{"id":10174,"date":"2021-03-10T13:34:48","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T12:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=10174"},"modified":"2021-03-10T13:34:48","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T12:34:48","slug":"technician-shortage-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2021\/03\/10\/technician-shortage-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How mentorship programs can help combat the technician shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Implementing apprenticeship programs in fleet maintenance operations can serve to raise the qualifications and experience level of new technicians entering the workforce.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The industry\u2019s shortage of qualified technicians is top of mind for most fleet maintenance operations. Finding and recruiting qualified, experienced technicians has become a daunting process, so many have increasingly turned to a fresher segment of the workforce: students and recent graduates. In order to successfully recruit, hire, and retain young technicians, it is important to have a mentorship program in place that will assist the transition from student to full-time employee.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mentorships, apprenticeships, and internships all provide opportunity to raise the bar of a graduate\u2019s qualifications. However, the implementation and execution of such a program, especially a successful one, can be a challenge. Creating a successful mentorship relationship for students and recent graduates helps new technicians gain the technical skills the industry demands of its future workforce.<\/span><\/p>\n

TMC\u2019s Technician Apprenticeship Standards<\/span><\/h3>\n

The American Trucking Association\u2019s Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) formed the Technician Apprenticeship Standards Task Force to establish industry guidelines when implementing apprenticeship programs into fleet maintenance operations. The task force was formed to help standardize these programs in an effort to help streamline the process of on-the-job technician training.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn a 2020 Supply and Demand Report from the Tech Force Foundation, it said that by between 2020 and 2024, there was going to be a need for 400,000 automotive technicians,\u201d says Arica Jackson, automotive specialist at UPS and the TMC Technician Apprenticeship Standards Task Force Chair. \u201cThe goal is to help with that need.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Apprenticeship Standards also make sure there is a qualified bench,\u201d Jackson adds. \u201cIt would be a shame if we get so tight as an industry that we are just looking for warm bodies. Men and women are riding on our work, so wanting to keep the quality of the industry up is the reason why the apprenticeship chambers are so important. It creates a bench of new technicians that are looking for a career, but also makes the industry better so that it isn\u2019t just a warm body being thrown into a shop.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The trucking and automotive industries are not alone in turning to apprenticeships as a solution to the need for qualified applicants.<\/span><\/p>\n

President Donald Trump signed the executive order (EO) \u201cEstablishing Industry-Recognized Apprenticeships\u201d in June of 2017 to promote the development of third-party apprenticeship programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

As part of that EO, in May 2018, the Task Force on Apprenticeship produced its final report providing recommendations on establishing Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs), designed to provide organizations more tools to create quality apprenticeship programs. The U.S. Department of Labor issued a final 300-page rule that established a system for advancing the development of high-quality IRAPs.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was really important that this task force produced something that could be used whether you have half a million employees or you are mom-and-pop vendors so that everyone can have this opportunity no matter where you stand, because everybody\u2019s hurting [and] everybody needs technicians,\u201d says Jackson of the TMC Technician Apprenticeship Standards. \u201cA lot of companies don\u2019t have the ability to read that 300-page document.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The task force sought a way to take the 300-page ruling and make it into something that anybody could pick up and use immediately to help their shop and their company without sacrificing quality, Jackson explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want a situation where a technician [apprentice] is just a \u2018check the box\u2019 situation, because it\u2019s not fair to the apprentice, they\u2019re not getting quality [training], and safety-wise, you don\u2019t want anyone getting hurt,\u201d Jackson says.\"LaunchedLaunched in March 2019, the Noregon Education Program is now nationwide with nearly 40 participating schools. The Education Program provides students with the technology and resources used in the industry today.<\/span>Photo courtesy of Noregon Systems<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As part of the collaborative development of the standards, George Arrants, vice president of the ASE Education Foundation, recommended the task force fold in like-parameters of a previous industry internship program called the Automotive Youth Education Systems (AYES).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re doing is taking what we learned in AYES and we\u2019re trying to bring the intern\/mentor training up to the 21st century,\u201d Arrants says.<\/span><\/p>\n

The AYES initiative worked with high school programs that met national accreditation requirements to create internships, Arrants explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

The AYES program worked to educate junior year high school students throughout the school year on industry employment opportunities. Between the students’ junior and senior year, students would participate in a paid summer internship with a workplace mentor at a local participating dealership. After an evaluation at the end of the summer, if the student did well and was interested, they could work part-time at the shop with their mentor throughout the senior year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time of graduation, they would either go full-time in the dealership or go on to that dealer\u2019s specific manufacturer training program at a local community college,\u201d Arrants notes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The standards for the TMC apprenticeship program are still under development but are planned to be made available to TMC member companies for free at the upcoming annual meeting later this year, Jackson says. The standards will be presented as a TMC Recommended Practice (RP) which will include an outline for implementing an apprenticeship program into fleet maintenance operations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Included in the standards will be parameters such as a work process schedule, instruction outlines, an application for the apprentice, minimum qualifications, an employer acceptance agreement, and more. There is also a calendar which includes a \u201ccheck-off list,\u201d Jackson explains, which serves as a monthly record to track an apprentice\u2019s progress to help ensure they are gaining valuable experience and not being pigeonholed into select tasks.<\/span><\/p>\n

