july2022 - 50

GUE ST EDITORIA L
» Navistar has a comprehensive
dealer network with more than
5,900 technicians that also requires
recruitment and retention efforts.
Photo: Navistar
Connecting employees
The industry must change the perception of
a technician being looked at as a so-called
" grease-monkey " or " mechanic. " A technician
career in today's industry requires knowledge
in cutting-edge technology and diagnostics. This
starts and ends with ensuring technicians are
knowledgeable in their skillsets and have the
option to explore more technologies in-depth.
Just like any good relationship, communicaHow
to build a solid
technician pipeline
Attract and retain technicians
for your operations with solid
partnerships and processes.
In the commercial vehicle industry's ongoing
challenge of finding and retaining qualified
technicians, employers, OEMs, fleets, and
technical schools all play an important role in
ensuring engagement. Everyone in the industry
must work together to create continued
visibility and education of the trades, foster
partnerships between service providers and
educators, and appeal to more young technically
minded individuals. This helps to establish
a pipeline of technicians who are passionate
about starting and maintaining a solid career
in the commercial vehicle industry.
Creating a pipeline
Finding and recruiting technicians is a national
issue with a local solution. A major focus
of combating the technician shortage means
providing dealers responsible for servicing
commercial vehicles the tools and knowledge
to develop relationships at a local level with
high schools and technical schools. When
service providers work directly with educators
to develop these programs, it establishes a pipeline
of future employees who have the proper
training in the fields they are being hired for.
While new hires do not yet have the necessary
industry experience, programs like this provide
proper training that helps with their professional
development.
It's critical to communicate with dealers to
understand their needs and be able to provide
supportive resources, including creating local
connections to a direct source of technicians.
When service providers and educators communicate
and work together, both can benefit. Service
providers share training needs and resources
that can be utilized to educate students, and
educators benefit by creating local connections
to establish job placement and mentorships after
graduation from technician programs.
To put down a foundation for a pipeline,
Ana Salcido, Navistar
TECHNICIAN RECRUITMENT MANAGER
Ana Salcido is the Technician Recruitment Manager for
Navistar, supporting technician recruitment, hiring, and
retention for the International and IC Bus dealer networks.
Salcido joined Navistar in 2012, performing various
roles in the company's Aftersales organization, the Service
Products Support Team, the Employee Resource Groups,
and served as the Graphic Development Manager. Salcido
earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Business
from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores in
Monterrey, Mexico.
Navistar worked to develop a program that
works closely with educators, called the TECH
EmPOWERment program. Created in 2020, this
program provides service managers throughout
the dealer network with solutions and tools
to build a solid culture to attract, engage, retain,
and empower technicians.
The program provides an opportunity for the
dealer network to partner with accredited trade
schools for equipment donations and recruiting.
Dealers also donate vehicle equipment and tools
to these partner trade schools, which are used to
train incoming technicians. It is essential technicians
have experience servicing vehicles with
current and upcoming technologies rather than
the same hands-on tools schools may have been
using for decades.
50 Fleet Maintenance | July 2022
tion and transparency are required. Providing
transparency on company operations, culture,
and benefits from the time of hire throughout
a technician's career has exponential value.
Having a comprehensive onboarding and
training process to ensure technicians feel
comfortable and connected to their peers and
managers also creates a culture of trust.
Education is important for all, not just rookies.
Fostering the development of existing
employees through open communication from
management and regular training to continue
to advance skills showcases the critical need to
learn and stay on top of the quickly changing
technologies in the industry.
Younger generations are becoming less
fond of accumulating debt to attend traditional
four-year schools and want a more direct
path toward a career where they can earn a
living while learning the skills they need. This
provides the perfect opportunity for apprenticeship
programs.
With an apprenticeship, technicians have
a chance to experience hands-on learning
with experienced peers. They get to see the
day-to-day operations of a dealership from the
inside and feel the experience firsthand rather
than hearing about it from a professor. On
top of training with traditional diesel vehicles,
apprentice technicians should get the opportunity
to work on the latest innovations across
the industry, like electric vehicles.
Looking ahead
Technicians will continue to be at the front
and center of keeping the transportation
industry running, and it falls to those closely
involved in every level of recruitment and
retention to provide them with the tools they
need to be successful.
Continued industry partnerships between
service providers and educators will be key.
That's done through fostering relationships
and providing the necessary tools and equipment
to facilitate and learn proper service
processes. It will be critical to reach the
younger generation entering the workforce
who are native technology users, through
gamification and in-bay tools such as virtual
reality and augmented reality, to encourage
interest in the industry.
july2022

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