Staying ahead: Learning and training with Jeremiah Shaw
With over two decades of experience in the auto care industry, Jeremiah Shaw has a wealth of knowledge—and he looks forward to sharing it every day. With technologies emerging at a rapid pace in Canada’s collision sector, Jeremiah knows the importance of staying up to date with the latest developments and training opportunities. As an I-CAR Canada instructor, Jeremiah helps technicians learn about industry changes through various courses for all skill levels.
Jeremiah Shaw, I-CAR Canada
How long have you been in the industry?
I have been involved in the auto care industry since 1997. I worked at Frontier Collision Center in Saskatoon repairing everything from passenger cars to semi-trucks from 2005 to 2014. In 2013, I had the opportunity to join Saskatchewan Polytechnic as an Auto Body instructor part time, and then was hired full time in 2014.
Since then, I have been instructing full time at Saskatchewan Polytechnic in Saskatoon. I joined the I-CAR Canada team in 2015 as a welding instructor and have been running classes on weekends with I-CAR ever since.
Have you always wanted to work in the automotive industry?
As a teenager I was drawn to classic cars, partially due to my father’s interest in classics, and growing up on a farm most of what we owned would have been considered classic—or as some would call it, old junk.
My enthusiasm for cars was cemented when I learned to drive my grandfather’s farm truck, a 1962 Chevrolet C10. I attempted to purchase the truck from him while I was in high school, and when he inquired as to why, I told him that I wanted to restore it in the auto body program that they ran in the high school. He told me he was not ready to be done with the truck, but rather, he made a deal with me that if I did the work to the truck, I could get it from him when he was ready to be done with it.
My journey with this truck is what propelled me to where I am today, which has evolved from a love of classic vehicles to a passion for repairing anything from an internal combustion engine (ICE) to an electric vehicle (EV) and everything in between.
What would you say is the importance of continued collision training?
I have always been a firm believer in lifelong learning and the auto body repair industry is ever evolving with new technologies, repair techniques and repair equipment. As a supporter of lifelong learning, I feel it is partly my responsibility to my students and my trade to challenge myself to the task of encouraging others to this same way of thinking.
As technology progresses, new ways of repairing vehicles are on the horizon and the old ways are becoming obsolete. If people in the auto repair industry ignored or have not been taught the proper repair techniques associated with these new technologies, they could put drivers at risk using old repair methods should a collision occur.
Why should technicians and companies consider I-CAR Canada training?
Utilizing I-CAR Canada training is a great way of keeping current with industry changes. I-CAR Canada offers a variety of courses for both the beginner and experienced technicians. One of my goals as an Auto Body Repair Technician Instructor is to encourage other technicians to continue their training throughout their careers.
Attaining your Red Seal is an important milestone, but it is not the end of a technicians training, merely the beginning. I-CAR Canada is constantly putting out new courses that deal with changes in the technologies that we see on vehicles and is a great way to stay current in our industry. I have completed many of the New Vehicle Trends courses, and I also try to complete vehicle brand specific courses. I have found them to be very helpful when completing specific repairs.
What is the most important aspect of being an I-CAR Canada instructor?
The most important aspect of being an I-CAR Canada instructor is being honest and transparent. I find that it is important for me to remind the technicians that come to me for training understand that I too am a technician. There is a belief that because a person is in a position of education or training that they should have all the answers.
While I wish that were true, it is simply an unrealistic expectation. I may have an abundance of knowledge to share, but I do not know everything. This plays directly into my challenge for all people in the Auto Body industry to be lifelong learners. There is always something to learn in this industry; if you think you are finished learning, I encourage you to dig deeper.
About I-CAR Canada
I-CAR is an international organization dedicated to providing the information required to perform complete, safe, and quality auto repairs.
I-CAR Canada is a training and recognition program run by the Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA Canada), a not-for-profit organization representing, supporting and leading innovation in Canada’s $37.8 billion auto care sector.
Aimed at up-skilling tradespeople in the collision industry, I-CAR training has been available in Canada since 1979 and has been operated by AIA Canada since 2010.