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For the
past several years and for some of you much longer, we have
had an almost desperate need to acquire and retain more mechanics.
We all are searching for the mother lode of experienced, qualified,
journeymen mechanics. But guess what? They are all working
now.
We also
have to deal with the truth that each of your service managers
already has too much work for their staffs. In short, we have
all the business they can handle.
Technical
schools and junior colleges are all looking for more attractive
offerings to lure young men and, yes, women into the mechanical
workforce. And they are having a hard time. We have an uncertain
economy, and yet we still don't seem to be attracting the
smart, hard-working high school students. Where have we gone
wrong?
The AED
Foundation has challenged companies in our industry to commit
to a minimum of 40 hours of training annually per employee.
This is not a very lofty goal, but it's one that many in the
industry can't meet.
Finally,
all types of industries that employ mechanical people, from
aerospace to appliances to computers, are all going through
the same crisis. The National Automobile Dealers Association
recently said another 35,000 mechanics are needed to service
the more than 200 million cars and trucks on America's roads.
Everyone
is competing for these talented and skilled young people.
So what are you doing that is different or special? How are
you making a difference for your business in this competitive
marketplace? The way we answer these questions will determine
the future of the construction equipment industry.
The time
to act is long past due. We need to put on a full-court press,
which can be achieved on many fronts. For openers, we just
don't give technical workers the respect they are due. They
are talented and hard working people with extremely specialized
skills, yet they are typically treated as second-class citizens,
particularly compared to new equipment reps.
It is
a serious problem.
At AED's
convention in Anaheim, we had a panel discussion with five
very talented managers from leading construction equipment
dealerships and manufacturing concerns. These executives challenged
us in many ways, including one very compelling remark that
came from George Albright, vice president of product support
for Volvo Construction Equipment. George challenged each and
every AED member to initiate an incentive program for mechanics
and other workers in their service departments. This is long
overdue.
To quote
from a popular book of recent years, "The cheese has moved."
Have you? If not, please consider taking all or some of the
following actions.
- Go
to high school career days and extol the virtues and opportunities
in our industry and at your dealership. Make your company
a respected place to work and a leader in your community.
Many of you are already doing this-it is just a too well
kept secret.
- Get
involved with your local technical schools. Offer to provide
instructors-for free. Change the current perspective of
our equipment. Let students know how high-tech today's machines
are. We have extremely complex computerized mechanical systems
and highly effective and productive machinery.
- Offer
scholarships to talented hard-working young people, the
kind available at colleges and universities.
- Work
to raise the credibility of blue-collar work. Not everyone
should go to a university. Working with your hands in a
physical environment is a worthwhile calling. Yet society
looks down on technical work. Just look at the tool and
die profession, which is both critically important and highly
skilled. Yet it's a profession that has almost disappeared
from the American workforce.
- Have
apprentice mechanics work alongside your experienced journeymen.
Let the journeymen know it is their job to mentor these
young people. The youngsters can do many different tasks
to leverage the skills of the journeymen while at the same
time gaining valuable on-the-job training.
Don't
stop there. Work with your service managers, because they'll
need additional management help if the number of mechanics
increases. There has to be an up side for them as well, not
just more work and headaches.
Time is
running out. The commitment, credibility and future of the
construction equipment industry is on the line. Are you ready
for the challenge?
I am
confident that you are.
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