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Employer Quotes

The quotes below are from employers in this industry: Transportation

They are talking about this topic: Educational Partnerships

 

The quotes below are about this issue:
Many request increased efforts in recruiting students into the automotive repair and commercial trucking industries, mostly at the K-12 level, as well as to recruit students with greater aptitudes for IT work (for technician positions). This was often related to the above-mentioned need to promote a more positive image of automotive careers and the variety of skills, both mechanical and technological, to succeed in the industry. Several respondents are already involved in K-12 partnerships in educating students about the industry.

Employer Quote Region
"Well, if you look at the classification of a truck driver. It's called 'unskilled.' An unskilled classification, which is totally false. That needs to be changed. Because it is definitely a skill and it's definitely a challenge every day. If we're looking it as an unskilled classification, how is anybody going to think that's something they want to go into?" Central
"[One] of the things that's saved our technician programs was that about 12 years ago, we started recruiting at the high school level trying to get them interested. And right now everybody I have everybody is 30 years of age or less." Central
"And if we can have facilities and programs that attract people and promote the careers of drivers, mechanics, and technicians, [that would help]. A lot of kids nowadays just think it's a dead-end job and they don't want to do it. It's not the first choice. It's not glamorous." Central
"Promote it at the younger levels. Right now what we find is we have to recruit our class D drivers and train them up to the class A because I don't have the class A drivers walking in...So trying to get the younger generation to say that trucking is going to be around and it's going to be a career for the future is probably the biggest challenge right now. Somewhere down the line there's got to be a pretty solid sales pitch on why transportation is going to be here. And I think we talked about earlier that nothing gets here without a truck." Central
"Quite frankly, if the feeder systems were bigger, we're all bright enough to hire the bright kids and the good ones. It's just right now, I feel like the general feeling about our business is, 'if you can't do anything else, then why don't you try automotive,' and it's been that way for many years." Metro
"I think what we really need is a glamour campaign. We're sitting here picking out the tricky parts of our business, but I can speak longer and more emotionally about the cool parts of our business. Look at a lot of us. Look what we're doing. I graduated from Richfield and I was a car guy. I liked cars and here I am, so the fact that counselors will say, 'you got to go to college, you're a bright one, you don't want to do that.' Well, that's embarrassing and insulting. I think we need some sort of a glamour campaign to talk about our industry as a viable career choice for the bright young kids. Quite frankly, you give me a larger pool to pick from, I'll pick a good one. How about give me ten of them that [are all good]. That's why I like the AYS programs and the high school programs." Metro
"I think we really have a problem at the high school level getting qualified, smart kids in the program. I work with two different schools, and we're getting a lot of kids coming in on these programs that are special needs kids. They're not the smartest kids. We need people that understand electronics and we need the counselors to position these kids towards the automotive industry. It's not happening right now. We've got some good programs for those significant schools, but they're not utilized." Metro
"When you look at Europe, you don't see that. I mean, I think a mechanic is looked-up to more, but the U.S., those professions seem to be looked down on in the U.S. That just seems to be us Americans, the way we are. I was in Europe a few years ago and a waiter comes up and the guy's speaking six different languages trying to figure out if I'm American or what. You now, it's a high held position, and it's not in the U.S. It's got to start in high school." Metro
"I think somehow you have to recruit a better [student body] to start with. I'm extraordinarily fortunate, because I have a retired tech guy in my back pocket who works for me part time. But every year they get one, two, three, four students that are the superstars. They got the whole package. And then they got a metal class. They're never going to be the top 10. It's not going to happen. And then they got the rest of them...a waste of time and space. I know that's brutal, but you've got to be able to somehow recruit more [good students]. You've got to get rid of that perception that, okay, you're not quite smart enough to do this, so let's put you over in the auto program. You've got to change the image of the program." Northwest
"Now's the time to start growing [the automotive workforce]...but when you can't even get them to come in the door..." Northwest
"And that is really one of the end results: trying to identify these high demand careers, and encouraging students to look at them as opposed to other careers?" Northwest
"I think it's an image thing, first. Everyone's said it's just a mechanic, or it's just this or that. And I don't think [that's] the right way to look at it. I mean, the mechanic has to be an extremely skilled individual." Northwest
"Heavy equipment operator...to be a heavy equipment operator 25 years ago versus today. Hey, it's hugely easier today. The working environment is air conditioned, heated, comfort controlled...versus sitting outside. How do you get the person with [the right] capabilities...?" Northwest
"What you need is [students with an aptitude for IT and mechanics]. 'Well now, you seem to be kind of good with your hands. Let's put you into an auto tech program.' That's the problem we have." Northwest
"I think the health care is kind of a poster child for getting their story out. Everybody understands requirements. For 77 hours I can be a Certified Nursing Assistant, and if I go two years I be a Licensed Practical Nurse. When I was a CNA I made this, and I do that. When I get to LPN I'm going to make this, and I do that. Then I go to Registered Nurse and I make this, and I do that. If I want to go on and become a Nurse Practitioner, I make this and I do that. I don't know if that story is as widely told in the transportation industry or some of those other industries. I think that's part of that perception issue that you have out there in schools and amongst young people. Because young people today are different. They want instant gratification. They want to know what's next and how it's going to work. And seeing that picture of what they want, I think the more we can get that out, I think that's positive." Northwest
"You know, speaking from the recent positions that we've been hiring for, it's virtually zero [women applicants]. Not just on the service side of things, but also in the sales consultants. But absolutely, I think if there was a woman that had good work ethic and drive, they could slaughter anybody. I guarantee it. Guarantee it." Northwest
"That would be my challenge to the educators: how are they portraying [the transportation industry] to get people into their programs, and how are they going to the second-year level and saying, yeah, this is a great career. You can come up...look at the placement. This is 95 to 100 percent, and they're making more [money] than nurses or a person who gets a four-year degree." Northwest
"[T]he pay is a lot better than maybe four years as a lab technician. It's a great opportunity. We just started recruiting at the eighth grade level trying to get into the schools, maybe job shadowing and things like that, and I've talked to a lot of parents over the years." Southwest
"How do you identify future prospects? I always thought it was interesting how the Geek Squad got their employees. They rented a theater in London and showed sci-fi movies and the people that came were the type of people that wanted to work for them. They said it was cheaper than being on Monster.com or any of those. Similar, Northern Minnesota did it, a lot of companies advertise in Field and Stream, and in snowmobiler or rifle magazines, all these sports and field magazines for their professionals because those are people that want what's there." Southwest
"[We are] in a rural area and we have to work to recruit new students...how do we get those business people reaching into the high schools, and maybe even younger, and getting that spark of interest going?" Southwest
"We need support. The programs are necessary. About two or three weeks ago we hosted a Skills USA contest at our school, and we had 44 contestants participate from around the state in auto body and collision. Those are some of the best in the state from all the schools around the state. There's a winner who will go to Kansas City on the national level so on and so forth. We had a lot of public participation and it was very positive." Southwest
"Nobody wants to be a truck driver anymore, you know. Most people get into it now, especially over the last couple of years, because of all these layoffs and so forth." Southwest