By Robert Peters
Where can we get the help we need?
I get the feeling from attending our local Automotive Service Association (ASA) meetings and going to the Congress of Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) that most shop owners are finding it harder and harder to find quality technicians. More good techs seem to be moving into other fields than the number coming into our industry.
What ASA-Kansas City and ASA-Missouri/Kansas have attempted to do is “jump start” the process of finding good techs by making high school students, teachers and counselors aware of the opportunities afforded by the automotive service industry.
We support and attend as many job fairs as we can. And we give students, counselors and parents a presentation on the automotive service industry. We include students so they will understand the need for proper training. We include the parents (who pay for most students' college tuition) and counselors so they will understand what a bright future awaits students who take advantage of the training that is available.
One of the programs that a group of shop owners within ASA-Kansas City put together with Longview College in the Kansas City area is called Automotive Cooperative Education (ACE) Program. The idea of this program is to sponsor a student by having them work in your shop while they go through a two-year automotive program.
The college, student and a shop owner sign an agreement stipulating the shop will employ the student for two years. The student has to maintain a certain grade point average and complete the 18 courses required in this program.
This is the sort of thing we must do now to ensure the future of independent automotive service. I come from the old school of automotive repair and did not keep up with the changing times, but a few years ago I got involved with ASA. Since then I have become more involved, and one of the things I have concluded is that we must try to attract young people into our industry who are willing to use their minds as well as their hands.
In addition, ASA-Mo/Kan has a golf tournament once a year so we can award scholarships to students going into our industry.
I should also mention that ASA national has copies of the career video, “Automobile Technician,” available for purchase. I encourage you to take these career videos to your local high schools and vo-tech schools and spend some time with these young people. (If we don't, it won't get done.)
This year at Longview College we had roundtable discussions with juniors and seniors from area high schools. We talked about their future and told them what we had to offer. Most of these kids had no idea of what we have in store for them if they just go to school and take advantage of the program.
And one of the most important services we offer our shops is our job bank. It's useful in placing trained techs, but also, students can contact the job bank to see if there is a shop looking to sponsor a student in the school-and-work program.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people from ASA-Kansas City and ASA-Mo/Kan who helped come up with the ideas for these programs: Doug Stoll, AAM, The Auto Clinic; Jerry Holcom, AAM, S & S Service Center; Jerry Singer, AAM, Singer's Automotive Service; Roger Hurst, AAM, Hurst Imports; Lewis Maxon, Maxon Automotive; Thomas James "Jim" and Bertha Shannon, Ark Automotive; and of course, Sheri Hamilton, director of ASA-Kansas City and ASA-Mo/Kan.
| Robert “Bob” Peters is the owner of Peters Automotive in Kansas City, Mo.
He has been a member of ASA since 1995.
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