Fixed Ops Journal - June 2021 - F12

FIXED OPS JOURNAL
Shown in an artist's rendering, the training facility at
Father Judge High School will have lifts and other
equipment found in a dealership's service department.
FAULKNER
continued from Page 11
dent to earn his Pennsylvania state-approved
technician certifi cate. Th e fi rst year of the
course is book learning, followed by two years
of hands-on experience paired with a mentor
from a Faulkner dealership.
Younger techs coming to a Faulkner dealership
from trade schools and elsewhere often
don't work out because of their personality or
education, says Joyce, a 1990 Father Judge
graduate. Th at's why the auto group created
its technician mentoring program that pairs
promising new hires with some of the company's
most experienced techs. Th at initial
framework also will be used to help train Father
Judge students, who in their second year
of the program will begin working in service
departments.
" We have some fantastic leaders who chose
not to run departments, but who are fantastic
career technicians, great leaders and good
people, " Joyce says. " If we can get these kids
connected with them, it's a path forward. "
Th e Father Judge graduates are expected to
PAGE 12 JUNE 2021
Diminishing ranks
An analysis by Carlisle & Co. has
estimated an industry gap of 20,000
to 25,000 technicians, when
comparing the number of new techs
dealers want to hire with the number
of new techs entering the work force
each year. To make matters worse,
dealerships are not doing a good job
of retaining their techs. The latest
numbers show that annual technician
turnover is 28%, and roughly 40% of
technicians report they plan to leave
their job in the next 1 to 2 years
(including leaving the industry
entirely).
bring with them traits that fi ll many of the gaps
Faulkner Automotive offi cials identifi ed when
they developed their internal mentoring program.
Don Salmon, chairman of the school's
Board of Specifi ed Jurisdiction, explains the
way souls are molded at Father Judge.
" Th ese kids learn that in order to perform in
the real world, you need to show up on time,
do your job properly, be polite and be knowledgeable, "
he says. " You don't lie. You don't
cheat. You don't steal. We try to develop what
we call the Salesian Gentleman (after the
school's patron saint, Francis de Sales). We
teach these kids to be gentlemen every day, to
respect women, to respect themselves and to
work hard. "
James Hozier, Father Judge's assistant principal
for academic aff airs, worked with Faulkner
Automotive's two fi xed ops directors, Greg
Long and John Komar, to develop the curriculum
the tech students will take in addition to
the state-certifi ed courses. Th e tech program
does not replace regular high school courses,
but rather is an addition to the standard curriculum
and aims to produce a more capable
technician than other schools' graduates. As
envisioned, a Father Judge-trained technician
will be safety conscious, capable of using the
store's dealer management system to properly
create accurate repair tickets and work well
under pressure.
see FAULKNER, page 14
Fixed Ops Journal - June 2021

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