Shell Lubricants Featuring Pennzoil and Shell Rotella: A Friendly Face to the Student Tech in Need

Shell Lubricants, featuring Pennzoil and Shell Rotella, has been a true friend to the technician through their alliance with TechForce Foundation. TechForce Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on encouraging and supporting students pursuing post-secondary technical education and careers in the transportation industry. We rely on generous associates, like Shell Lubricants, to aid us in championing future techs to and through their education.

Shell Lubricants, featuring Pennzoil and Shell Rotella, recognizes that the techs in training today will become the techs supporting and utilizing their products tomorrow, and seek to build that relationship from the get-go. This foresight and commitment to the future of the industry is admirable. Shell Lubricants’ personal interest in each individual future technician has led them to largely support Life Happens emergency grants. Fully aware that there are just some expenses you cannot put off until after schooling, Shell Lubricants has committed to keeping techs in school no matter what life throws their way. This aid is delivered in the form of on-campus food pantries, as well as on-the-spot emergency relief grants including gas and prepaid cards. Providing students with the help needed to overcome unforeseen circumstances that could potentially derail their education shows Shell Lubricants’ sincere care for the students themselves, as well as a pledge to preserve the bright future of the industry.

In addition to supporting students dealing with emergency costs, Shell Lubricants has also helped fund Pedal to the Metal scholarships, helping students financially in their pursuit of advanced training. Advanced training programs are manufacturer-specific programs that allow students to hone in their skills in a target field. As a lubricant company, Shell Lubricants does not have an advanced training program dedicated to their brand; this allows students receiving financial help through Pedal to the Metal scholarships funded by Shell Lubricants to pursue whichever advanced track they wish to. This demonstrates yet another way Shell Lubricants is committed to bettering each and every tech on their individual journey to achieve their dreams.

Shell Lubricants’ support of TechForce Foundation and our mission does not stop there, though. They have also provided great help to the Foundation itself through lending their marketing expertise and branding managers to help us get started. Their commitment to and relationship with the Foundation in order to bring about the shared goal of supporting technicians in achieving their dreams has been steadfast throughout. This very generous aid helped kick-start the Foundation in enacting our purpose, and for this we are deeply grateful.

TechForce Foundation and Shell Lubricants, featuring Pennzoil and Shell Rotella, look forward to this continued alliance in enabling student techs to overcome the curveballs life may throw their way on the road to achieving the education and careers of their dreams.

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TechForce Foundation is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit that encourages and supports students pursuing post-secondary technical education and careers in the transportation industry. The Foundation distributes more than $1.5 million in scholarships and grants annually, thanks to its generous corporate sponsors and donors. For more information visit
www. techforce.org

About Shell Lubricants
The term ‘Shell Lubricants’ collectively refers to the companies of Royal Dutch Shell plc that are engaged in the lubricants business. Shell Lubricants companies lead the lubricants industry, supplying more than 12 percent of global lubricants volume.* The companies manufacture and blend products for use in consumer, heavy industrial and commercial transport applications. The Shell Lubricants portfolio of top-quality brands includes Pennzoil®, Quaker State®, FormulaShell®, Shell TELLUS®, Shell RIMULA®, Shell ROTELLA® T, Shell SPIRAX® and Jiffy Lube®. http://www.shell.com

*Kline & Company, “Global Lubricants Industry November 2016: Market Analysis and Assessment.

TechForce Teams Up With Arizona Science Center to Create a New Kind of Challenge

TechForce Foundation has partnered with the Arizona Science Center to dream up the CREATE U: TechForce Foundation Transportation Challenge. The world of automotive transportation tech isn’t just junkyards, gears, and grease anymore. The industry is made up of a multitude of shiny, new parts that are constantly in motion. There’s never a dull moment, and this pilot program aims to prove just that.

The CREATE U: TechForce Foundation Transportation Challenge will bring together the resources, experiences, and missions from TechForce and the Arizona Science Center to provide young people with all the necessary tools to apply STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) skills to real-life scenarios related to the exciting and innovative world of transportation tech. This isn’t just tinkering around in an old garage, this is high-tech, cutting edge innovation.

The Arizona Science Center’s CREATE space combines art, innovation, community, and productivity into one spot where people of all ages can come together to create using cutting edge tools and technology (see what the CREATE space looks like by viewing this video). The CREATE space has been used for numerous CREATE Challenges designed to make learning a hands-on, fun experience, but TechForce and the Arizona Science Center are teaming up to construct a whole new kind of challenge.

