Certification programs generate tomorrow’s workforce

Looking at the relatively high unemployment rate, one might believe that there are simply not enough vacant jobs in this country. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Some estimates conclude that more than 600,000 skilled and manufacturing jobs are vacant. However, they can’t be filled because people are not properly trained for these positions.

The United States is suffering from a skills gap that is leaving good-paying jobs unfilled because people don’t possess the necessary technical expertise to do them. This is a problem that’s affecting most sectors of industrial manufacturing, including the automotive industry.

To reverse this trend, employers must get young people enthused about a career as a technician, and then offer them the training needed to succeed. Now is a great time for the private sector to step up and do its part to energize the industry to the technicians of tomorrow. There doesn’t have to be a shortage of skilled workers in this country.
 

Make your passion your profession

One of the first things we need to do is inspire students to pursue a career in the automotive industry. Not everyone is cut out for this career; it takes a special kind of person with passion, skills, and knowledge. For those who do have these qualities, a promising career with great opportunity for advancement awaits them in maintenance.

Often in only two years, young people can receive a technical degree, launch careers, and make decent livings. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean salary for electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment, is about $54,000 – equivalent to an hourly wage of about $26.

In addition to a competitive wage, the career also offers job security. The career field isn’t shrinking, it’s growing. As of 2012, the United States had about 701,000 auto maintenance jobs, and that number is expected to increase about 17% in the next six years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The industry is going to require more trained technicians than ever before. More high school students need to hear this story.

Part of the problem is that manufacturing suffers from an image problem. Many young people probably think a career in manufacturing involves working in dirty surroundings, in a job that gathers little respect and less attention. These stereotypes need to be reversed. Manufacturing shouldn’t be viewed as a consolation career; it’s valued work with strong job security for properly trained technicians.

The reality is vehicles today require a great deal of training and expertise in the production and maintenance. Workers need strong computer and diagnostic skills to troubleshoot vehicles and recommend proper courses of action. That’s where the training comes in. A well-trained technician has a leg up on the competition, garners a higher wage, and is in position for quick advancement.
 

Certifying the profession

Private sector industry can take a proactive role with high schools and technical schools to aid in the training process of tomorrow’s technicians. Snap-on, a manufacturer of shop equipment, diagnostic tools, and repair solutions, has developed a certification program for specific disciplines that schools can teach to their students. Working with the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3), Snap-on is helping facilitate tooling certifications in diagnostics, torque, wheel service, vehicle information systems, multimeters, foreign object damage (FOD), and tool management. NC3 is a network of education providers and corporations that support advances and validate new and emerging technology skills. Today, Snap-on partners with more than 100 technical schools across the country in offering our certifications.

The goal of these certifications is not to teach how a vehicle operates but to teach technicians the proper and best way to use the equipment listed above to become more productive in their jobs. To date, there have been few real standards in how to go about teaching the use of tools and equipment. Traditionally, that responsibility has fallen on each school to determining how to teach torque, diagnostics, and other similar topics.

These certifications provide conformity and an across-the-board standard for the partnering technical schools to provide in-depth instruction on tool use, theory, and application. The certifications are not add-ons; they are integrated into the existing courses offered by the partnering schools. On average, the certifications include about 16 hours of instruction and are blended into the school’s course programming. Upon completion of these courses, technicians become certified in that specific course discipline – making them more productive and well-rounded professionals.
 

Promising future

The future has never looked more opportunistic for people entering the manufacturing profession. The job outlook is strong for those who are properly trained. We see our role at Snap-on as one of empowering young people to help them achieve their dreams by giving them the best opportunities to succeed – and the way to do that is through our partnerships with schools. Having a highly trained industrial manufacturing workforce benefits everyone involved – let’s start promoting the profession today.

Snap-on Industrial
www.snapon.com/industrial

About the author: Andy Ginger is president of Snap-on Industrial and can be reached at 262-656-5815 or andy.ginger@snapon.com.