Fixed Ops Journal - August 2022 - F6

FIXED OPS JOURNAL
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Dealerships need a structured plan to turn students into techs
W
JIM BATTAGLIA
GUEST COLUMNIST
e're hearing a lot
about the
number of
unfi lled jobs in the
automotive
profession. But as a high school
vocational teacher - collision
repair, specifi cally - I see a major
issue.
Th ere's a gap between the high
school exit door and the dealership
entry door. In other words, kids
come out of a high school program,
and there's no continuity on how to
enter the work force.
I know that sounds bad, like the
high school doesn't prepare them.
But I'm talking about, how do you
land a job and advance? How do you get to that end game? It's all
situational, and it's all attitudinal. A kid coming into the profession has
to prove their worth, so to speak. Th ere's no written plan.
My program is very structured. Th e body shop business wants a
student who is trained and has a strong work ethic. I get 16-, 17- and
18-year-olds in my program. And even an 18-year-old can still be
working on building a strong work ethic.
Th ey leave a program like mine and go to a place that doesn't have
good structure. As a result, young kids have to come in and push a
broom to see if the shop likes them - even if they've been through my
program and I've given them a bunch of tasks.
Learning on the outside
Our best kids - the ones I'd hire myself if I had my own shop - they
have the work ethic. But most of them are already spoken for or have
PAGE 6 AUGUST 2022
another career path. Some come from a background where family or
friends have a service business.
But the majority of my students have never put air in a tire or turned a
screw with a screwdriver. I'm trying to instill that work ethic in them
while also teaching them technique. But if you work the math, I have an
average of about a minute and 10 seconds individually with each of my
60 to 80 students per day.
Work-based learning away from the classroom is one way to bridge
this gap. But teachers don't have time to do outreach to local
dealerships and independent shops. Students can apply to these places
and work during their classroom time. Some school districts have
work-based learning coordinators who help students fi nd jobs and
monitor them throughout the year. But those resources have dwindled .
Show the way
A former recruiter for Universal Technical Institute who now handles
HR for one of the largest dealerships in metro Detroit likes to use the
phrase " How do you grow your own? "
Th at's what the industry needs to do to get young people interested in
the auto technician and auto body fi elds. Manufacturers, dealerships
and independent shops need to have a structured plan and present it at
schools so the kids know there's a path forward for them.
A good example is Enterprise. Th e rental car company has a fully
structured program, and as employees move up the ranks to
management, they are given benchmarks they need to achieve to
advance. Th at doesn't happen in the automotive tech industry. When
students get there, it's kind of based on the moods of the people in charge.
Instead, come up with a plan. I've got students to fi ll those jobs.
Jim Battaglia worked for 18 years as a restorer, collision repair technician
and service adviser in the collision repair industry before becoming an
automotive collision repair instructor at Warren Consolidated Schools
Career Preparation Center in suburban Detroit 19 years ago.
Fixed Ops Journal - August 2022

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