School outreach proves a successful technician recruiting strategy

When it comes to the need for technicians across the industry, we can always talk about the numbers. More than five years ago, in fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was warning that employment of diesel service technicians and mechanics was projected to grow by 12% through 2024, and that 67,000 technicians will be needed to replace retired workers. The transportation industry would also need to add 75,000 new mechanics to meet additional demand by as soon as 2022, according to the BLS.

The American Trucking Association’s Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) formed the Technician Apprenticeship Standards Task Force estimated a need for 400,000 automotive technicians between 2020 and 2024. The task force was formed to establish industry guidelines for fleet maintenance apprenticeship programs.

"It creates a bench of new technicians that are looking for a career, but also makes the industry better so that it isn’t just a warm body being thrown into a shop," said Arica Jackson, who chairs the task force.

If you manage the maintenance of commercial vehicles for a fleet, dealer, or service provider, then you probably don’t need to see these numbers to know that recruiting and retaining technicians has become a never-ending challenge. Or that the skill gap can't be solved by throwing "warm bodies" at it.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem, with shops having to adopt new social distancing workplace protocols to mitigate spread. There are fewer technicians on duty at any one time, while workload volumes have not changed and may have even increased.

But what can you do about it? Local advertising and online employment web sites can help, but more often than not they only attract technicians who are already employed elsewhere. This rotating of resources does nothing to solve the general shortage, only passing the buck to some other shop, and often raises recruiting cost for all employers in a given area.

But there’s another solution. Maintenance organizations can develop partnerships with and provide support to vocational and technical schools. This creates a constantly restocked pool of talent, and ideally enough technicians to meet a community’s demand. It also allows the maintenance experts who understand the current issues facing truck maintenance, such as the rise of diagnostics and soon, electrification, to steer curriculum in a way to provide immediate help to fleets. That could alleviate downtime issues and the need for extra repairs because it wasn't done right the first time.

“Industry and education need to work together to combat the shortage and train the next generation of technicians,” said Greg Kegel, chancellor at Montana State University–Northern, who spoke on recruiting and training technicians during an educational session at the virtual 2021 Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference. “We need each other because more students give industry more employees, and retention improves when industry is involved from the start.”

MSU-Northern found collaborating with industry partners on technician recruiting and training programs as a highly effective approach. For example, the school holds career fairs where industry stakeholders can talk to students about future opportunities, and showcase their tools and equipment. They also set up skills stations to help generate interest.

Partners have also offered scholarships and summer jobs for MSU-Northern students, and even contracts that cover some of the cost of school in exchange for a promise to work for the provider. “Internships not only give students vital real world experience and training; they also help them pay for school,” Kegel said. “That can be a huge incentive because finances can be an obstacle.”

Kegel also noted that the commercial vehicle maintenance sector via high school outreach. That’s especially true because changes in high schools have meant fewer technical and trade programs, meaning students are less aware of career opportunities in those fields. The transportation industry can help open student’s eyes to the possibilities, he added, and for companies with shops in multiple states working with high schools is a great way to get involved locally.

Industry involvement at MSU-Northern also includes assisting with curriculum development and providing regular input on program objectives. For example, Kegel pointed out, as technology changes in an industry students need to learn to adapt to it.

“Industry can help prepare students for new technology in the real world and create super techs capable of using modern equipment to find and fix problems,” Kegel stated. “Electronics is one area that especially needs a constantly evolving structured curriculum as those skills are now required core competencies.”

With the help of partners, MSU-Northern also formed management program options within the school’s diesel curriculum that provide specialized instruction in business, finance and management. The goal is to provide the industry with high-end technicians who are capable of more easily stepping into management roles as well.

“We can all agree that the shortage of qualified technicians is one of industry’s greatest challenges today,” Kegel said. “Partnerships with industry helps recruitment and filling the education pipeline also fills the pipeline for skilled employees. As we find more vacancies across industry than are being filled, working together closes the gap.”

Finding the right candidates

Another part of a successful approach to technician recruiting and training is to use a behavioral analytics solution to help enhance hiring strategies.

Having the right skills is very important but those can be taught, noted JOBehaviors, an analytics provider that works in a number of industries including transportation. What’s much harder is to find employees with the right approach to work.

That thinking is what’s behind the company’s pre-employment diesel technician assessment for targeting candidates with the highest potential.

JOBehaviors notes that for positions such as diesel technician, much of the emphasis in the interview stage is on technical competence, and in particular that becomes a primary goal when there is a shortage of workers. However, when behaviors such as the use of initiative to solve problems and planning and organizing jobs are evaluated, the odds for success significantly increase.