Ready to Become an Auto Body Technician? Here Are 3 Transferable Skills You Can Bring to the Job
In any career, people often learn certain skills they can use throughout their professional lives, and even in different careers than the ones they learned them in. These are known as transferable skills, and will often include soft skills such as communication and organization.
A career in the automotive industry means that there are a variety of ways you can apply your skills in the workplace. If you want to get involved in auto body training, here are a few of the skills you may already have that can be an asset in this career.
Product Knowledge Enriches Your Automotive Career
Auto body work involves coming across many different vehicles. In order to restore a vehicle to a gorgeous and safe condition, the technician must have a detailed knowledge of the available resources and products. Auto body technician careers also benefit from an in-depth familiarity with different cars.
Body shop technicians must use their knowledge to make the right judgment to do their jobs efficiently, economically, and effectively. If you already love cars, you might know a thing or two coming into your studies. This passion can be a great asset as you prepare for a truly rewarding career. However, if you’re not very familiar with different makes and models, there’s no need to worry; your training will help you develop all the skills you need to succeed in this career path.
Become an Auto Body Technician with Technical Aptitude
Knowing your way around a toolbox may seem like an obvious skill to have if you want to become an auto body technician, but it speaks to a larger skill known as technical aptitude.
Technical aptitude can be either a learned skill or a natural talent, and includes mechanical reasoning and spatial ability, which are the knowledge of physical and mechanical principles, and the ability to translate visualized ideas. You may have learned technical aptitude from a variety of past work and personal experience, including activities such as using a manual to assemble something. And if you haven’t, don’t worry: your hands-on training will help you develop this skill so that you can step smoothly into your career.
Auto Body Technicians Use Interpersonal Skills
Even though it may not seem important, interpersonal skills are a vital resource that you can learn and use not only in your personal life, but your professional one as well. A great auto body technician does much more than repair dents and fix damaged auto bodies—they also excel in providing quality customer service, discuss the extent and costs of a repair with representatives from insurance companies, and work closely with other members in their shop. This means that they need good interpersonal skills, and must be open and communicative with others.
From talking with friends and family or addressing a customer’s concerns, to collaborating and actively listening to a teammate, we use interpersonal skills every day, and it can enrich our professional lives no matter what career we find ourselves in.
Are you interested in taking your skills to the automotive industry?
Contact your local Automotive Training Centre for more auto body repair career info.
