A panel of aftermarket professionals debate hiring practices during Service Opportunities Learning Days (SOLD) Monday in Las Vegas.Employee and technician recruitment remained center stage Monday at Service Opportunities Learning Days (SOLD) 2016 at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW) in Las Vegas.
Following Sunday’s incredibly detailed and specific corporate recruiting training class from Bob Greenwood, Monday’s event expanded out to discuss how regional and national efforts will allow the aftermarket to overcome its staffing struggle and remain profitable for decades to come.
Both topics were addressed with active panel discussions.
The first, which featured six high school and collegiate educators, showcased how a small group of schools in California’s Central Valley are working to slowly change public perceptions of vocational programs and reinvigorate a technical training boom in their area.
Moderated by Mike Betts, CEO at Betts Company, each panelist shared experiences on how their schools entered the commercial vehicle education world, and how they have worked to develop curriculums and training facilities to entice and educate young people considering a professional technical career.
Betts says the efforts, which have been supported by Betts Company and other local service providers, have kept the worst of the nation’s tech shortage from permeating the region, and have developed a high school-to-service provider pipeline that is benefiting students, educators and the aftermarket alike.
The schools “recognize the importance to step forward and address this need in our industry,” says Betts, and want to do their part.
“We want to be part of a pipeline,” says Efrain Guizar from the Fresno County Office of Education.
“We want to train technicians to step into our program, then step out into your industry,” adds Nick Deftereos, diesel curriculum instructor at Reedley College.
And the best part, panelists say, is their processes replicable anywhere.
They just require commitments from school administrators and support (both through industry guidance and monetary investments) from aftermarket businesses to get a program off the ground.
“If you have equipment or tools … any resources you have that you can give, please send them along,” says another panelist. “Funding is always difficult.”
And for what it’s worth, the aftermarket seemed to immediately respond, as SOLD’s second panel Monday featured nearly a dozen aftermarket suppliers and service providers who seemed ready and willing to commit to similar programs at a local and national level.
Representatives from Bendix, Betts HD, Dayton Parts and STEMCO all committed to aiding technical schools through equipment and component donations, as well as offering specific training on their products at technical schools when available.
The service providers on the panel said they are still having moderate success hiring technicians but are aware of the flaws in their current recruiting strategies. Each said they hope to increase their involvement with area tech schools moving forward, and urged the service providers in attendance to do the same.
Building a national action plan to recruit the aftermarket is a long-term goal. In the meantime the panelists said the industry’s best shot to combat the shortage is to create regional partnerships similar to what is flourishing in central California.
“It has to start at the local level. We have to make young people know there is a good career path out there,” says Gary Smalley, president and CEO at Dayton Parts.
