.
Adults learn best when the material connects to problems they face right now. Pairing a lesson with a vehicle that is actually in the bay, or reviewing a recent comeback as a group, makes training feel relevant rather than academic. Short sessions held regularly tend to stick better than occasional long ones, and having technicians teach each other reinforces their own understanding.
Variety helps too. Mixing online courses, in-person classes, vendor demonstrations, and peer-led discussions keeps learning from feeling repetitive and lets each technician find the format that suits them.
Staying Motivated and Celebrating Wins
The Rochas close with how to keep yourself and your team motivated and why celebrating wins strengthens culture. Recognizing a new certification, a tough diagnosis, or a training milestone shows the team that growth matters.
Common Training Mistakes to Avoid
Shops that invest in training sometimes see disappointing results, and the cause is usually how the training is managed rather than the training itself. A few common pitfalls:
- No follow-up: a technician attends a class and returns straight to the same work with no chance to apply what they learned. Ask them to share key takeaways and assign related jobs soon after.
- Random course selection: training is chosen by whatever is available rather than by what the shop needs. Match courses to the vehicles you service and the skills gaps you see.
- Training only the top tech: developing your best person while others stagnate widens the gap and creates bottlenecks. Build skills across the team.
- Fear of training people who leave: the bigger risk is keeping untrained people who stay. A strong learning culture tends to improve retention, not hurt it.
How to Measure the Return on Training
Owners can track whether training is paying off without complicated tools. Watch technician efficiency and productivity over the months following a course. Monitor comeback rates, especially on the systems covered. Note whether the shop is taking on jobs it previously sublet or turned away, such as advanced diagnostics or calibrations. Listen for changes in confidence during estimates and customer conversations.
Reviewing these signals in regular one-on-ones with each technician also helps plan the next round of training. The conversation shifts from “you need more hours” to “here is the skill that would help you grow next.”
Build Your Training Culture
- Set a minimum number of training hours for every technician each year.
- Offer incentives for certifications and completed courses.
- Hold short in-shop training sessions every month.
- Celebrate learning milestones publicly.
Chuck Lafferty explains why development is the best investment in Transparency and Development, the GPS of Business Growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much training should auto technicians get each year?
There is no single right number, but many shops set a minimum annual training target for every technician and plan it on the calendar in advance. The right amount depends on the vehicles you service, each technician’s experience, and the pace of technology change. Newer techs and those moving into advanced diagnostics usually need more. What matters most is that training is consistent, planned, and tied to real skill gaps.
Is technician training worth it if they might leave?
Yes. A shop that refuses to train in order to avoid losing people often ends up with a team that falls behind and leaves anyway, or stays without growing. Shops known for development tend to attract better candidates and keep them longer. Some owners use reasonable training agreements for expensive courses, but the stronger retention tool is a clear career path that rewards new skills.
How do I motivate technicians to pursue training and certifications?
Connect learning to things technicians care about: pay increases, new responsibilities, better tools, and recognition. Pay for courses and testing, schedule training during work hours when possible, and celebrate certifications publicly. Ask each technician what they want to learn and build a plan together. When people see that growth leads somewhere, motivation follows naturally.
Can repair information software replace technician training?
No. Repair information systems are valuable for wiring diagrams, specifications, and known fixes, and every shop should use them. But they work best in the hands of someone who understands how systems operate. When a problem is intermittent or undocumented, only diagnostic skill built through training will lead to an accurate answer. Treat information tools and training as partners, not substitutes.
What is the best way to train technicians inside the shop?
Short, regular sessions tied to real vehicles work well. Review a difficult diagnosis as a group, have a technician teach a skill they recently learned, or invite a parts or tool vendor for a demonstration. Pair newer techs with experienced mentors on specific jobs. Keep sessions focused, practical, and frequent so learning becomes part of the routine rather than a special event.
Resources and Links From This Episode
Connect With the Guests
- Angie & Ken: Rocha’s Automotive
