Proactively Growing the Industry’s Technician Pipeline
About this episode
Lou Olivier, Director of Outreach at the Minnesota State Transportation Center of Excellence, shares his unique background and deep involvement in growing the technician workforce pipeline. He discusses the importance of early engagement through programs like NitroX camps for middle schoolers, the critical role of industry-education partnerships, and challenges such as instructor shortages and curriculum updates for emerging technologies like EVs and ADAS. Lou emphasizes proactive, long-term strategies to sustain the industry and highlights the need for better compensation and support for educators to maintain vital training programs.
Lew Olivier, Director of Outreach at the MN State Transportation Center of Excellence, joins us to discuss growing the next generation of technicians. Lew explains how events like Nitro-X spark student interest in technical careers, what shops can do as a first step to get involved with schools, and how small actions today can have a lasting impact on the technician workforce.
Check out the full video version of the podcast on YouTube!
About the Episode
- Host: Jay Goninen, WrenchWay, [email protected]
- Guest: Lew Olivier, MN State Transportation Center of Excellence, [email protected]
Links & Resources
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- Nitro-X Summer Camps
- Investing in the Future: Measuring Employer ROI in Early Talent Development
About WrenchWay:
- For Technicians & Students: wrenchway.com/solutions/technicians/
- For Shops & Dealerships: wrenchway.com/solutions/shops/
- For Instructors: wrenchway.com/solutions/schools/
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