Technician Academy Podcast

In Episode #35 of Technician.Academy’s podcast series, guests Audra Fordin and Julia Lee stress the value of developing your own technicians in today’s repair shops and how important it is to pursue an automotive career if you have a passion for the industry. Audra is the owner of Great Bear Auto Repair and Auto Body Shop in Flushing, NY and is also the founder of Women Auto Know, a resource that educates drivers and strives to improve the overall perception of the automotive industry. Julia also works at Great Bear where she started as a service writer, has since spent some time in the bay, and is currently moving into management. Tune in now to hear more from these two industry experts.

In Episode #34 of Technician.Academy’s podcast series, shop owner and technician, Rusty Flake, gives advice to young people who are interested in the automotive repair industry and explains different career paths that a student can take within the automotive industry. Rusty Flake is the owner of Advanced Automotive Diagnostics & Repair in Whitland, IN, and has been working in auto repair for 35 years. He is invested in the future of the automotive repair industry and recognizes that there are technician shortages and other issues occurring in the industry. He offers his thoughts on how these problems can be remedied. Tune in now.

The 33rd episode of Technician.Academy’s podcast provides an enlightening discussion with guest Matt Fanslow, the Diagnostic Technician/Shop Manager at Riverside Automotive in Red Wing, Minnesota. Fanslow specializes in providing advanced Digital Storage Oscilloscope (DSO) training to current technicians and desires to do everything in his power to improve the overall image and professionalism of the automotive repair industry. In the podcast, Fanslow and host Richard Young discuss the current shortage of automotive technicians and the value of providing visual career paths for the technicians of tomorrow. Tune in today.

In episode #32 of Technician.Academy’s podcast, guests Jon Ross, Adam Karch, and David Charney provide insight into the automotive programs at Parkland College and the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow teams associated with the institution. The three are instructors at Parkland and discuss the two different paths that an automotive student can take once enrolled at the college. Karch and Charney are also coaches for the two Hot Rodders of Tomorrow competition teams that are sponsored by Parkland College, which are comprised of high school students enrolled in Parkland’s duel credit curriculum. On top of discussions about Parkland College initiatives, they chat about the benefits of introducing sabbaticals and what value trained technicians bring to an industry that increasingly needs more talent. Tune in today.

In the 31st episode of Technician.Academy’s podcast, host Richard Young invites shop owner Dan Williford to discuss the issue of trained personal shortages and how the automotive industry can attract new talent. Williford grew up in the automotive industry and now owns Pinnacle Automotive, a six-bay repair shop in Holly Springs, North Carolina. He truly believes in the value of treating each customer with respect and understands the importance of building and retaining trust between the shop and customer and how it directly impacts the success of the shop. Tune in today.

In Episode #30 of Technician.Academy’s podcast series, Richard Young talks with the 2017 Women in Auto Care’s Female Shop Owner of the Year award recipient, Carolyn Coquillette. Coquillette is the owner of Luscious Garage in San Francisco, CA and is also the Founder and CEO of Shop-Ware. In this episode, Coquillette discusses her history in the automotive industry, what her goals as a shop owner are, and some of the things she enjoys most about the industry. Coquillette also explains the importance of properly trained technicians in the bay and the value of shop owners in auto repair. Tune in now.

In the 29th episode of Technician.Academy’s podcast series, Richard Young talks with Founder and CEO of SI AutoPro, Jorge Antico. Antico was a 10-bay auto center owner for four years and recognized a need for shops to develop competitive advantages and provide superior consumer service experiences to its customers. Antico founded his software company in 1999 to give customers accurate assessments of their service needs and serve automotive shops in a number of different ways. In the podcast, Antico discusses his product ServiceIntelligence in detail, explaining how it provides ultra-accurate sales information, increases a shop’s car count, and deepens customer loyalty. Tune in now to hear more from SI AutoPro’s Jorge Antico.

Episode #28 of Technician.Academy’s podcast series provides an enthusiastic conversation with Suffolk Community College student, Antoinette Jackson. Jackson is a recipient of the 2017 Women in Auto Care Scholarship and will be graduating in May 2018 with an Automotive Technology Associates degree. Podcast host Richard Young and Antoinette Jackson discuss Jackson’s decision to delve into the automotive world and what her value as a female technician is and will be. Jackson explains what future innovations and changes she sees the automotive industry undergoing, and she expresses her desire to build a legacy in the automotive industry in the coming years. Tune into Episode #28 today.

The 27th episode of Technician.Academy’s podcast series provides an enlightening discussion with the President and GM of MotoRad America, Matt Buchholz. Buchholz had humble beginnings in the automotive industry, starting as a lube technician then transitioning to the bay where he accumulated eleven ASE’s and Master Technician status. Buchholz grew as an industry thought leader and arrived where he is today at MotoRad America. In the podcast, Buchholz expresses his passion for people and the importance of managing individuals uniquely, as everyone is hardwired in different ways. Buchholz also discusses the current shortage of skilled workers in the United States, why he thinks this has become a problem, what we can do to alleviate the issue, and more. Tune in today.

In Episode #26 of Technician.Academy’s podcast series, podcast guest Jake Tully, winner of the 2017 ASE Technician of the Future Award, discusses why he decided to dive into the automotive industry in the first place and what his thoughts are on the future of the industry and his career. Tully attended Universal Technical Institute (UTI) from 2016-2017 and has received multiple awards in the years since his graduation from high school, including over a dozen Director’s List awards and ten Student of the Course awards at UTI. Tully recently accepted an auto tech position for the BMW Store in Cincinnati, OH and brings a lot of youth and excitement to this podcast. Tune in today.