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Education, Outreach Programs Seen as Front Lines for Attracting Next Generation of Truck Technicians
We often hear about the truck driver shortages and about job availability for truck drivers, but we don’t put much thought toward what happens when the truck breaks down and what accuracy and expertise it takes to fix and repair a truck in the first place. We don’t hear much about the Truck Technicians who repair and inspect trucks in order to reduce delays due to faulty engines and other truck related break downs.
There is much more education involved toward become a Truck Technician than we might think. Not that long ago it was enough for a person to have a mechanical aptitude and be good with their hands toward fixing something to become a Truck Technician, but there is much more learning and technology related classes now days in order to become a skilled Truck Technician. To become a Truck Technician, a person will need to learn about complex computer diagnostics software, understand fault codes and troubleshoot a myriad of electronic control systems, learn to read schematics, plus be involved in hands-on shop environments.
By having more educated Truck Technicians, the trucking industry can reduce truck break downs and hope for less accidents due to defective equipment. A recent study by the U/S Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that from 2016-2026 will be 283,000 job openings for automotive technicians in the repair field. That is a lot of jobs that will need to be filled with more technology oriented Truck Technicians. Companies are looking for ways to attract new people into the field by making the training more interesting and interactive. The biggest challenge to a technical training school are time and money. The American Diesel program is 12 weeks long and involves hands-on training for 90 percent of the time.
Contributor: Kinga Luczak
About Allyn International
Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance. Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.A., Shanghai, P.R. China and Prague, Czech Republic. For more information, visit www.allynintl.com.
References:
Frantz, G. (2018, May 15). Education, Outreach Programs Seen as Front Lines for Attracting Next Generation of Truck Technicians. Retrieved from http://www.ttnews.com/articles/education-outreach-programs-seen-front-lines-attracting-next-generation-truck-techicians