I-CAR held a press conference at last week’s SEMA Show, concentrating on its relationship with an increasing number of leading vehicle manufacturers. Nissan/Infiniti, Chrysler and Honda were recognized for recently introducing collision repair network programs that require the industry-recognized I-CAR Gold Class Professionals designation, while 15 vehicle manufacturers include the I-CAR Welding Qualification Series or limited other I-CAR training as a requirement for their network programs.
I-CAR CEO and President John Van Alstyne stated, “The I-CAR Professional Development Program (PDP) has become the industry standard for knowledge. The PDP was designed to provide the technicians responsible for various and critical phases of the collision repair process the education and knowledge required to perform complete and safe repairs. Additionally, the industry has also discovered the PDP helps businesses improve performance and reduce risk."
James Roach, senior vice president – parts and service Division of American Honda Motor Company Inc., joined Van Alstyne and discussed Gold Class as an element of the recently launched Honda ProFirst program.
“Honda has a firm commitment to quality, and customer satisfaction is always top of mind," he said. "I-CAR’s PDP and the Gold Class recognition program are the industry standards for knowledge, helping form the foundation for business and technician success through training that provides repairers with knowledge and skills needed to achieve complete repairs and safe repairs.”
The press conference concluded as Elise Quadrozzi, I-CAR board chair, summarized progress made on the PDP since its 2010 launch. She also acknowledged I-CAR’s commitment to assisting the industry as it works toward achieving the first of three ascending PDP knowledge levels, ProLevel 1 being required in 2012.
“I-CAR is committed to expanding its relevance to the collision repair inter-industry. The industry expressed a need for help, and the I-CAR Board agreed that we were well positioned to respond. This initiative is a great example of how we are working to move I-CAR into the future from its historical role as a training provider, with increasing focus on building an education, knowledge and solutions platform of services for the inter-industry.”
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