THE STRUGGLE IS REAL, BUT IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE

Supporting future repairers is an industry-wide effort

Column by STEFANO LIESSI

I have been affiliated with the Skills Alberta competition for eight years now—ten if you include the years of having students participate. This year was different for me, an awakening in ways you could say about the need for continued industry support. For those unfamiliar with this monumental extravaganza, it is equivalent to the Olympics for sports, but it is for trades. The Skills Alberta competition is a platform that brings together potential future technicians from various trades over two days. It is a sea of potential candidates that you will only get the opportunity once a year to connect with, and first impressions are the foundation of lasting impressions. When you are a part of this event, it fosters a sense of community and camaraderie, drawing out a level of passion for the industry and trades that is equivalent to an addiction (mine being ice cream). There are MILLIONS of dollars poured into this event from sponsors and supporters, whom I cannot express enough gratitude towards. Investment in equipment, manpower, consumables, time, etc. If only you knew the effort, put out by all the volunteers, to say the least, it is humbling. This year, there was a slight increase in support from some representing industry. To keep this article unbiased, I will refrain from putting out names in an effort of fairness.

It is not only with the direct industry in general that I issue a call to action, but also with the institution of education and insurance. I am constantly hearing about the tech shortage and the lack of available skill sets in our collision industry, how facilities have constant postings for technicians, be it refinish or collision repair, how, to quote Joe Pesci, “we need to attract more youth,” into the industry. If you walk through the Skills event and consciously think, “we don’t need to be a part of Skills,” get out. You should not be affiliated with education, period. I cannot tell you how often I heard, ‘yeah, we are not participating, too much effort, not worth it, costs too much, no time, no resources…’ These words make me wretch, sorry, not sorry. As I see it, these are all excuses for a lack of commitment, comprehension, acknowledgement, and passion. The negligence on behalf of our education system regarding trades is, frankly, repulsive. I won’t even begin to discuss the sheer ignorance of what Bill Speed (a very long-time passionate supporter of Skills) in Ontario is experiencing with the rampant lack of brilliance affecting high school programs. To this day, the negative stigma towards trades is stronger than ever; the irony is that lawyers, doctors, educational administrators, and university graduates still rely on trades to function… the world would cease to exist without trades. I’m not going to get into the rabbit hole on this; I have written about it numerous times (The Stigma Within, Bureaucracy Destroys Innovation, etc.). I digress… To my point, ‘Skills’ need to be put at the forefront of education; it’s a moral obligation and a student right. Teachers are required in Alberta to put in a defined number of volunteer hours (I will assume the same applies to other provinces) for extracurricular activities (coaching, supervision, support groups, etc.). Yet, does participating in Skills not qualify? Skills should be mandatory for any school that offers any CTS program. Many administrators think their school board is the next Amazon for some unfounded reason. It’s education, not business.

However, to give credit where credit is due, to the teachers who sent high school students to Skills this year, congratulations on your support of a worthy industry; some exemplary candidates were showing their abilities. To industry, it is evident that techs with apprentices under their wing must embrace these youngsters and let them gain experience. It is a disservice to have them participate in an unprepared state. It will not help them develop a passion and commitment to the trade if they are set up to fail. This is evident from the numbers at NAIT and SAIT with declining enrollment from 3rd and 4th year sessions. Remember, we will not be on the floor forever; as with all dinosaurs, we, too, must retire. These students need all the support and encouragement they can gain paired up with experience; if you have apprentices that are age-compliant to enter Skills, send them; it will be an experience they will never forget. Each year, a shop in Alberta can claim that ‘the top technician in Alberta works here.’ One shop in Edmonton comes to mind; they pushed this aspect as much as possible, with unconditional pride. I gained a lot of respect and admiration for them because of this. What hit home this year was the call for volunteers. To recruit volunteers, we placed posts on LinkedIn and CRM, put a call out to the industry on an Ezine article, and email broadcasts reaching hundreds of readers (last visual confirmation 673) and followers; we had an overwhelming response of… one. That’s a 0.15 percent response to the call. For you KPI stat hounds… that is dismal. I believe we can do much better.

As I conclude, I hope you see some of the bureaucratic struggles that the industry faces. It is my opinion, and you are entitled to my opinion, that all the players in the collision industry need to pony up. Those who are continuous supporters, there are not enough flowers to recognize your contribution to this event, and for that, I thank you. Next year, every banner/franchise/group, or the such, along with insurers, should have some form of representation out there in every province at Skills; as for shops, we know everyone is busy, and we don’t expect every shop in Alberta to send someone; however, it would be nice to see some effort in this area, be it judging, helping, or sending competitors. Thank you to those who do see the significance and share your experiences. These competitors are the industry’s future; we all started somewhere, give them the best chances possible, and show them we are a great industry with tremendous rewards.