The mentor<\/span><\/h3>\n

Both Jackson and Arrants agree that the lynchpin of a successful apprenticeship program is the mentor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing you have to realize as an employer is whether your facility is ready to take on an intern or an apprentice,\u201d Arrants says. \u201cIf your shop is caustic and the environment is caustic, there\u2019s no reason to bring on a young individual that is excited about this career, because you\u2019re just going to eat them alive and spit them out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

You have to make sure that your facility and your organization are ready and able to take that individual, Arrants adds. If it is, the most difficult and important decision you will have to make is who is going to be that mentor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important part is to have somebody who is mentor material,\u201d Jackson says.<\/span><\/p>\n

She explains that the TMC Technician Apprenticeship Standards also include details on what makes a good mentor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Selecting who will be the mentor is a crucial decision and arguably the most important piece in establishing a successful mentorship program. The decision should come from more than a technician\u2019s proficiency in maintenance tasks, but also their ability to navigate the shop in more ways than turning the wrench.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got to like working with young people,\u201d Arrants states. \u201cIf they\u2019re already in scouting, or they\u2019re in Little League, or they\u2019re in a church group, those are the types of people who already like working with youth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Working with younger employees, the mentor has a critical role. \u201cThe mentor is to guide the intern through the maze of minutia that goes on in that shop,\u201d Arrants adds. \u201cAt the same time, when they\u2019re doing their hands-on [work], they want to make sure that they provide constructive criticism and oversight as they start to develop in those skills.\u201d\"WithWith a limited pool of qualified experienced technicians, apprenticeship programs offer the industry the opportunity to create a pool of better-qualified applicants.<\/span>Photo courtesy of Noregon Systems<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For many interns or apprentices, it can be their first experience in a real-world shop environment or even their first experience with employment. A mentor will have to not only advise on the technical aspects of the job, but also on the intricacies of being an employee.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t have the personality and the character traits to mentor somebody, it doesn\u2019t matter how great of a technician you are,\u201d Arrants explains. \u201cA lot of times, people think, \u2018We should put our best technician with the intern.\u2019 Don\u2019t ever do that. You want the middle-of-the-road guy or gal. You want somebody who\u2019s in the shop that does a good job; maybe they\u2019re not recognized for a lot of things, but they do good work. They have good work habits and they like working with others. The guy that you don\u2019t want anybody talking to until 3:30 on Tuesday afternoon after he\u2019s had two pots of coffee, that\u2019s not your mentor. And more importantly, your mentor has got to protect your intern or your apprentice from that guy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Engaging an apprenticeship<\/span><\/h3>\n

After establishing that your operation is ready to take on an apprentice and selecting the technician on your team who is most fit to serve as a mentor, the next step is securing an apprentice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jackson explains that the TMC Technician Apprentice Standards includes an amendment which serves as a high-level overview of how to reach out to schools and get the process started. This includes how to talk with local high schools, who to reach out to, and industry resources that have already done the legwork that can assist in connecting with technician education programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t just show up on career fair day and expect all the kids to come running to you,\u201d Arrants advises. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to build your relationship with the students in the school. Maybe you come in as a guest speaker, maybe have the students and the instructors do a field trip to your place of business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrants also acknowledges that with the current state of reality due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a scenario has been created in which virtual platforms expand the reach of a business\u2019 recruitment efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can start building your relationship with the school virtually,\u201d Arrants says. \u201cYou could be a guest speaker from 2,000 miles away \u2026 Since many of the schools are still virtual, their advisory committee meetings are virtual. You can get your feet wet by learning what\u2019s going on with the school without leaving your office.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

An important aspect to consider is that an apprenticeship program is established through relationship building. Building a relationship with technician education programs will only bolster the recruitment efforts a fleet makes in obtaining an apprentice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Education and expectations<\/span><\/h3>\n

Bringing an apprentice into a fleet\u2019s maintenance operation is very different from hiring an experienced technician. One thing that remains the same, however, is that expectations need to be set and made clear for everyone involved. In an apprenticeship, that means communication and transparency with the maintenance team, the mentor, and the apprentice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe big problem is industry is not involved in education and education isn\u2019t teaching what industry needs,\u201d Arrants says. \u201cEducation is still teaching engines. And you and I both know there\u2019s not a company that\u2019s going to put a 19-year-old on a $60,000 engine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrants says schools are often not focusing on areas such as preventive maintenance inspections or trailers. Expectations need to be managed so that if employers are hiring young people or graduates from these schools, they know what\u2019s being taught so they can measure the student against what they should know, not what the employer thinks they should know.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though a gap may exist in technician education and real-world demand, the gap is narrowing thanks to advances in technologies available to students and programs such as Noregon\u2019s Education Program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe work with post-high school institutions that have diesel programs to provide them diagnostic software resources,\u201d explains Ali Kirsten, channel marketing manager at Noregon. Schools enrolled in Noregon\u2019s Education Program receive:<\/span><\/p>\n