5 Tips To Grow Your Own Technicians

At the MRAA, our job is to help our members become more successful, so we’re constantly trying to better understand their pain points. In recent years, we frequently hear from dealers that their biggest struggles are “workforce challenges” – often in the form of a lack of qualified technicians.

With a shortage of readily available help in the existing workforce, many successful dealerships have focused their attention on developing talent internally. Here are some tips for growing your own technicians:

  • Create a roadmap. Outline the progression of what it takes to become a master technician. This doesn’t just benefit incoming trainees; it will help all service department employees to understand what their career journey will look like.
  • Set competency benchmarks. Make a list of the training, skills and certifications trainees will require to graduate to technician status. The qualifications in your current technician job descriptions are a good starting point.
  • Develop a timeline. People need to understand how long it will take to move through your program. Estimate the time it will take to acquire the necessary skills.
  • Structure your compensation. If you don’t have one already, you’ll need to develop an incentive-based compensation plan. (To begin, a starting apprentice with entry-level skills should receive about 50 percent of a standard “journeyperson” wage.)
  • Get buy-in. For your trainees to become successful, you’ll need internal champions who believe in the program. The good news is that, if used correctly, an apprentice can increase billed labor for a lead technician — and cover their cost for the first year.

Want more? These tips are all taken from our latest white paper, available online now. MRAA members can download it today for a step-by-step manual on how to design, recruit and evaluate an apprenticeship program. Download the “The Guide to Apprenticeship.”

Not a member? We have a free resource available that covers the first six steps in the planning and design of your apprenticeship program. Download now.