Thank you to all those companies and individuals that supported students and instructors at TMC FutureTech 2019. More and more of you are asking how and making the investment in our future technicians. For all companies and individuals that did, thank you; you are part of the solution. We are making a difference, as more educators and schools are asking how their students can participate.

Last year, the advisory committee for the diesel program at Forsyth Tech, a vocational school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, pooled their money and together sponsored 12 students to compete. There was also a company that sponsored two students last year and the results were so positive they will be sponsoring six students this year.

What would it take for you and/or your company to get involved and invest in our industry’s future technicians?

 We have now entered the 20th year of this century, and the more than 20-year-old topic of “technician shortage” is still at the forefront of many conversations. Companies that are still doing the same thing they did 20, 10, or even five years ago are still getting the same results.

During meeting after meeting, people continuously ask manufacturers, suppliers, trade associations, and others to come up with a solution. By now, most know my position on this subject, and it’s simple: if you are not involved in your local schools and programs, you are part of the problem. Get involved, make your voice heard, and engage in local programs that can provide you with the workforce you need.

Those of you still looking for that perfect or near-perfect technician should stop wasting money and resources searching for someone who may not exist. Most of the best technicians are being taken care of by their employers, and those who continue to move from location to location are doing so for a reason.

Many schools and course titles refer to our industry as “diesel technology,” and most students who take “diesel” want to work on trucks or heavy equipment. We, as an industry, need to engage these schools and students and let them know what we have to offer. We need to continue to promote the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) and the benefits of the organization and its members. If we don’t, we are just another table with a banner at career fairs handing out trinkets. We need to make the instructors and schools aware of the value of our industry and opportunities at the beginning of their education.

I am asking you to invest in the industry’s future and your company’s future by sponsoring or donating funds for student to compete in FutureTech at future TMC fall meetings. Most of you reading this know the industry has been good to you and your family, and now is a good time to pay it forward.

All contestants need to be enrolled or have graduated six months prior to the date of the competition. You can choose to support a student in a local program or a person you recently hired from a technical school or community college or from the school you graduated from.

I personally support one to four students annually. It is really simple; I take out my credit card and make it happen.

The cost of sponsoring a student typically includes flights to and from the location of the event, a hotel room for three nights (about $195 plus taxes), and the registration fee (normally $200, which includes most meals). My average cost without using miles is about $1,200 per student, but you can use airline miles and/or hotel points to reduce the cost. If there are two students from the same school, at times they will share a room and further reduce the cost.

This is our industry. We need students and schools to know they are important to us and that we are willing to invest in them. We all probably spend this amount of money on things less important in our lives. Also, if you are a parent, wouldn’t you want the industry your child is interested in to invest in them? If your child has been involved in an internship or summer program, then that company or industry has made the investment. It’s your turn to invest in someone else’s child and their future. Don’t be part of the problem, be part of the solution. Get involved and invest in the future.

George Arrants is the vice president for ASE Education Foundation. Arrants works with instructors and administrators to develop partnerships with local businesses and industries through program advisory committees. He is the past chair of the Technology and Maintenance Council’s TMCSuperTech – the National Technician Skills Competition – and TMCFutureTech – the National Student Technician Competition. His entire career has been in the automotive service and education industries.