This challenge seeks to ignite the passion for transportation tech in individuals who are hands-on, tactile learners and problem solvers with an interest in the industry. Projects will be tailored toward individuals who are mechanically minded, always tinkering with things or tearing things apart and putting them back together, and who may not enjoy traditional schooling or simply can’t sit still in class. If that sounds like you, you are exactly the candidate this challenge was made for.

“We are so excited to help get young people involved with the world of transportation tech in a very hands-on way, because these are individuals who learn by doing,” explains Jennifer Maher, CEO of TechForce Foundation. What makes the transportation industry the perfect fit for tactile-learners is its dynamic, active environment. TechForce and the Arizona Science Center want to open these students’ eyes to an exciting future and connect them with the careers they might not even know are perfect for them.

The Transportation Challenge program is currently under development by a national committee of automotive curriculum designers sponsored by ATMC (Automotive Training Managers Council). Two of these 12-week programs are slated to run over the 2017-18 school year. The first will take place this fall (September-December) and the second in the spring (January-April). Twenty 7th to 9th grade students from either Estrella Middle School or Trevor Browne High School will be selected to participate in each cycle. Teachers, counselors, parents, and students themselves are encouraged to nominate individuals they feel would both enjoy and thrive in a program such as the CREATE U: TechForce Foundation Transportation Challenge.

Applications for the fall cycle will be accepted through August 15th.

As Techs Gray, Fresh Faces Needed

As Techs Gray, Fresh Faces Needed

“It was a report on the 2016 Automotive Training Managers Council (ATMC) Conference where the latest discussion concerns how we as an industry can influence young people to come into the automotive field”…….

Download and read the full article at Techs Gray, Fresh Faces Needed


Original article written by Gary Stramberger

For the 2017 Automotive Aftermarket Forecast

Shortage of Auto Technicians Has Dealerships Taking Action

 

Shortage of Auto Technicians Has Dealerships Taking Action

If the sticker shock faced by car shoppers in the showroom isn’t enough to provoke a cardiac episode, a visit to the dealership’s service department might do the job. That’s where a tire-kicking customer is likely to spot the sign announcing labor charges upward of $125 an hour, a rate typical in cities and at the low end for luxury brands.

Besides chest pains, the number might also elicit a gasp of realization: “That’s way more than I earn.”

It’s true that a mechanic wielding wrenches is not paid that hourly rate — the shop’s cash flow must cover sophisticated diagnostic tools and contribute its share toward the dealership’s prime real estate. But top-level technicians in the field can earn $100,000 a year after achieving master mechanic status and five years of experience, said Robert Paganini, president of the Mahwah, N.J., campus of Lincoln Technical Institute.

So, it would be logical to conclude, applicants must be banging on dealership doors for those jobs.

Not quite: It’s the dealerships and auto manufacturers banging on doors, eagerly seeking out candidates at job fairs, trade schools and events for veterans. The shortage of qualified technicians is so acute that a year ago, BMW of North America began its own recruiting program, making its pitch to students at postsecondary technical schools and career fairs. While that may be a common practice for multinational corporations, it’s unusual in that the job openings will be at independently owned BMW franchises.

The shortfall of automotive technicians is not new, but as vehicles have grown more computerized and vocational programs have disappeared from high schools, the situation has become more urgent. No longer is the career path a matter of looking over the shoulder of a patient mentor. Advancing in the profession demands digital skills — a diagnostician who can solve puzzles without physical clues, like an engine bearing that knocks or an axle shaft that vibrates.

John Fox, director of Fiat Chrysler’s Performance Institute, said that the automaker’s United States dealerships could absorb 5,000 technicians over the next two years, having hired 3,000 in the last two. Numbers of that scale give Mark Davis, automotive programs manager at Seminole State College in Sanford, Fla., confidence that his estimate of technician shortfalls — more than 25,000 at American dealerships over the coming five years — is actually quite conservative. Worse yet, there may not be enough training institutions in the country to keep up, Mr. Davis said.

It’s a situation that cannot be ignored. With competition for car buyers cutting into their profits, dealers’ service departments have grown into a vital income source. According to a 2016 report by the National Automobile Dealers Association, 266,000 technicians are employed to perform mechanical and body repairs. Last year, customers at dealerships in the United States spent $18.9 billion on labor charges in the service department. Warranty work, whose costs are picked up by the automakers, accounted for another $9.6 billion.

