Today we have many highly qualified individuals working in the collision industry. However, vehicle manufacturing and construction methods, new materials, accessories and safety systems have made it virtually impossible for anyone to remember everything that they need to know about how to repair every vehicle they encounter. Today, we must provide continuing education and documented repair procedures for technicians doing the repairs and, just as importantly, for those preparing the damage reports and repair plans. We also need to be preparing people for careers in the industry.
We have the opportunity to look at the financial performance and key performance indicators from many shops across the country every month. As we look at their performance and have discussions with the owners and managers, finding staff, technician skills, labor rates, labor margins and productivity become common themes of the conversations. While all are critical to the success of the shop, let’s look now at finding technicians.
Current staffing
In just about every survey you read about the collision industry, you will find that the average age of technicians is increasing. The 2013 Collision Repair Education Foundation survey shows an average age of technicians at 38.7 years old, which is up from 35.5 in 1995. Other statistics in the survey show that almost 20 percent were hired from a non-automotive industry or as their first job. Just less than 8 percent were hired from a related automotive industry. These figures have not changed significantly from previous surveys. Twelve percent were hired directly from a technical school program, up from 7 percent in 2007.
Career and technical schools and colleges
Although the survey shows that 12 percent of technicians were hired directly from a career and technical school or college, I tend to find that shop owners are not sure where to look for these new graduates. I generally direct them to the I-CAR web site (ABRN.com/Schools) and show them the list of approximately 250 career and technical schools and colleges that utilize the I-CAR curriculum. So not only do their graduates have collision repair training, they may have already earned credits that can help the shop qualify for the I-CAR Gold Class designation.
Another source that shop owners may not be familiar with is the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF). While NATEF utilizes industry experts to maintain a current list of national skills and equipment standards, I encourage shops to utilize the NATEF website to find schools that are ASE certified to the NATEF standards (ABRN.com/Accredited). This site allows the user to search for career and technical schools and colleges at both the secondary and postsecondary levels by state or by a radius around their specific location.
First jobs
I find the survey results that almost 20 percent were hired from a non-automotive industry or as their first job very promising for the future of the industry. We need to continue to bring young adults into this industry. It is not acceptable to complain that “they don’t even know how to wash a car” if we haven’t spent the time to show them how to wash the car. So if you have a young adult that has a good attitude, wants to learn and shows up for work on time every day, then spend some time and create a training plan for them.
Apprentice training
When you assign an entry-level technician to a more experienced technician, it is very helpful to have a plan that includes specific tasks to be performed. For example, your plan may be to start with removal and installation (R&I) of bumper covers and as skills progress, move to disassembly and reassembly of doors. If they are in the paint department, start with masking and then move to feather, prime and block or other similar task.
I would encourage you to organize your training plan to include a sequence of learning objectives. For example:
· Task Identification
· Demonstration. The mentor makes sure the apprentice knows exactly what the learning target looks like (e.g., via modeling, visual supports, etc.).
· Perform with Instruction. The mentor invites the apprentice to participate as a collaborator as much as possible (“we work together as a team to ensure that the task is completed successfully”).
· Perform with Inspections. The apprentice performs specific steps within the task with the mentor having periodic checkpoints to ensure successful completion and provide coaching as necessary.
· Perform with Completed Inspection. The apprentice performs the task with the mentor having a final inspection to ensure successful completion and provide coaching as necessary.
· The apprentice acts independently only when fully ready to do so.
Task list and tracking
If we develop a specific list of tasks for the apprentice and mentor to complete, we increase the likelihood of success. Without the plan we make an assumption that the apprentice has already been taught how to wash or mask a car or that they fully understand the shop’s processes, which may be only in the owner’s or manager’s head and not accessible by anyone in the shop. We have created a worksheet for you to help design a plan for apprentices. Try it free for a limited time by going to www.ationlinetraining.com/abrn1412. It also makes a great communication tool for your staff providing the mentoring.
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