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Andy Savva – Garage Inspector

LKQ Exclusive

I want to share my views on the importance of training. During my 34 years in the automotive industry, I have noticed a lack of training and development of people in most organisations due to the short-termism of the British garage owner. However, I also believe it’s due to an imperfect understanding of how the training and development of people, in particular technical colleagues relates directly to the efficiency and profit of the business.

Come and meet Andy Savva on the Modern Garage stand C30 at the UK Garage & Bodyshop Event on 5th & 6th June

Have you ever heard or seen statements like “fully trained technicians” What does this mean? How can anyone quantify “fully” ? I certainly can’t! This is a complete myth. You can never be fully trained in our automotive industry. Modern vehicle technology continues to advance at such a pace, that vehicles are becoming increasingly sophisticated animals.

I have always maintained the continual training and development of all my past teams as a way of generating improvements in productivity, quality, 1st-time fix results, used as a unique

We must remember that to run an efficient and profitable garage business you not only need technical ability. But also a very good understanding of business skills around marketing, customer excellence, and financial understanding, to name a few. In general these crucial skills are lacking in our repair sector, that’s why I have, during the last 6 years, developed and launched 2-day business courses to bridge this gap for garage owners and all their teams.

selling point (marketing terms), motivational, retention, and the

recruitment of personnel just to name a few. The benefits hugely out way the cost.

As garage owners, we must be honest with ourselves, look at the services we are offering in our businesses, and make sure we firstly recruit individuals who have knowledge and experience in those sectors and, secondly, quickly understand the strengths and weaknesses of that individual and together create a training and development plan aligned to the services and objectives of your business. I always used to say, “Equipment must never be a substitute for knowledge” it should be an aid.”

There is no excuse now not to tap into mine, and the many other training courses, offered through the LKQ Academy portal.

Page 8 | Garage Support | 2024 Issue 2