VehicleServicePros.com/10122984
Williams, says. “Technicians
have told us that providing
training is one of the reasons
they like working here. We
treat this as part of a training
program. By making the
events trips that spouses or
families can attend, we also
create a rewards program.
We promote and celebrate
these events to create pride
in the workforce and across
our locations. Hopefully,
the importance we place on
the competitions reflects
how much we care for and
appreciate the hard work our
technicians perform daily.”
CONCLUSION
Technicians want to do a
good job and fix equipment
right the first time. Skills
competitions can provide
them with these opportunities
across the country, and
it’s important to view these
opportunities as an investment
rather than an expense.
As an industry, the TMC
Professional Technician
Development Committee
(PTDC) and other competition
committees have
changed the way individuals
and companies view
and develop training.
They, as well as the suppliers
involved, are starting
to believe these competitions
have made them
and their training better.
“Over the years, we’ve been
able to gather significant
feedback from service
technicians participating in
these competitions,” says
Roger Maye, National Service
Manager with ConMet, and
TMCSuperTech National
Skills Competition station
chair since the event was
established in 2005. “This
has enabled us to refine
and improve our training
and service materials to
provide a more useful
learning experience. We’ve
learned that segmenting the
material into product-specific
sections and making
it more visually appealing
streamlines the learning
process for technicians.”
Skills competitions have
influenced and changed
the perception that technicians
are an asset to their
company. Competitions,
and the subsequent training
that follows technician
performance at these
competitions, are a major
piece of that investment.
GEORGE ARRANTS is the training
consultant for K&D Technical
Innovations (www.kdtechnicalinnovations.
com), the company
that developed and provided
oscilloscope and communication
errors training for WheelTime
truck and coach repair members
and others. As an automotive education
consultant specializing in
National Automotive Technicians
Education Foundation (NATEF)/ASE
Accreditation, Arrants works with
instructors and administrators to
develop partnerships with local
business and industry through
program advisory committees.
These committees help schools
establish, develop and maintain
programs that are relevant to the
needs of automotive, medium and
heavy duty and collision industries
and the community. He chairs the
Technology & Maintenance Council‚
TMCSuperTech, the National
Technician Skills Competition and
the TMCFutureTech the National
Student Technician Competition.
His entire career has been in the
automotive service and education
industries.
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