Dealerships need a plan to turn students into techs

We're hearing a lot about the number of unfilled jobs in the automotive profession. But as a high school vocational teacher — collision repair, specifically — I see a major issue.

There'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. There's no written plan.

My program is very structured. The 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.

They 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.

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 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 find jobs and monitor them throughout the year. But those resources have dwindled.

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?"

That's what the industry needs to do to get young people interested in the auto technician and auto body fields. 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. The 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. That 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 fill those jobs.