Delivering effective training: electrical diagnostic skills retention of automotive technicians

Abstract

The problem of this study is to determine what factors affect the ability of automotive technicians to learn to perform accurate electrical diagnosis and what affects their ability to retain those skills. In order to do so, a survey was conducted that assessed the electrical diagnostic skills of working technicians. 21.1% of technicians accurately answered all five electrical diagnostic questions. The literature supports the idea that technicians are tactile in their learning style and need authentic hands-on training experience in order to master automotive training. The survey results indicate that instructor-led electrical training using hands-on circuit diagnosis is more statistically significant than other delivery methods. New instructional delivery methods hold great promise for use with electrical training.