All along, car companies have operated training programs to convey the specialized repair information peculiar to their new models. But that continuing education is intended to update experienced mechanics. To replenish the entry-level ranks as technicians change jobs or retire — turnover runs as high as 20 percent a year — automakers need to start at a more basic skill level, expanding the range of their own programs and partnering with private technical schools to reverse the technician deficit.

Enrolling suitable recruits is not easy.

“There’s less of a mechanical interest and understanding among young people,” said Gary Uyematsu, national technical training manager at BMW of North America, noting that the biggest hurdle in hiring is the difference in basic skills. “They are not hands-on. Mechanics used to start with some gas station experience. Now the experience a person gets working at a gas station is selling slushies.”

With a traditional source of mechanics largely gone, automakers have had little choice but to take the initiative.

Fiat Chrysler’s approach to bringing in new technicians takes the form of what is now called the Mopar Career Automotive Program. Begun in the 1980s, it operates in conjunction with community colleges and trade schools. Students are eligible for internships, which enable them have an income and gain workplace experience while still in school. There are now 80 affiliated programs, with about 4,000 students working toward certification on Fiat Chrysler products in a 12- to 18-month program or a two-year associate degree

The tuition, according to Mr. Fox of Fiat Chrysler, is equivalent to the cost of one year at a four-year public college. “On completion of the courses, a student has achieved the first two of four levels of expertise,” he added, preparing him or her for a service department position.

BMW, whose vehicles are loaded with electronic technology, has been especially ambitious in its efforts to keep dealerships afloat and car buyers on the road. At the North American headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., where one of five BMW national training centers is housed on a suburban campus, students in the Service Technician Education Program do both textbook and hands-on mechanical work in combined classroom workshops.

The program, known as STEP, has graduated more than 3,500 students since it began in 1996, and does not charge students tuition; costs are covered by the dealership that hires them. A 16-week BMW-specific course prepares students, who are chosen from the top 10 percent of their class in a postsecondary automotive training program. About 400 students complete the program each year, and 94 percent are placed in dealership jobs, Mr. Uyematsu said.

While fundamentals like engine and transmission repairs are taught, some 90 percent of the instruction deals with electronic systems. The typical path of a graduate is to start as a maintenance-level technician whose duties include tire service, wheel alignments and programming electronic features; after six months to a year, a move to a position as a line mechanic is typical.

BMW is among several automakers with programs to recruit technicians. But finding suitable recruits is not easy. “There’s less of a mechanical interest and understanding among young people,” a BMW official said.

One of the most common misunderstandings about the technician’s job is the role of the computerized repair systems, according to Mr. Uyematsu. “Diagnostic equipment does not tell you what’s wrong,” he said. “It’s just a tool, and a diagnostician needs to interpret the messages.”

Lincoln Technical Institute, a nationwide chain that offers both automaker-affiliated courses and student-funded instruction, offers a curriculum of general automotive instruction (in addition to other technical fields like heating and air-conditioning systems) as well as dedicated programs with automakers like Fiat Chrysler and Audi. Lincoln’s students, Mr. Paganini said, are typically two years out of high school and have been working at a job that had limited career opportunities.

Lincoln educates them in both the mechanical and electronic systems, but it also emphasizes soft skills in each class. This is a reflection of the changing environment at repair shops, where increasingly, customers want to talk directly to the technician. The automotive program typically places 60 percent to 70 percent of graduates in new-car dealerships, with other graduates electing to works for tire and parts chains like Pep Boys or Midas.

More recently, Lincoln has added programs to help reverse the loss of high school instruction that was the first step for many career technicians. In this role reversal, local high schools have contracted to send students for part-day classes at the Lincoln facility, where they can complete six of the 13 study units offered in the full-time program.

Providing career paths in skilled trades is valuable for young people who may be technically adept but not especially interested in conventional paths.

Sebastian Torres, 19, of Tarzana, Calif., fits that description. A student in BMW’s STEP classes in New Jersey, he attended Universal Technical Institute for a year before coming connecting with the BMW program. It was, judging by his comfort in the surroundings of disassembled engines, a logical choice: “I knew as a sophomore I didn’t want college,” he said.

That aligns with what Mr. Davis of Seminole State College sees as the solution to the technician shortage.

“Potential students need to be shown that they have a viable career path if they pursue postsecondary training,” Mr. Davis said. “Training new technicians can be costly. However, not having trained technicians can be even more costly.”


Article posted in The New York Times 

FRED R. CONRAD writer & photographs

The Technician Roadtrip Begins

The Technician Roadtrip Begins

(Scottsdale, Arizona) – April 17, 2017 TechForce Foundation and Universal Technical Institute, Inc. are proud to announce the launch of our Technicians’ Roadtrip, which launched on Sunday, April 16, 2017. You can follow the roadtrip at roadtripnation.com, meet the technician “roadtrippers,” and follow their journey.

