All-Around Specialist Maintains Platinum™ in All Nine I-CAR® Roles

07/24/2025 by I-CAR

Andrew Selesky's job requires much more knowledge and skill than when he started 20 years ago. He understands why collision repair techs today want to specialize in specific roles, but he thrives on working through every phase of body work—nonstructural and structural, mechanical and electrical, beginning with disassembly all the way through the final quality inspection. As a mentor and master tech who wants to stay at top of his game, he's concluded there's just one logical thing to do: specialize in every specialty!

And that's exactly what Selesky's done. He's worked through all of I-CAR's course catalog, undergone extensive OEM training, earned credentials in every technician and insurance I-CAR Platinum role, and now holds every I-CAR certification in welding and paint (Paint maker certification offered through Alliance Partners). Selesky is as close as it gets to an all-around collision repair specialist.

Selesky's employer, Northside Collision Center—with eight shops in central and western New York—began shifting to a more segmented workflow, assigning tasks like disassembly to student interns. However, according to Selesky, “it may not be a good idea that works for every shop.”

“I want to understand exactly how the car was hit, and I can't tell if someone else takes it apart,” says Selesky. “I get a lot of background information when I do disassembly that helps me diagnose every single concern on a vehicle. I know if measurements should be taken first (before disassembly), because if you have to reattach parts that are bent and damaged to get a measurement, that can be very hard to do.”

Selesky feels he performs best and gets the most job satisfaction when he handles all phases of body work. The other five senior body techsat the Syracuse location work the same way, making every repair needed to get a vehicle “drivable and looking like it's never been touched.” At the same time, they all support one another. When a large part like a bumper or hood needs to be removed or installed, teamwork is what gets the job done.

“I do everything but wash and paint the car, paperwork, and talk to the insurance company,” Selesky explains. However, none of these other tasks are outside of his wheelhouse either. He was a refinisher at his first two jobs after graduating from WyoTech, where he first earned a Platinum and welding certification. He also knows both the insurance and shop side of damage appraising, with Platinum credentials in both the auto physical damage appraiser and estimator roles. Selesky comments that the latter training “gave me an appreciation for how much estimators have on their plate. There may have to hunt for hundreds of parts for just one vehicle. I also learned about avenues I can use like the Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG) website; and if I see something wrong, like an estimated repair time is too light, I know how to report it.”

Only Northside's Camillus location is currently set up for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) calibrations; however, Selesky still trained for the ADAS tech role, earning his ninth Platinum certification in the process. He capped his training at I-CAR's Chicago Technical Center with the Static ADAS Calibration Hands-On Skill Development course. “I need to know what's going on,” he says. “I wanted to get the gist of ADAS repairs. In my new work on Teslas, I have to know how to aim radar sensors and cameras.”

To be a specialist in all specialties, Selesky has a lot more to keep up with than the average technician. Taking full advantage of his shop's training subscription, he's completed 447 I-CAR courses to date and eagerly awaits the release of new I-CAR courses so can he fulfill annual requirements to maintain his Platinum standing. Among his I-CAR welding certifications are aluminum and steel welding, as well steel sectioning. He's also completed 40 courses with Tesla. Independently, he secured licensing from the state to conduct vehicle emission and safety inspections and hopes to pursue additional state licensing to perform damage appraisals.

It's hard to believe that working through I-CAR's entire course catalog would leave Selesky with time for much else.Yet outside of work, he finds time for regular family activities as a father of three, and he meets weekly with a fellow inventor, collaborating on prototypes created with a 3D printer that he built. At one point, he also held a part-time job as a plasma cutter.

Selesky's Platinum credentials are tied to his shop's Gold Class® status which sets them apart and demonstrates their commitment to meeting or even outperforming industry standards.Personally, Platinum gives him “a sense of pride that I'm keeping myself up-to-date and willing to learn what's coming next.”

Selesky feels all the training that went into his nine Platinums “really helped me understand all the (vehicle) subsystems and how everything is interconnected.” He's also become better acquainted with I-CAR industry resources: “Knowing where to get information is a really challenging part of this job. I'm using I-CAR's RTS® portal more and more.”

If there was just one additional Platinum he could recommend, it'd be Production Manager. “I recommend it for every role,” Selesky says. “It helps you understand the flow of work in the shop and ways to be more productive. There's lots of insights on how to multi-task, and that's really valuable if you're paid a flat rate.”

Platinum can also be a pathway to advancement. Selesky's achievements have not gone unnoticed by Northside's management, and he's been offered more opportunities like Tesla training. In the two years since qualifying as a Tesla-certified shop, Northside has gained strong market share and draws three to four Tesla customers weekly who are as far away as a three-hour drive.

As much as he values his own professional development, Selesky's all-out Platinum ambitions are motivated by a desire to help others. When Northside started looking for mentors to guide student apprentices in the same technical education program he had attended in high school, Selesky was one of the first to volunteer. However, to lead these apprentices to success, he needed to close a few gaps in his knowledge. “I knew I'd find the answers I was looking for in I-CAR classes” he explains.

The end goal was not to get part-time sweepers and car washers, but to find future quality technicians. “That was about seven years ago, and I had good success,” Selesky says. “I worked with my first apprentice a whole year and he grew and is still with us today.”

Selesky's success led to an expansion of mentoring at Northside. New student apprentices first learn the basics from mentors at the Liverpool shop location, then the most promising apprentices are placed under Selesky's guidance. Reflecting on the support he received early on, Selesky emphasizes the importance of mentorship in his journey:

“It's been a way to give back to the industry. I had a lot of help from high school teachers and was shown the ropes by the techs at the shop where I interned. One time my dad had to pick me up, and he talked to the guys in the shop. They told him I was really good and if I stayed with it, I'd do very well. From there, my dad was very supportive that I go to WyoTech.”

This encouragement made all the difference to the teenaged Selesky. This multi-tasking, problem-solving, high-achiever might have just as easily gone down another path and succeeded there. Fortunately for the industry, Selesky was steered into collision repair work. Now, he hopes to do the same for others.