A new online ’12 volt university’ has been announced by former Mobile Electronics magazine editor Solomon Daniels and former VP Strategic Partnerships at the Mobile Electronics Association, Kerry Moyer.
Called The Industry School, it is expected to launch later this year, offering a wide range of 12 volt training classes online.
The school is aimed at all levels of training for installers, salesmen, store owners and managers. Suppliers are expected to offer their own product training courses.
Suppliers will have online “classrooms” in which they present training content as standalone lessons or in multi-course programs. They can also add quizzes. Learners can train online any time, from tablets as well as computers. Daniels said, “Students are rewarded for their achievements, and accumulated achievements are tracked across all the classrooms they attend.” He envisions the school as a “University of Phoenix for car audio.”
The school will be free to students (for general classes) and suppliers will pay a certain rate per year based on the number of students they wish to train. Specialized classes might be offered to dealers at a fee.
“The Industry School is the result of taking a long look at our industry and asking, ‘What’s missing?’” said Daniels. “We need a training platform that uses the latest technology to enable everyone to participate without time, financial or travel limitations, within a structure that ensures information is learned, retained and implemented. My vision for The Industry School is to have one or more classrooms for every supplier, with industry professionals logging on daily to absorb new content, learn the latest product features and stay connected to the brands they sell and support.”
Daniels hopes the university will attract not only key suppliers but smaller companies that may not have the resources to attend an in-person trade show.
He also hopes that manufacturers, in addition to creating classes for the products, will create “content that benefits new employees that store owners can use to create their own template for on-boarding new sales professionals and installers.”
To attend a class, students would sign in on Theindustryschool.com website and then see all the classes they are signed up to take. Some of the training might involve watching a video, some might include live zoom classes.
Daniels hopes that the school will eventually create a community of dealers engaged in learning.
Daniels began his career as an installer and retailer, and has held roles in tech support, product development and marketing. He was Editor-in-Chief of Mobile Electronics magazine for 20 years.
Moyers was an owner of retail electronics stores and later a sales representative before becoming a Senior Director at what is now the Consumer Technology Association. He went on to serve as VP of Strategic Partnerships at the Mobile Electronics Association until 2019 and is currently a principal in the consulting firm JKM Business Solutions.
For information on The Industry School’s training platform, contact Solomon Daniels at [email protected]. Suppliers can contact Kerry Moyer at [email protected].
This is great and a good idea!
Great idea!
Great idea!
Kudos! We have needed this for a long time. I hope the manufacturers embrace this opportunity.