The actual roadtrip and filming is happening now, and throughout this summer, the footage will be produced for the final PBS show, as well as high school and FutureTech Success microsite content which will be unveiled early Fall.

The three roadtrippers are: Dylan, a current student at NASCAR Tech in Mooresville, North Carolina; Michael, a future student who will be attending the UTI-Sacramento campus in California and Alexandra, who will be attending this UTI-Dallas campus this year.

Roadtrippers:

Michael , Age 18  automotive | technician | roadtrip nation

From Clatskanie, OR

Michael was six years old when his dad finished his passion project: outfitting his 1988 Dodge Ramcharger with a 440 engine he’d built. Even at that young age, the feeling of looking in the rearview mirror and seeing burnout smoke made its impression—it transformed Michael into a gearhead for life. But growing up in a small town with a population of just 1,700 people, Michael has struggled to find a community of fellow car-lovers. That’s why whenever he gets the chance, he heads to Portland, where he’s active in the city’s autocross scene. About to graduate from high school, and heading to school at UTI’s Sacramento campus in the fall, Michael is excited to finally be surrounded by peers who share his passions. But first, he’s ready to hit the road and see the opportunities that exist for technicians nationwide.

Alexandra , Age 18  automotive | technician | roadtrip nation

From Marysville, WA

Alexandra has loved vehicles her whole life: growing up, her summer vacations revolved around taking off-road adventures on her family’s Jeeps and quads. But it wasn’t until she took a small engine repair class in high school that she realized she could get serious about a career as a technician. While she waits to start her technical training, she’s working at her dad’s accounting firm, where she often faces pressure to follow in his footsteps. But whenever she’s stuck sitting in the office, she’s dreaming about when she can next visit the local speedway, or take her Honda 300ex ATV out for a spin. Entering a male-dominated field, she knows she faces some rough terrain ahead; she hopes this trip will introduce her to trailblazing women who can give her the reassurance she needs to continue down her path. Alexandra starts at UTI’s Dallas campus in the fall.

Dylan, Age 19 automotive | technician | roadtrip nation

From Huntersville, NC

Both his father and grandfather work as mechanics, so it’s no stretch to say that working on cars is in Dylan’s blood. But while his mentors were able to enter the field without degrees, Dylan knows that the industry has since become highly technical and crazy competitive—which is why he was the first in his family to leave Wyoming and pursue a higher education. Currently studying at the NASCAR Technical Institute—inspired by childhood memories of watching races with his father—Dylan is almost finished with his technician training, but he’s unsure of where his road will go next. His dream is to use his specialty in interiors and engines to “restore old cars and give them the life that they deserve,” but first, he needs to see all the ways in which he can turn that vision into a reality.

We will continue to keep you posted along the way, and stay tuned for more information on what to expect in the fall, including screening events at our campuses and airings of our Tech Roadtrip episode on PBS.

Many thanks to TechForce Foundation supporter, Shell Lubricants: featuring Pennzoil and Rotella for providing funding so that TechForce Foundation can be a proud sponsor of this fabulous journey!

For more information, contact Jennifer Maher, TechForce Foundation, jmaher@techforce.org or Jody Kent, Universal Technical Institute, jkent@uti.edu.

 


 

Advance Auto Parts Partners With FutureTech Success Campaign To Help Address Technician Shortage

ROANOKE, Va., March 8, 2017 – Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE: AAP), a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider that serves both professional installer and do-it-yourself customers, announced its support of the FutureTech SuccessSM campaign, a nationwide program launched by the TechForce Foundation to recruit and educate the next generation of automotive industry technicians.

 

As many as half of today’s automotive technicians are likely to retire within the next 10 years. The FutureTech Success campaign strives to ignite conversation about the robust career opportunities in the automotive field among middle school and high school aged students, as well as with students’ parents. FutureTech Success is tapping industry influencers and communicating across channels the millennial audience gravitate to, such as video and social media. Campaign organizers are also developing after school and summer programs where students can learn firsthand about modern vehicle technology and its applications to career paths in science, math and engineering.

 

“The automotive industry must do a better job appealing to the millennial workforce. Students today need to know that a career as a technician means using hi-tech equipment and critical thinking to diagnose complex technology and problems. And that the automotive field offers a career path with ample opportunities for growth,” said Al Wheeler, SVP, Commercial Business at Advance Auto Parts. “Advance is proud to support the FutureTech Success initiative to further these conversations across the country.”

