Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/165243
Product Support ("Solving Our Great Big Workforce Problem" continued from page 34) "certification as the new education currency – documentation of skills as opposed to mastering curriculum." As a former university educator, I couldn't agree more. We are focused too heavily on mastering curriculum at all levels of learning prior to post-graduate degrees. It would be a wonderful change if we started maintaining an inventory of skills – certified skills. The Alternative We Need Let's turn our attention, then, to the technical schools and vocational training. Vocational education has been so disparaged that its few advocates have resorted to giving it a new name: "career and technical education" (CTE). Academic courses that prepare students for getting into universities, by contrast, are seen as the key to higher wages and global prowess. America has a unique disdain for vocational education. Nevertheless, the federal government has supported vocational training since 1917, and today money comes from the Perkins Act, which is reauthorized every six years. But many Americans hate the idea of schoolchildren setting out on career paths – such predetermination, they think, threatens the ethos of opportunity. As wages have risen for those with college degrees, skepticism of CTE has grown too. By 2005 only one-fifth of high school students specialized in an industry, compared with one-third in 1982. The number of 17-year-olds aspiring to four-year college, meanwhile, reached 69 percent in 2003, double the level of 1981. But the fact remains that not every student will graduate from university. This may make politicians uncomfortable, but it is not catastrophic. The Council of Economic Advisers projects fastergrowing demand for those with a two-year, technical-college degree, or specific training, than for those with a full university degree. (The Economist) A Working Example I want to explore a different direction for our industry. One that is tried and proven and comes from Germany. Our friends in Germany know – as we should – that some students are bored by traditional studies. Some don't have the aptitude for college; some would rather work with their hands; and some are unhappy at home and just need to get away. They realize that everyone won't benefit from college, but they can still be successful and contribute to society. Americans often see such students as victims. Germans see these students as potential assets who might one day shine if they're matched with the right vocation. And it has a system in place – a partnership of employers and unions with government – to do the matching and provide the necessary training. You have heard me say that the battle of the coming decades will be for talented personnel. There is going to be a serious shortage of skills required by businesses and specifically our industry. In Germany, there is a partnership between schools, business and, yes, even government. "Germany's apprenticeship programs and its renown as the standard bearer of quality manufacturing are helping companies rejuvenate their workforce with foreigners eager to escape economic malaise," according to Bloomberg online. Germany's unique educational approach is rooted in a guild system dating back centuries. Trainees receive a modest salary during their education and most get a job offer once they complete their apprenticeships. The country's vocational training system combines practical training with classroom sessions and has companies pitching in, offering more than half a million high school graduates annually hands-on education in hundreds of professions, as well as a respected alternative to a university degree. We have some schools in America leading the way with advanced degrees in Industrial Distribution, as well as partnerships between equipment dealers/distributors and manufacturers of construction equipment and local post-secondary colleges, such as those established through The AED Foundation. But much more needs to be done. Germany has high standards in the education of craftspeople. Historically, very few people attended college. In the 1950s, for example, 80 percent had only Volksschule (primary school); education for just six or seven years. Only 5 percent of age-appropriate teens entered college in those days, and still fewer graduated. In the 1960s, 6 percent of young people entered college. In 1961, there were still 8,000 cities in which no youngsters received secondary education. However, all this does not mean that Germany was a country of uneducated people. In fact, many of those who did not receive secondary education were highly skilled craftspeople and members of the upper middle class. Even though more people attend college today, a craftsperson is still highly valued in German society. Germany has developed and maintained a series of technical and vocational schools that should be the envy of the world. Now What? So where does that leave us today? Most dealers in the U.S. need more technicians. Most dealers turn away work requested by customers because of a lack of capacity. Most service managers will say you can't find skilled journeymen technicians, and they are right. The skilled journeymen technicians are all working. The primary need of our customers today is that the service department needs to be more responsive to their needs. This means we can't get to them fast enough. It is not price that is the main criteria for a customer in selecting a source for repairs and maintenance – it is responsiveness. One last thing to note: Our market capture rates for repairs and 36 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | September 2013 34_Slee_Feature_KP.indd 36 8/28/13 12:32 PM