Industry Insight with John Yoswick
—John Yoswick is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon who has been writing about the automotive industry since 1988. He is the editor of the weekly CRASH Network (for a free 4-week trial subscription, visit www.CrashNetwork.com). Contact him by email at jyoswick@SpiritOne.com.
CIC Committees Tackle Ongoing Shortage of Collision Repair Technicians
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It’s not uncommon during discus- said. “No, he was mowing the shop sions within the collision repair in- owner’s yard. When I spoke to the dustry about the technician shortage owner of the body shop about this, with Ed Attanasio for body shop representatives to he said, ‘I had to pay my dues. point to what they see as the inad- They’ve got to pay theirs. As long equate entry-level skills of students as the school keeps sending peocompleting auto body training pro- ple, I never have to mow my yard.’ grams. Educators and others speaking at this spring’swith Collision Industry Ed Attanasio Conference (CIC), however, offered their own perspectives on the issue. “We do not have a recruiting problem. We have a retention problem,” Virginia Oden, a trade and industrial education program specialist with Oklahoma Career Tech, said at with Ed Attanasio Virginia Oden of Oklahoma Career Tech said the meeting held in Oklahoma City. how entry-level technicians are treated when “How we treat our employees is key. they enter the industry impacts whether they If you don’t provide them with opstay in the industry portunity, they will look elsewhere. They will tell you it’s because of My point: Do not assume these kids the dollar. But people do not leave need to do what you and I did.” with Ed Attanasio a job they love and where they feel Bud Center, chairman of the appreciated. They leave because of management, period.” She said she has seen technical education teachers “work hard every day to instill the passion they have for this industrywith into those students, Stacey Phillips and then when they get out into the industry, they are treated terribly. They may leave your shop and go down the street to the next shop. But if they’re treated terribly at that shop, they will leave industry.Phillips withthe Stacey “They can get better work and better hours, with less hard labor, 9800 Hickman Road working at Amazon,” Oden said. Des Moines, IA 50325 “So it’s important once we get them recruited and passionate about what we do, we’ve got to treat them with with Stacey Phillips respect. It’s not about ‘kids to515-252-2599 Fax day.’ It’s every single person who’s www.willisautocampus.com breathing. We all want to be treated M-F 7:30am-5pm with respect.” Speaking from the floor at CIC, Dane Rounkles of American Honda Wide Delivery Area said he once went to a collision with Staceyshop Phillips Competitive Pricing in the Southeast to visit a student interning there while completing the Honda Professional Automotive Career Training program at a local Volvo Genuine school. Parts. “He wasn’t there, and I asked, ‘Did he not show up?’” Rounkles
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CIC Talent Pool and Education Committee, said too often he hears shops and schools pointing to the other as the cause of the technician shortage. “There needs to be more conversation. People need to get on the same page,” Center said. To that end, the discussion at CIC included panelists sharing ideas about ways to improve the technician shortage. Oden said collision repair and other technical training programs in her state hold summer camps that give fifth and sixth grade students some exposure to the different programs. During eighth grade, students tour technical training programs in their area. “It’s all about planting seeds. It’s making students and parents and counselors aware of the opportunities that are out there,” Oden said. “At the same time, having done
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this for a while, the industry tends to want the fruit off the tree. They don’t want to help plant the seed to grow the tree. So they’re not involved in those summer camps and eighth grade visits and sophomore showcases. It’s like anything: If that student has seen your face, they become comfortable with you. You’re building that relationship. You’re starting that investment.” Amber Alley, manager of Barsotti’s Body & Fender in San Rafael, CA, has spoken at a number of past industry events about the success her shop has seen from its involvement with a local college taking part in a pilot project funded by the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation. The students in the two-year program rotate spending eight weeks at school, then eight weeks working in a shop. At CIC, Alley said she sees
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