Written for the floor
Complex automotive concepts translated into engaging, accessible learning materials for technical and customer-facing staff alike.
Home · About
The Story
From the dealership floor to the learning desk.
How over 40 years with major automotive brands — and across more than 200 dealerships in Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia — became training that works where the work happens.
Professional Summary
The floor comes first.
Steve Sutherland-Tomey is a highly respected Instructional Designer and Resource Writer for CAQA and Career Calling International, with over 40 years of experience in the automotive industry. Across a distinguished career he has worked with major automotive brands including British Leyland in the United Kingdom and Nissan Motor Company in Australia, and as a contractor for Ford Motor Company in Australia. His expertise extends across more than 200 automotive dealerships throughout Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia, giving him a comprehensive understanding of the industry’s operational and customer service dynamics.
For the past 15 years Steve has operated his own training and consulting service, specialising in the automotive retail sector. He is recognised for his deep knowledge of customer experience, dealership operations and performance-based strategies, as well as his ability to deliver practical, results-driven training programs. That focus on customer satisfaction, employee development and change management has made him a sought-after consultant and mentor within the industry.
Alongside the consulting work, Steve has held senior roles in dealer management training, regional service management and dealer operations at Nissan Motor Company, and has provided technical and management training for Datsun/Nissan dealers in Western Australia. His experience also includes executive roles in training and employee development at MaST Australia and PSG International. Today that grounding is turned to a single purpose: translating complex automotive concepts into engaging, accessible learning materials that support technical and customer-facing staff alike.
A resource is only as good as what changes on the floor once the training is over.
The Sutherland-Tomey approach
The Approach
How Steve works
Customer experience at the centre
Deep knowledge of customer experience and customer satisfaction shapes what a program sets out to change.
Dealership reality
More than 200 dealerships across Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia inform how operations are understood.
Performance-based
Performance-based strategies and practical, results-driven training programs — never theory for its own sake.
People developed, not processed
Employee development and mentoring sit at the heart of the work, which is why the industry keeps asking.
Aligned to standard
Resources built so that training stays aligned with industry standards and best practice.
The Role at CAQA & Career Calling International
What the desk produces
Design
Instructional Design
Complex automotive concepts shaped into learning that technical and customer-facing staff can actually use.
Resources
Resource Writing
Training resources written to sit squarely inside industry standards and best practice.
Retail
Automotive Retail
Customer experience, dealership operations and performance-based strategy, drawn from the retail sector itself.
Counsel
Consulting & Mentoring
A sought-after consultant and mentor on customer satisfaction, employee development and change management.
Next step
See the full journey
Major automotive brands, more than 200 dealerships across three markets, and the past 15 years in independent practice.