Repair cafes are great for getting appliances fixed. But I think they could improve from volunteers just doing the work to a more instructional format. It’s great that you can watch them work and ask questions. It’s almost a teachng experience in that regard, but teaching is merely incidental. The repairer probes around with the DMM¹ quickly because they want to get answers quickly. Understandably so, as there is usually a line of people waiting to get stuff repaired. They don’t generally have time to explain everything.
But what if instruction were part of the goal? I would like to hang out in the workshop and watch other repair jobs and ask questions. But I get the feeling I would be in their way and slow them down. It feels like it would be unwelcome.
In principle, they could have one repairer who welcomes an audience where he describes his every move. He works slower, but ~5 or so people could learn from it. It could even be recorded and posted on peertube (not Youtube!).
Repair cafes do not accept large appliances because they are working out of classrooms and community centers on weekends, which don’t accommodate bulky things. So I have a broken refrigerator and washing machine that will not get repaired. In principle, a repairer could have a planned session and meet “students” outside to demonstrate and teach large appliance repair.
¹ digital multimeter
Totally agree on the importance of skill sharing.
Sharing skills and knowledge is a big part of RC culture. The idea is 'fix your thing with someone' rather than 'get your thing fixed'. But it does vary from place to place and fixer to fixer.
In the London Restart community skillshares used to be common - fixers gathering together to share what they know (soldering skills, PAT testing, Linux, fault diagnosis, that kind of thing).
Also check out the move towards permanent fixing spaces like Fixing Factories - https://www.fixingfactory.org/ - skills training is a big part of them.