Attracting young people into our industry: Help to Take Skills USA to the Next Level
Tim Dwyer is an automotive education specialist at ConsuLab, a manufacturer, and provider of automotive training aids. After 25 years of ownership, he sold his business Superwrench Import Auto in Tulsa, OK to pursue a teaching career at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology. There he helped start and instruct the Pro-Tech Automotive Internship program for 12 years. Hear Tim’s previous episodes HERE.
Skills USA Nationals has 103 different contests going on at once. It is all Career and Technical Education under one roof (CTE)Perfectly placed but mostly unrecognized by many in our industry Skills begin locally, then through state and nationalOver 20 football fields full of Skills test stations There is also a World Skills every other year Some countries offer award money and lifetime jobs for the winners of this contest
$36 Million is spent to put on this eventGM donated a 2018 Malibu to the gold medal winner’s programWe need to start bragging about these events that will help attract young people into our industryDesigning a skills contest:Attention to detailAll stations need to appropriately challengingConsistently repeatableHave a real-world applicationEquipment, tools, and information
Bond with parents and a reason to go to schoolSkills show a career pathInstructors need to step up their gameConsulab supports Skills at many levelsAs an industry, we must support this programVolunteer to judge a local contestOffer financial support to help pay for travel to the next level contests
Some state and local winner don’t go to the next level because of funding issuesWe should offer an additional celebration of excellence to all participants and the winnersShops can promote Skills in their own network and communityThis is a spectator sport
A special thanks to Tim Dwyer for his contribution to the aftermarket.Books mentioned in the content library HERELeave me an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one of them.Email Carm HERE.
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