(Left to right) Bob Verwey, Christopher Singh, Darcey Hughes, Eric Smith, David Pascual, James Finbow, Callaghan Brown
One of the things we often hear, is how dealers are struggling to find quality young people and bring them into the industry. Whether it’s in sales, service, parts, accounting, collision repair or any number of roles, our industry needs to continue attracting the best and brightest if is to grow and prosper.
It’s something the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) takes very seriously. The association has long advocated for a need to draw skilled young people into the auto retail business and via career fairs, skills competitions and partnerships with colleges and universities across Ontario, the aim is to help today’s young people embark on the road towards a dynamic and rewarding career tomorrow.
This summer, TADA launched its Career Start initiative with the aim of going out on the road and actively promoting automotive education and career programs across the province. Current TADA President Bob Verwey, says that while there is still a consensus that dealers find it hard to attract good people, his own experiences prove that with the right strategy and tools, it really can be done.
Verwey says that like many, he found himself in a position where it was hard to find the right people for his dealer group [OWASCO]. After trying to recruit students in places where schools were running automotive specific programs and finding himself competing with local businesses, Verwey discovered that the best solution lay right on his doorstep in Whitby-Oshawa, Ont. “After reaching out to local colleges and schools I got a call asking if I could join the board of some of these local schools. So I said yes, absolutely.” Verwey discovered that the Ontario government had mandated business leaders to join the boards of these education centres to help support the kids and programs, as well as provide input into the curriculum being taught.
TADA will be taking this bright liveried Subaru on the road with Career Start
Verwey says being able to have input into the curriculum allowed him to make some changes to better prepare students for the work environment. “One of the things we did was create a sales class,” he says. When asked why, his answer was, “everything’s about sales. When you graduate from college you have to sell yourself at a job interview. When you go out on your next date or to your next meeting you are selling yourself.”
Fast forward and today, the local college has its own Dragon’s Den style program, where students volunteer to pitch ideas and sell themselves to local business and community leaders. “You can see who the good ones are,” says Verwey “and a lot of the time, we offer them a job.”
Verwey says connecting with local colleges has proven a great way to bring young people onboard, whether they’re graduates or current students gaining valuable work experience through co-op programs.
“I really encourage dealers to get involved,” says Verwey. “That’s one of the reasons why we developed Career Start and brought [Dave Fraser] on board as education coordinator.
Verwey says that when he was appointed as TADA President, one of the first things he did was ask dealers what they wanted from TADA. “The number one response we got was ‘find us good people, we need good people.”
Today, OWASCO can boast a solid recruitment strategy, finding suitable candidates for every area of operations via co-op and college/university programs. Verwey says that for dealers across the province and beyond, now is an especially important time for recruitment considering a lot of the baby boomers’ children are now entering the labour force. “There’s this echo,” he says. “Kids are coming out of college now and they’re looking for jobs.” He says that the sheer size and variety of roles available in the auto industry has meant those who might not have considered a position in it, are finding their feet. “I have one young lady in our Audi store who trained as a paralegal but she couldn’t find a position in that field. Now she’s working in the car business and can work her way up. This is an exciting business.”
Verwey says that one thing about the auto industry, whether things are good or bad is that there’s always opportunity. “Even if our future is electric, there will still be a need to sell and service cars,” he says. “Our technicians will still have to diagnose and fix problems, they’ll still have to service brakes, suspension and tires.” He says one of the most valuable pieces of advice he ever received was that when business in the dealership was down, to look at the 401 highway that runs close by OWASCO. “There you’ll see all these people wearing their cars out!”
At some point they’re going to need repairs or a new vehicle. There will always be business.”
REACHING OUT
Dave Fraser, who took on the role of Career Start Education Coordinator this past summer, says the goal with the program is to spread awareness among dealers, and also talk to young people and their school/college guidance counsellors across the province about careers in the automotive industry.
“Dealers have asked for an initiative like this, and our first objective was to talk to them about it,” says Fraser.
As schools and colleges get further into a new academic year, the program will start getting into high gear. “We’re doing outreach to directors of education, as well as principals, vice-principals and guidance counsellors with school boards across the province. We’ll also be participating in and hosting our own career fairs.” Fraser says online communication will be a major part of the program in an effort to reach young people, many of whom prefer contact via text or social media channels. “There are different challenges in different parts of the province,” says Fraser. “Those that might be facing a dealer in the GTA are often different to those in North Bay. We want to spread the word as much as we can, with the ultimate goal of taking Career Start to every part of Ontario.”
