June 19, 2020—I-CAR on Thursday announced its "Live, Hands-on and Welding Re-Start Plan," via a presentation on YouTube. In summation, body shops can again take the organization's welding tests and participate in select in-person training or assessments, with rare exceptions.
I-CAR's live courses had been paused earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic.
I-CAR president John Van Alstyne led off Thursday's virtual presentation, and was soon joined by Lori Barrington, associate president, I-CAR delivery. Van Alstyne said on Thursday that I-CAR was on the verge of ending its "pause." The leaders said I-CAR has now reopened in all states.
Any collision repairer with Gold Class or a Platinum renewal date from Oct. 2019 through April 2020 must complete everything except welding by July 31. Those with renewal dates between May 2020 and Sept. 2020 now have a Sept. 30 deadline for all criteria except for welding. Gold Class or Platinum renewal deadlines Oct. 1 or later shall stand.
"The safety of everyone is I-CAR’s number one priority in consideration of the plans and timelines for re-starting our Hands-On Skills Development, Welding and Live courses,” said Barrington. “These are unprecedented times with no reference guide, which is why we designed guidelines to support the safety and health of I-CAR Instructors, Assessors and all of our Students.”
Barrington shared three basic conditions that must be met to proceed with any I-CAR In-Shop training:
- States must be open; currently all 50 states are open for in-person/student educational training courses. Any changes or updates related to individual state guidelines will utilize data from www.kff.org, a reporting source offered through the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit organization focusing on national health issues.
- Customers and students must be comfortable with I-CAR instructors and assessors in their facility.
- Instructors and assessors must be willing and comfortable to deliver training in the facility and area of community.
Requests for in-house training and welding will be addressed on a first-come, first-serve basis, I-CAR officials said. Additionally, social distancing stipulations must be adhered to, and masks should be worn.
More information, provided by I-CAR, can be found by clicking here.
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