November 21, 2018

CARSTAR Offers Unique Training Program to Help Franchise Partners Deliver the Highest-Quality Collision Repairs

New CARSTAR Education and Training Team Supports the Innovative CARSTAR University Learning Platform

The collision repair industry is always evolving and changing, sometimes faster than store owners and repair professionals can keep up. This year, CARSTAR has elevated its learning platform to help its franchise partners across North America stay up-to-date on the latest vehicle repair technology and procedures.

Earlier in 2018, CARSTAR completed the buildout of CARSTAR University, a hands-on and online educational program with more than 700 role-based learning modules. Now, there are more than 2,000 franchise partners and staff members enrolled in the program, representing nearly 50 percent of the CARSTAR network.

To support CARSTAR University, CARSTAR has added an Education and Training team to the corporate family.  The team’s mission is to create and deliver training programs that are immediately applicable, industry leading and positively contribute to CARSTAR owners’ business growth and performance.

“Before I joined the CARSTAR network I was at an independent facility, and I could have really used CARSTAR University to assist in training new employees while also keeping current employees up-to-date with our always changing industry and insurance company guidelines,” said AJ Pickering of CARSTAR Collision Specialists East & CARSTAR Collision Specialists West. “When you are running a repair center you have enough to worry about throughout the day. It is such a relief to have one spot to access all the knowledge you need at just the click of your finger!”

The content in CARSTAR University has grown exponentially and the CARSTAR Education and Training team is working to ensure they provide stores with the most up-to-date, industry-relevant training. Some of the newest additions include:

• CARSTAR EDGE Training: Role-based support to guide franchise partners through EDGE, the proprietary operational platform that drives network performance.
• Direct Repair Program (DRP) Training: courses built to help coach CARSTAR stores on requirements for specific insurers, as well as tools to encourage best practices.
• I-CAR Training: collaborating with I-CAR, an international not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing the information, knowledge and skills required to perform complete, safe and quality repairs.
• OEM Training: sharing original equipment manufacturer (OEM) training tools, guidelines and resources with the CARSTAR network.

CARSTAR also has invested in its partnerships with industry leaders such as Mike Anderson, founder of Collision Advice, and I-CAR. Collision Advice has provided training webinars exclusive to the CARSTAR network on hot topics such as scheduling, understanding OEM repair procedures and disassembly for repair (DFR).

“We are certifying our CARSTAR operations and insurance sales teams to deliver I-CAR training to our stores and also have made it mandatory for them to maintain a platinum level certification,” said Dean Fisher, COO for CARSTAR.  “Investing in your team’s education and development is crucial for any successful business and to continue delivering the industry’s highest-quality repairs, we need the highest levels of training.”

CARSTAR also is working with vendor partners for focused education programs on the CARSTAR standard operating procedures, advanced vehicle repairs such as aluminum and composite materials, new paint technology, pre-and post-scan standards and more.

"There is so much valuable information on CARSTAR U,” said Karen Bryan of CARSTAR Precision. “You definitely finish each course learning something new each and every time as the team is putting relevant and updated information in a localized place for everyone to access.  I’ve been in this industry 30+ years so yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks!”

Additional upgrades are coming to CARSTAR University in the coming year, including more online learning modules, regional hands-on training programs and expanded OEM education and certification.