Just over a year ago, the 3M Skills Development Center opened its doors in St. Paul, MN, to help educate and upskill the collision repair industry. Since the first class was held in June 2023, more than 55 events have taken place with more than 1,100 attendees from all experience levels. They include technicians, CEOs and managers, OEM partners, distributors, performance groups and the military.
Adam Spah, application engineering manager at 3M, said the 15,000-square-foot 3M Skills Development Center has been a source of training for students from across the country in 42 U.S. states, as well as Canada, with 80% of attendees from outside Minnesota and the surrounding states.
“It has been an exciting journey over the last 12 months,” said Spah. “The industry is very busy, but proactive business owners and shop managers are realizing the importance of investing in training technicians to increase the quality of work they put in each day, even though it's a challenge to send a technician away for three or four days.”
The backbone of the Skills Development Center is multi-day hands-on training that focuses on the most updated body repair and paint preparation and refinishing methods. The body repair and paint classes are each held one week a month and offered to anyone who has an interest in taking them, whether that’s a college student, someone working out of their garage or technicians who have been part of the industry for just a few months or more than 30 years.
“We’re really focused on getting people through the classes to help upskill the industry,” said Spah.
3M is finding the classes are also attracting people from outside collision repair facilities. For example, students from different military bases have been interested in attending the courses.
“We're fixing cars and they're fixing planes, automobiles and tanks,” said Spah. “You might be next to a bodyman or painter in the class, but we'll also have somebody from a military base in that same class learning together.”
The welding capability at the 3M Skills Development Center allows technicians to learn the fundamentals of welding as well as following OEM welding callouts and techniques right from the repair manuals.
When training classes aren’t being held, the center typically plans meetings and events with industry organizations, OEMs, vocational technical instructors, collision performance groups, MSOs, distributors and several others. The Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) has brought in students to get a glimpse of the industry and encourage interest in working on vehicles.
“We explain to them that they can make really good money -- even six figures -- in this industry and have a good career,” said Spah. “Their eyes light up and they get excited.”
The 3M Skills Development Center works closely with OEMs to share information about what is taking place at the facility. Several auto manufacturers have visited over the past year.
“They want to learn what we’re teaching and how they can leverage our high level of education for their technician certification programs,” noted Spah. “We tell them how we dive deep into OEM repair manuals and find that it excites OEMs to know technicians are following the procedures.”
Since opening the center, Spah said there has been a solid increase in demand for open enrollment classes and site visits, which he predicts will continue to accelerate in 2024.
Training classes are centered around knowledge, skills and abilities so students learn what they need to repair vehicles properly. Within the open enrollment courses, 3M focuses on being product agnostic, hands-on, OEM-aligned and process-oriented.
“You would think that coming into a 3M facility, you're just going to learn about 3M products, but we keep it very product agnostic, so you could potentially use various brands during the classes,” Spah explained.
With much of the industry training being conducted virtually during the pandemic, 3M has put a high emphasis on 90% of the learning at the facility being hands-on. Rather than looking at a screen and flipping through slides, Spah said students are doing the activities they are taught.
“Getting somebody out of their element and focusing on what they're learning goes a long way,” he explained. “They are more likely to learn and retain the skills as well as the proper technique by doing the repair activities on a physical piece.”
To support the goal of hands-on training, the facility was built with a flexible layout that can be adjusted to fit the needs of those in attendance. In addition to a traditional classroom space, there is a hands-on work environment that features stations with electrical and air service. A 36-foot GFS XL paint booth is set up with three-stage filtration, which can accommodate 16 painters. There is also a dedicated welding area with stations equipped with fume extraction hoods.
Spah noted only about 40% of technicians look at repair manuals or procedures when they fix vehicles. As a result, 3M educators spend time teaching where to find the OEM procedures and how to fix a vehicle to its pre-collision condition.
“Trainers explain the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to follow to ensure the procedure is done the same way every time, depending on that OEM,” said Spah. “There is also a focus on the science of ‘why’ something is done so students will retain the skills taught.”
3M’s trainers are technical engineers with a strong collision repair background. Their backgrounds range from 20-40 years of collision experience, and include I-CAR certified instructors, paint company technical experts, and those with insurance experience. Some have authored several technical articles.
“We know vehicles are becoming more complex so we work closely with trainers to ensure the training is relevant to the cars being repaired,” said Spah.
The training programs complement those available through the online 3M Collision Repair Academy, the 3M Collision YouTube channel and virtual I-CAR Alliance training. In addition, live webinars are held at the facility where students can participate in a real-time Q&A.
Spah said they have noticed an uptick in skills as technicians leave and they're becoming more efficient.
“They are reporting getting more repair orders through after going through our sessions,” he added.
After a course is completed, 3M asks for feedback from students to continually improve the program.
“The feedback we’ve had with the classes so far has been incredibly positive,” said Spah.
3M also welcomes feedback from the industry to ensure timely and relevant courses are offered. Looking ahead, potential classes include welding certification, front office training and repair planning. Spah said 3M is currently working toward a new curriculum with a new course set to debut soon. Look for new classes in early 2025.
For more information about courses offered through the 3M Skills Development Center, visit www.3MCollision.com.
Stacey Phillips Ronak