The top new skills that you need to learn

Being a vehicle mechanic or technician is a fulfilling career. But to progress, there are key skills and new areas of knowledge that are valuable not only for today’s aftermarket, but also in preparing you for tomorrow’s. This is where mechanic training for the new generation of vehicles becomes incredibly important.

Diagnostic skills for mechanics

One of the most important skills for a modern mechanic is First Time Diagnosis (FTD) – being able to diagnose problems quickly and correctly.

Traditionally, it’s a skill that takes a lot of experience. You need to be knowledgeable about the wide variety of issues that can occur in the vehicles you’re servicing, how to solve them and also carry out tests to make sure your diagnosis is correct.

Today, however, diagnostics is increasingly becoming a digital skill. With vehicles becoming more advanced, there are now diagnostic tools and systems available to pinpoint vehicle faults remotely.

Understanding these tools should be a central part of your skills development, learning how they work, and what they can and can’t diagnose.

Electric and hybrid vehicles

New technology in electrified vehicles has grown rapidly and many are beginning to enter their service life. To service EVs and HVs effectively, you’ll need to learn a whole new set of skills and knowledge for these systems. This includes battery and power train systems, and how to work on them safely.

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)

These are the systems that assist drivers in driving and parking functions. Diagnostics and fault repair of these systems is heavily software-based, so if you want to acquire new skills in this area, understanding and working with software will be critical.

Connected mobile apps / digital key

The car of tomorrow will be much more connected to our digital lives via our smartphones, and mechanics will be called upon to diagnose and fix basic problems in connectivity. As with ADAS, this will require you to have detailed knowledge of the software platforms that power this relationship.

Don’t forget your core skills

They may not seem high-priority, but continuously keeping your ‘soft’ core skills sharp will help your career to continuously develop. These skills include:

• The ability to work well with your hands
• To be thorough and pay close attention to detail
• Problem-solving skills
• Communication
• Customer service
• Time management
• Adaptability
• The ability to work well with others
• Technologically minded and forward-thinking
• The ability to use your initiative
• Being able to use a computer and standard software packages competently

There’s no time like the present

In a busy workshop, training and acquiring skills can seem like something that’s hard to fit in. But if you want to progress as a technician or mechanic, the time to start upskilling is now. The more you can learn, the more useful you are to both present and future employers. Delphi Technologies is the perfect place to start, with a huge range of courses available on cutting-edge technologies.

Don’t be afraid to ask your current employer for more training. The more you know, the more value you’ll bring to your current role – and it might even mean your workshop can start servicing new types of vehicles.