Pros and Cons of Sending Technicians Back to Automotive Training School

A lot of shop owners wonder if they should send their techs back to an automotive training school. The idea sounds solid—let them sharpen their skills in a classroom, earn credentials, and come back stronger. But is it really the best next step for your team?

Before you enroll your team in an auto training school, it’s worth weighing the pros and cons. In this blog, we’ll break down when automotive training school works, where it falls short, and what alternatives might better serve your shop.

Table of Contents:

• Why Automotive Training School Still Has Its Appeal
  • Structured Curriculum
  • Reputation and Credibility
• The Trade-Offs of Sending Techs Back to School
  • The Strain of After-Hours Schooling
  • One-Size-Fits-All Curriculum
  • Cost
• What Are the Alternatives to Automotive Training School?
  • Digital Training Tools
  • In-House Mentoring and Peer Training
• When Is Going Back to Automotive Training School Worth It?
• Find the Right Training for Your Team

Why Automotive Training School Still Has Its Appeal

If you’re looking to build a stronger, more capable team, enrolling technicians in a traditional automotive training school might seem like the logical next step. And for some situations, it absolutely has its advantages—especially for new hires or shops without an in-house training process. So let's dive into some of the benefits of automotive training school for technicians:

Structured Curriculum

One of the biggest strengths of automotive training school is the depth and focus of its curriculum. These programs are built around a structured syllabus that blends classroom instruction with hands-on experience—giving technicians a clear, consistent way to build foundational skills.

The classroom setting creates a steady, low-distraction environment where technicians can:

• Focus and absorb complex topics
  
  
• Ask questions along the way
  
  
• Receive guidance and support from trained instructors

It’s a strong starting point, especially for those who are new to the field or looking to sharpen knowledge in a particular topic.

Reputation and Credibility

When a technician finishes a program at a recognized automotive training school, it means they’ve been trained by certified professionals and measured against today’s industry standards. Those kinds of credentials show your team is meeting expectations and sends a message to customers that your shop values solid training, professionalism, and doing the job right.

The Trade-Offs of Sending Techs Back to School

While there are clear advantages to sending technicians to an auto training school, there are just as many reasons to pause and think twice—especially when it comes to timing, cost, and how well the education aligns with your shop’s specific needs.

The Strain of After-Hours Schooling

For working technicians, going back to automotive training school usually means night classes. While that avoids pulling them off the shop floor during the day, it still takes a toll—just in different ways.

Balancing full-time work with evening classes can lead to:

• Mental fatigue, which affects focus and performance during daytime hours
  
  
• Limited personal time, increasing the risk of burnout over the long term
  
  
• Lower energy levels on the job, especially in high-volume or physically demanding shops

Even with the best intentions, a tech who’s stretched too thin may struggle to absorb new material at night and stay sharp during the day. Over time, that can impact productivity, morale, and the overall return you get from the training.

One-Size-Fits-All Curriculum

Most auto training schools are built to serve a wide audience. That’s not a bad thing—but it does mean the content may not line up with what your team actually needs.

Some common mismatches may be:

• Techs learning skills they won’t use in your specific shop environment
  
  
• Experienced techs sitting through entry-level content just to complete a course
  
  
• Newer techs struggling to keep up when the course moves too quickly
  
  

When training doesn’t feel relevant, it’s tough for technicians to stay engaged—and even harder for them to retain what they’ve learned.

To be effective, training needs to match the technician’s experience level, role, and real-world responsibilities. The more targeted the content, the more likely it is to stick, and actually make a difference in the shop.

Read More: One-Size-Fits-All vs. Personalized Training

Cost

Sending a technician back to automotive training school can be a smart investment—but it’s not a small one. And the cost isn’t limited to writing a check for tuition.

• Program and certification fees can add up fast, especially if the tech is enrolled in a full training track rather than a single course. It’s a long-term commitment, and that shows up on your bottom line.
  
  
• There’s also the day-to-day impact on your shop. If a tech is balancing school and work, you might see slower turnaround times or need to shift jobs around. That can put more strain on the rest of your team, especially during busy periods.
  
