Diesel tech students maximize opportunity in starving industry
Summary
According to several trade school officials interviewed by CCJ, current students have more computer skills, greater knowledge of industry players and more opportunities thanks to shops that are eager to roll out the red carpet amid a diesel tech shortage. [Click here to download your free copy of the 2022 State of Diesel Technicians report, produced by Randall Reilly and sponsored by Shell Lubricant Solutions] Some shops are so eager to fill positions that theyve bypassed trade schools and gone straight to high schools where fresh graduates with no formal training and no tools — save for perhaps one of their best tools of all, a smartphone — are eager to explore their best options online and catch good paying tech jobs while circumventing the classroom. Sandra Jordan, director of career services at Lincoln Tech’s Nashville campus said hot demand for diesel technicians has them competing for students alongside shops that will initially put untrained recruits to work changing oil and tires before leading them into diagnosis and repair. With attractive recruiting efforts coming constantly both in-person at trade schools and online, technicians entering today’s workforce are frequently expecting and getting more VIP treatment than techs in the past. While today’s smartphone-equipped diesel students are more industry-savvy than their counterparts from a decade ago, phone use can come at a price according to Rachel Obptande, dean of education at Lincoln Tech’s Nashville campus.