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I know may be preaching to the choir here, but this is to preface what I'm really upset about. I am so angry with our automotive education system that I could scream, but the pain in finding qualified entry-level personnel can’t be captured in my senseless ranting. To alleviate the void of skilled personnel, I decided to become involved in the system that prepares our young technicians and countermen.
After many discussions with our local Vo-Tech Automotive Technology instructor, it was very evident that he wants to produce a better certified, more skilled and well-rounded product. He openly acknowledges that the systems he has in place to train his students need updating. Plus, he would like to expose his classes to modern technology and information gathering and cataloging methodology, in addition to diagnosing vehicle problems. There is only one problem.
I enlightened him on the bureaucracy that governs all educational implementation and curriculum. The county superintendent, the principal of the Vo-Tech center, the instructor and the Board of Education all have to be impressed by my presentation, which showcased how a modern shop — like mine — functioned and the importance of making a few necessary changes to ensure that these students graduated the program possessing current knowledge and skills that better reflect the needs of today’s automotive consumer. Essentially, while it might be important to understand how to install piston rings, today’s consumer will opt for a rebuilt engine or a used engine because of time and price constraints. Practical use of archaic knowledge would be to steer the customer towards a more efficient use of their money and time. Most importantly, time that their prospective repair shop can actually bill.
I first met with the superintendent, and luckily she has been a happy customer of ours for several years. It was a great meeting and she praised local business for getting involved and wished that other business would take the same initiative. My ego requires very little stroking to produce Herculean efforts, and I left her office with a puffed-up chest thinking I was really going to make progress.
Next, I met with the Vo-Tech program principal, who also happens to be a very satisfied customer of ours, She listened intently to all of my ideas and even asked if I would like to be a Vo-Tech advisory council member. OMG! Public service and sacrifice with the possibility of recognition? My head was the size of a watermelon, but beware, this is how you get lured into something that sounds noble, is noble, but yields only frustration. The instructor was also a huge fan of mine, ready for something new and genuinely interested in helping his students.
All of this transpired in May, so we had the summer to get everything in place in order to roll out the changes for the fall semester.
I pulled out all the stops this summer, getting industry representatives to commit some of their time to give class presentations. I spoke with other industry officials about modern certification programs. I even got a diagnostic and data services company to set up a program — free of charge — for Vo-Tech centers nationwide to establish a training certification program for our local Vo-Tech. The program is the first of it's kind in the state! I was feeling like this was a sure-fire home run for everyone involved. A huge collaborative effort, and after a couple of years, I might find someone that I can actually look forward to hiring.
Well, we are a few weeks into the fall semester. Some of the new programs have been implemented with a moderate degree of success; but, for all of the work I put into this project, I was a little disappointed. I reminded myself that change does take time, so maybe I shouldn't feel so impatient. Then I went to my first Advisory Council Meeting.
The Vo-Tech principal moderated the meeting and gave a presentation outlining the past year’s performance and the goals for the next 5 years. We have all attended these types of meetings and they can be a little dull, but the attentive ear will hear some things that offer great insight. For me, this inference came after during the explanation of a slide that highlighted last year’s overall test scores and mandated state and federal benchmarks. The principal congratulated all the instructors for meeting federal and state scoring levels required for the Vo-Tech to receive its full allotment of federal and state funds. There were three benchmarks: two required a D grade average and the third required a C average.
I didn't fully appreciate the levity of the situation until I was informed that this was the first time in 12 years this level was reached. What? That's when my hand flew up. "What happens if you don't meet all 3 standards?" I asked. The principal replied, "Our state and federal funds are reduced by a sliding-scale percentage that reflects our scoring, and then the county has to cover the remaining amount of our budget. It has kept us from updating and modernizing a lot of departments because we don't have the funding." At which I quipped, "It sounds to me like you need to attract a higher quality student!"
The sudden crescendo of chatter at first made me think I had somehow insulted the staff. I then discovered I had opened up a wound that seemingly has not healed for several decades. Instead of defending the intellectual integrity of their students, I began to hear horror stories — stories about how the Vo-Tech no longer uses an aptitude test to screen potential students, about students that have nothing but Vo-Tech classes and have had no traditional high school classes for 2 years, about how the grading system for some students is a pass-fail, not an actual grade.
As I inquired about these stories and why these things are happening, I was informed that the students who get first choice for the Vo-Tech classes are those with learning or behavioral disabilities, or expelled students that take “alternative learning” classes. If there is any room left, then it's opened up for other students. I was physically speechless and mentally numb.
This is not a written policy, but one that is understood. Armed with this information, I am unsure of what tactic I will use when I go before the Board of Education to update them on our progress. Quality techs or counterman have to be able to read, do simple math and resource information to solve problems. We see stories in the news every day about factories and companies that cannot find skilled labor. Could this be the real reason? I want my Auto Tech instructor to have a shot at the A and B students, but this type of selective “dumping” results in potential employees for our market that are sub-standard. Every high school graduate does not need to go to college to become a psychology or history major, only to end up with an $80,000 student loan, living at home and working at a fast food joint. Some of these students need to become welders, carpenters, farmers, and we need a lot of skilled auto technicians.
Get involved with your local Vo-Tech; they need our help now more than ever. I hope you don't find out what I did, but I'll bet you'll find out something similiar. I'll keep you updated as soon as I make bail after the next BOE meeting.