  
• And then there’s the cost of training that doesn’t stick. If what the tech learns in school isn’t used or reinforced back in the shop, a lot of it gets forgotten. Without follow-up, even solid training loses its value over time.

What Are the Alternatives to Automotive Training School?

The good news is, enrolling your techs in an automotive training school program isn’t the only way to build skills. More and more shops are finding success with in-shop alternatives that are faster, more flexible, and easier to align with business needs.

Digital Training Tools

Digital platforms give you a way to train in-house, at a pace that makes sense for your team. The content is built to reflect real-world shop work, not generic textbook scenarios, and it can be assigned in smaller, more manageable pieces.

Here’s what makes automotive training software work so well:

• Lessons are bite-sized and flexible. Training can be done in just a few minutes a day and built into the normal routine—whether it’s between jobs or at the start of a shift. There’s no need to block out big chunks of time or rearrange your schedule.
  
  
• Content can be tailored by role and experience level. Whether someone’s just getting started or refining a more advanced skill, the material meets them where they are—no wasted time covering things they already know or aren’t ready for yet.
  
  
• You can track progress clearly. Built-in reporting tools show who’s moving forward, who’s stuck, and where additional support might be needed. That visibility helps you guide your team more effectively, without guessing.
  
  
• The learning sticks. Because lessons are short and built into the day-to-day, technicians are seeing and using the material consistently—not just once and done. That regular reinforcement improves retention and makes it easier for techs to apply what they’re learning in real situations.
  
  
• No disruptions to the shop. There’s no travel, no time off the floor, and no added pressure on the rest of the team. Everything happens around your workflow—not the other way around.

In-House Mentoring and Peer Training

Your most valuable training resource might be standing in your shop right now. Pairing newer techs with more experienced team members helps reinforce how your shop operates—your processes, your expectations, and your standard of work.

It also creates an opportunity for experienced technicians to pass down what they’ve learned over time. From diagnostic procedures to problem-solving techniques, these one-on-one interactions help newer team members build real-world knowledge faster and with more confidence.

This kind of peer training also brings added benefits:

• Strengthens collaboration, encouraging teamwork across experience levels
  
  
• Speeds up onboarding, by offering practical, job-specific guidance early on
  
  
• Builds leadership naturally, as experienced techs take on a larger role in team development

When mentoring is intentional, it creates a steady flow of knowledge across your team—and helps build a stronger, more capable shop in the process.

When Is Going Back to Automotive Training School Worth It?

While there are plenty of strong alternatives to traditional schooling, there are still times when sending a technician back to an automotive training school is the right move. It depends on where your team is starting, what your shop needs, and what gaps can’t be filled through in-house or digital training alone.

Here are a few situations where it’s worth considering:

• New techs with no formal training
  If you’re hiring someone just starting out in the industry, a structured training program can help them build a strong foundation. Automotive training school introduces key systems and procedures in an organized way.
  
  
• Shops that need certifications to meet OEM or insurance standards
  Some programs, especially OEM repair networks and insurance partnerships, require technicians to have specific credentials. Automotive training schools can help your team meet those requirements and keep your shop eligible for the work.
  
  
• Shops moving into new specialties
  If you’re planning to expand into areas like hybrid and EV repair or ADAS calibration, and your current team doesn’t have experience in those systems, formal schooling can be a fast way to close that knowledge gap. These technologies often come with safety risks and specific procedures that are sometimes best learned in a controlled, well-equipped environment.

In these cases, the structured, hands-on training offered by a reputable auto training school can deliver real value. Just make sure you’ve weighed the cost, the time investment, and how you’ll continue to support that learning once the tech is back in the shop.

Find the Right Training for Your Team

There’s no one path that works for every technician—or every shop. Some techs thrive with structure, others need flexibility. What really matters is finding a training approach that fits your team’s experience, your business goals, and the pace of work inside your shop.

If you're looking for training that’s consistent, flexible, and built to support real shop life, Today’s Class can help. With short daily lessons that are tailored to individual experience levels and roles, our training is designed to meet team members where they are. 

Want to see how our training could work for your shop? Reach out to the Today’s Class team to start the conversation.