Though it doesn’t directly increase their bottom line, regular communication with automotive repair technical schools can benefit collision repair shops in several ways, according to industry analysts.
The collision industry reaps the rewards of shop-to-school communication through efforts such as opening their doors for student observation, informing automotive repair training programs of new tools and products, and reviewing the quality of technical curricula.
Recent graduates occasionally can reach out to technical programs to advise them on the school’s tools, technologies and products that didn’t totally prepare them for today’s collision repair jobs, State Technical College of Missouri (State Tech) Automotive Collision Repair Lead Instructor Christian Record told Autobody News.
For instance, three years ago, one grad told instructors about a weld-through primer accepted by all the major OEMs that dried more quickly than the primer State Tech was using at the time.
“Just like that, we got a can of it, and it was everything she said,” Record said. “It was absolutely amazing, worked awesome, and that's still what we use today.”
Consistent communication with recent graduates has also clued State Tech into more widely accepted tools like silicon bronze-specific MIG welders, he added.
“We just weren't putting enough attention” into those types of welders, Record said. “That's really the tool where they're like, ‘Hey, I'm using this every day. We need to see this more. We ought to train on this more.”
From the repair shop perspective, regular communication with technician training schools and offering initiatives like job shadowing help shops recruit and hire responsible and passionate trainees, said Jared Nicholson, director of training and development for Collision Leaders, an MSO with locations in Missouri and Kansas.
“Typically, if they're going to hire that student, there's a little bit extra going on there,” Nicholson told Autobody News. “The shop gets an inside look at who the students are. Do they have a student that comes in and is engaged and wants to learn, is eager, and steps up and tries to get involved a little bit more? Those are the kids that you want to pick up. Those are the kids that care, that are going to want to be there for you guys.”
Record and Nicholson are on State Tech’s automotive repair advisory council, which keeps educators abreast of industry best practices and technologies, and industry apprised of training curricula.
These advisory board meetings give industry a channel to encourage programs to be more methodical about the skills they teach, “instead of a blanket” type of curriculum that overpromises and underdelivers, said Tanner Kemna, owner and general manager of Jefferson City, MO-based Kemna Collision Repair.
For shops, it’s certainly important for new hires to come in with a sound, entry-level skillset and some knowledge of more specialized repairs, noted Kemna, who also serves on State Tech’s automotive advisory council. But it’s key for tech training programs to educate students on the various departments within a repair operation and how they all work together, he said.
“Once they have some of that entry-level stuff down pat — the organizational skills, the communication skills between themselves and the office manager or their production manager or however their certain shop is set up for that kind of communication, that's the stuff that really makes a good technician,” Kemna said.
Schools that zero in on shop operations impart students with confidence to properly perform actions like vetting the full scale of vehicle damage against insurance estimates, locating relevant parts that need replacement or weren’t on the original estimate, and concisely communicating with shop managers so the proper info can efficiently flow through the insurance company to the customer, Kemna said.
“Getting them to where they're a good, organized tech, got a good head on their shoulders, they have real-world expectations coming out of school, that has seemed to be the best hire in my experience,” Kemna added.
Though Nicholson doesn’t get paid to advise State Tech or other tech training programs, he believes that independent shops, even smaller ones, can reap a return on their time investment through communicating with training programs.
Nicholson said shops can let the schools invest time and money into teaching, but noted “it doesn’t cost anything to network.” He recommended shop managers go to industry events, roundtables, conferences and trade shows to be a living part of the training pipeline.
“You need to be there with your voice, making sure you're correcting the programs whenever they're teaching something incorrectly or they're going down a different road that doesn't necessarily help you or the shop out,” he said. “When the smaller stores can get out and be a voice in that, now you're putting yourself at the front of the line with some of these schools. The schools will want to push kids to your door at that point.”
Brian Bradley