By Mike Davey
Toronto, Ontario — March 9, 2016 — Like many repairers, the leadership team at Prochilo Brothers Auto Collision in Toronto, Ontario, have met challenges when trying to fill staff positions. However, they’ve risen to meet them by growing their own solution.
The facility has aligned with COSTI Employment Services. COSTI provides educational, social and employment services across the Greater Toronto Area to individuals in need of assistance. Their vision for employment services is to provide the right opportunities for the right candidates.
“We seek out those who either already have the skills in place, or would like to develop them,”says Marie Ferreira, General Manager for two employment sites in Toronto. “In some cases, it’s more about attitude than aptitude, but we always try to match candidates with a business where they’ll find success.”
It’s up to the candidates to work hard, but there is an obligation the business has to do as well to give them the best possible start. Just as important, they have to follow a premeditated plan to potentially achieve succession planning within the company.
“We develop a curriculum and a career path to make sure there is some sort of advancement from month to month,” says Adam Prochilo. “COSTI checks in periodically to make sure they’re progressing.”
This method is more of a “grow your own” approach to hiring technicians. Some people have an aptitude for the work but they have little or no experience.
“Some of the candidates have no background in the automotive industry. By aligning with local educational centres and COSTI Employment Services, Prochilo Brothers is contributing to an industry that lacks technical trades,” says Prochilo. “It’s a good way for the industry to attract fresh individuals, people who haven’t yet decided on a career path. We give them a three month trial period. After that, they can decide if it suits their expectations.”
Prochilo makes it clear that it’s not just about finding body techs, or fitting people into a mold that doesn’t suit them.
“The end goal is usually for them to become a registered apprentice, but we focus on people’s strengths to maximize the best case scenario result,” he says. “We get them to learn a little bit of everything to find out what those strengths are. If we feel the individual does not take to a certain position, we try to modify the program and focus on an area that’s more suitable for the individual.”
The true test of any human resources plan is simple. Is it working?
“Currently, we have one candidate registered as an apprentice. The second individual is approximately three months away from apprenticeship registration as per the succession plan we have set out for him and the last employee was better suited towards a Quality Control Coordinator position that meets the strength and expectation of the individual. So all in all, yes! This joint venture is a success!”
For more information, please visit prochilobros.com.
