TRAINING FOR PROFITS

Over time, the committee has also engaged knowledgeable companies to develop ARA University with relevant educational content for automotive recy- clers to train their teams.

The plans for the next phase of ARA University with a new technology partner are amazing.

Educating Where You Are In 2006, the ARA Educational Founda-

tion debuted ARAUniversity.org at the ARA Annual Convention. “Forty-three companies signed up with only two cours- es offered and one more in production,” says Whelan. “By the 2007 convention, 250 companies were enrolled in the platform.” Fast forward to today, there are 547 companies and 10,000 unique users with 47 courses available that include safety, dismantling, sales, business, and pro- curement, and others. “We really were early adapters to online training in the automotive industry,” says Whelan. “I-CAR did not go online until 2010.”

The technology companies employed to assist the University’s development have been crucial to its suc- cess. The initial technology provider created a profes- sional platform that included a unique user experi- ence. Employers and employees had their own accounts to manage the learning experience. The sec- ond provider increased the course material video quality, and improved search engine optimization and industry visibility.

“There are also partnership opportunities we have utilized with UL training, safety courses, software training, and in the future with our new partner, the possibilities are significantly increased,” says Whelan. Industry hot buttons initiate course development in the University. In the early ARAU days, there was a push for inventory and grading courses so that parts would be easier to sell based on common descriptions industry-wide and beyond. The University responded with a parts grading course. Courses that followed were based on skill sets, such as sales and dismantling. Most recently, the University has added critical safety and compliance courses, as regulators are tougher on inspections and leveraging hefty fines. The current partnership with online educational technology company, KPA Online, is significant for the university in many ways. “KPA delivers Environ- mental Health and Safety, as well as Human Resources Management Compliance programs that help our clients achieve regulatory compliance, control risk, pro-

32 Automotive Recycling | November-December 2015

tect their assets and effectively manage people. We do this through a combination of innovative software, effective training, and on-site consulting. We believe that client education is the most important part of what we do, particularly in the complex areas of compliance and best practices,” says Eric Schmitz, Vice President, Environmental Health & Safety Products, for KPA. “As a company, we’ve been specializing in the auto- motive industry since 1986 and, while we continue to expand into other markets, the auto industry will remain our niche. Our knowledge and expertise in the complex areas of environmental health and safety is far beyond that of our competitors and con- tinues to evolve with the auto industry including changing regulations, new fuels sources and more,” Schmitz says.

“Since training is our focus, we will take ARAU to the next level by offering engaging, memorable train- ing where students walk away with on-the-job skills, and environmental, health, and safety best practices that are applicable to the automotive recycling indus- try. We’re looking forward to the partnership.” “This new partner is a company already in the space of developing learning management systems with an automotive focus, currently with multi-prop- erty dealers,” says Whelan. “They also have compliance information on every state. What we bring to the table is an expertise of our industry that they can take back to the OE training space. This is a relationship being developed that can be built upon in both direc- tions, where in the past it has been one way.”

Recyclers Benefit Ultimately, the main benefit of ARAU is to help

auto recyclers maintain an effective workforce. Auto recyclers who do not train employees are less likely to retain employees, and they can also lose a competitive

Caryn Smith