I-CAR announced it has given an update on the status of enhancements to its core education and recognition programming, as well as the supporting systems and technology platform. I-CAR reports that while tremendous resources have been deployed across the organization and nearly all the work has been successfully completed, IT system challenges have delayed the launch.

I-CAR CEO and President John Van Alstyne provides further details about the enhancements launch in the video below:

“We recognize the extent of the frustration that our launch delay has caused for our customers and the industry, and want to apologize for the inconvenience,” said Van Alstyne. “The delay has been related specifically to a series of issues with our new Learning Management System (LMS) and is currently related to the data transfer process, loading records from our current LMS to the new LMS. Please know that the I-CAR IT and project teams have been and continue to do an amazing job to drive solutions. While we have successfully resolved many of the related issues, we are currently working diligently with our LMS software vendor to address the remaining data synchronization issues we are experiencing.”

To date, I-CAR has successfully completed much of the data load needed for launch. The organization is working to complete the transfer of student training records from the current LMS to the new LMS, which total more than 5 million unique records. Presently, I-CAR is targeting the program launch in Q3, with the specific date contingent on solving these important software issues.

“Please know that our original transition plan timing from current requirements to new requirements will be shifted out to align with the delay timeframe,” said Van Alstyne. “As we get closer to launch, we will announce the exact changes to our transition timing. In the meantime, please know we understand the industry needs time to react, and please trust that we have your back. Additionally, please keep training so you can stay on track to maintain your Platinum and Gold Class status, as nearly all required training counts toward your future requirements! Moving forward, we will continue to keep the industry posted about the launch developments and timing as we aggressively work toward resolution and completion of the process.”

During the past several months, the new IT systems have been installed and configured, and I-CAR and the industry have already begun seeing the positive impact the new systems and program enhancements will have for the inter-industry. These are a few of the results that have been achieved thus far: 

• I-CAR’s enhanced curriculum has been completed, tested and uploaded into the LMS. Once launched, in total, I-CAR will be offering 266 classes, which is up from the 164 that are offered currently, including 145 online courses in Spanish.
• The I-CAR delivery team is now utilizing the new systems and an integrated class scheduling tool to dispatch training with much more efficiency.
• The new system has enabled enhancements to I-CAR’s In-Shop Knowledge Assessment process, providing more flexibility and greater responsiveness in the field.
• New requirements for Gold Class and Platinum recognition have been finalized and communicated to customers.
• The organization’s instructor training covering the new curriculum is well along, as is Professional Development Program (PDP) training across the team to enable customer support during the transition.
• Once I-CAR deploys the new systems, the organization will be improving the learning and business environment for all stakeholders with an entirely new online shopping experience, including a training manager experience that is user-friendly, online testing for live classes, a mobile device training app and enhanced website/learning experience for users, and improved course registration.

I-CAR said it has also seen the adoption and implementation of its new Gold Class unlimited live, online and virtual training subscription offering. As of the end of June, 28 percent of I-CAR’s Gold Class shops currently have subscriptions. And on a related note, I-CAR reports that there are now 7,604 Gold Class shops, which is up 11.5 percent so far in 2019.

“I-CAR has always been promoting the idea of a knowledge-focused industry and has been the leading provider of this over the years,” said Jesse Garris, general manager at AJ-USA, Inc., San Diego, Calif. “With I-CAR’s new subscription, the online course format is awesome, easy to use and the availability of the courses offered allows for anyone to train no matter where you live. Now instead of having reasons not to train, we only say why not train?”

Added Van Alstyne, “We appreciate the industry’s support of I-CAR over the past 40 years, and we thank you for your patience as we work diligently to complete this final leg of our transformation journey.”

For more information, visit the I-CARTrainToGain.com website.