 

Advance is committed to promoting technical training and continued education in the automotive industry. Through Carquest Technical Institute (CTI), which operates a 9,000-square-foot R+D Center and offers instructor-led education programs throughout North America, Advance has developed a curriculum of automotive training classes designed to add structure to the career path of individuals entering and advancing through the aftermarket. Classes help address professional repair shops’ need for quality training among their employees, from weeklong onboarding events for new technicians to highly specialized master tech training.

 

Through its support of the FutureTech Success campaign and the TechForce Foundation, Advance will make available to students unique interactive training tools including Virtual Vehicle 3D animations, online repair simulator challenges and demos of MotoLOGIC Repair & Diagnostics advanced search technology.

 

For more information about Advance Auto Parts’ support of the TechForce Foundation’s FutureTech Success campaign, please visit techforce.org/futuretech-success.

 

About Advance Auto Parts

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. is a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider that serves both professional installer and do-it-yourself customers. As of December 31, 2016, Advance operated 5,062 stores and 127 WORLDPAC branches and employed 74,000 Team Members in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company also serves approximately 1,250 independently owned Carquest branded stores across these locations in addition to Mexico and the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, British Virgin Islands and Pacific Islands. Additional information about the Company, employment opportunities, customer services, and on-line shopping for parts, accessories and other offerings can be found on the Company’s website at AdvanceAutoParts.com.

 

About TechForce Foundation

TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) with the mission to champion students to and through their technical education and into careers as professional technicians for the transportation industry. Annually, TechForce Foundation provides over $1 million in scholarships & grants to help students obtain their post-secondary, technical training and is leading the industry-wide FutureTech Success campaign to bridge the skills gap and develop the talented workforce needed to keep America moving. For more information, visit www.techforce.org.

All-Female Crew Makes History w/ Chevy Montage Restoration

 

Bogi Lateiner’s all-female crew makes history with Chevy Montage restoration

 

TechForce Board Member Bogi Lateiner, owner of Bogi's Garage, stands with the completed all female built Chevy Montage

TechForce Foundation national board member Bogi Lateiner spearheads an all-female truck restoration project to inspire more young women to consider the career path and to celebrate the talent of women technicians coast-to-coast. You go, girls!

 

Consider donating to the crowdfunding campaign to fuel this effort. Read all about it: at bogisgarage.com

 

 

 

 


 

Calling Mentors in Phoenix

The FutureTech Success campaign is seeking mentors throughout metropolitan Phoenix to inspire middle- and high-school students in automotive technology.

Beginning in Fall 2017, a pilot program at the Arizona Science Center in downtown Phoenix will welcome 8th and 9th graders to tinker during its transportation challenge one day a week afterschool and on periodic Saturdays. Students are coming from Trevor Browne High School and Cartwright’s Estrella Middle School. Forty (40) students will be lead by Science Center staff, automotive instructors and a team of volunteer mentors from throughout industry.

If you are interested in building relationships with aspiring, future technicians and helping develop their technical skills, please contact TechForce Foundation.  Mentors are asked to commit to 6- or 12-week programs, either one day afterschool and/or on one Saturday a month.

Auto Shop Makeovers

FutureTech Success campaign is dedicated to supporting local auto shop programs in high school and afterschool nonprofits across the country. Too often these programs struggle to get the resources and support they deserve. Our industry NEEDS technicians, so helping to ensure they have access to awesome programs is our responsibility. Industry needs to step up to bring the equipment, supplies, tools, training aids, curriculum, mentors and advisors these programs and students need to thrive.

We are currently engaged in our first ever “Shop Overhaul” in both Phoenix, Arizona and Memphis, Tennessee.

At this time, we need:

1 lift, and more items will be posted periodically.

Advisory Committee members in Phoenix to help Trevor Browne High School become NATEF certified. The committee meets twice a year, and counsel the school on what skillsets and curriculum is graduates need to be qualified for industry jobs.

If interested in contributing, contact TechForce Foundation.

Please share your contact details and a TechForce team member will contact you.


"By connecting students, instructors, industry pros and working techs, the TechForce Foundation provides unilateral support to the transportation industry’s technician recruiting needs… The administration of our Scholarships by the TechForce team has been instrumental in delivering us with a successful method to gain interest from qualified candidates as well as provide our students with additional assistance to complete their education."
Tony Farr
Ford Technical Programs Manager