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Training & Developing Young Technicians
Training & Developing Young Technicians
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About this episode
Cindy Barlow from Wiotek joins Jay Gananan to discuss the importance of training and developing young technicians in the automotive industry. They highlight Wiotek's impressive growth, including a new 90,000 square foot training facility and partnerships with major companies like Kenworth. The conversation emphasizes the need for strong industry connections to ensure students are job-ready and the importance of constructive feedback from employers. Barlow also critiques the current state of trade education and calls for better support for vocational training in schools.
Topics:
360 engine
Cars:
Chevrolet Impala
Cindy Barlow, Director of Industry Relations at WyoTech, joins us to talk about how, as an industry, we’ve neglected training young and entry-level technicians. In this episode, she discusses how shops can better support and develop young talent, why early exposure helps students decide if the industry is the right fit, and how fundamentals, soft skills, and early training are essential to improving retention.
Check out the full video version of the podcast on YouTube!
About the Episode
- Host: Jay Goninen, WrenchWay, [email protected]
- Guest: Cindy Barlow, WyoTech, [email protected]
Links & Resources
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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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Technical
Too Afraid to Ask
Car
Chevrolet Impala
"...t going to believe this. But it was a 1969 Chevy Impala two door with a 360 engine was a 360. Does that s..."
The Chevrolet Impala is a big car that many people loved, especially in the 1960s. The 1969 version is famous for its stylish look and strong engine, which makes it a favorite among car lovers today.
The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size car that has been produced by Chevrolet since 1958. The 1969 model is particularly significant for its classic design and powerful engine options, making it a popular choice among car enthusiasts and collectors. Its mention often highlights the nostalgia and iconic status of American muscle cars from that era.
Term
360 engine
"...But it was a 1969 Chevy Impala two door with a 360 engine was a 360. Does that sound right?"
A 360 engine is a type of motor that measures 360 cubic inches in size. It's a V8 engine, meaning it has eight cylinders, which helps it produce a lot of power.
The term '360 engine' typically refers to a 360 cubic inch (5.9L) V8 engine, which was used in various vehicles, including some Chevy models. It's known for providing a good balance of power and torque.
Select text to request an explanation
The day and age of having to learn it all on your own
should be over.
We have neglected training the base.
Beyond the Wrench with Jay Gananan from Wrenchway.
Welcome back to Beyond the Wrench.
My name is Jay Gananan and I am your host.
On today's show, I get to welcome one of my really,
really good industry friends, Cindy Barlow from Wiotek.
We've had Cindy on.
We were just kind of checking to see how long ago it had been
since she had been on the show.
And it was about three years ago, three and a half years ago.
It's been a while.
It's been too long, Cindy.
So welcome back to the show.
Thank you. Yes, it's been a while.
New things happening.
All kinds of new things happening.
You've got the program just ripping and roaring at Wiotek.
Continues to grow.
Continues to do a lot of really, really amazing things.
What's the latest?
What's going on at Wiotek?
Oh, gosh, we're to start since 2001.
We have built a brand new 90,000 automotive facility.
It's called the Dave Kuhn training facility.
Our facilities manager literally did the entire...
He was the general manager for the entire construction.
Started in January of 2001 during COVID
and had it completed by October of the same year.
He's absolutely a remarkable individual.
And so we named the facility after Dave
just to let people know what he accomplished there.
And so all kinds of great things happening there.
We have some brand new, great partnerships.
Kenworth being one of them,
very major player in the industry, right?
And they came in and donated nine trucks.
They actually, we went out to Chillicothe, Ohio
and was able to see the trucks being built
on the assembly line and take a tour out there,
go to the pack car facility.
Just an amazing partnership.
And then United Reynolds, Takiyuchi,
PAPA, Wagner equipment.
It's just amazing, reliable trucks.
Fabulous partnership where they are bringing trucks in
for our advanced diesel program to fix them.
DOT inspected and back out on the road in three months,
completely done from bumper to,
and I like to say mudflap
because our students put a brand new
wild tap mudflaps on every truck that we use.
Yeah, so I don't even really know
where to begin with some of that new curriculum.
We got new equipment in all of our programs.
And literally daily,
we have new employers coming in to work with Wiotek.
We've got a February career fair coming up
with over a hundred employers flying in nationwide
to hire our students.
Exciting times at Wiotek
and we're looking at our new expansion.
We've got the blueprints done, everything is approved.
So we're just waiting to make that move.
We've expanded, oh gosh,
and we've added a welding program.
And that program has been,
and is full through 2026 already.
And within the third class J
of opening that program,
we literally represented 42 states.
So, you know, we like to say Wiotek is the Harvard
and students are realizing that.
The mindset has been really strong like with the growth side.
I think you've always had that
as long as I've known you where
you're always looking for more relationships.
You're always looking to talk to people.
Where do you get that from?
I mean, did you always have that
or is that something where as you're building this program,
you're like, we do need these partnerships,
let's keep hunting for them.
Well, there's a federal requirement
on for-profit trade schools of placement.
And when you have students,
our average Wiotek student travels
at least 1,000 miles to come to our campus.
So if we have a strong population
of students coming from Texas,
we need Texas employers.
If we have a strong population
of students coming from North Carolina,
I fly out to North Carolina
and that's what I do is I meet employers
and bring them in.
Very important that we have that.
So have I always had that mindset?
I think as in all jobs,
we grow in those and understand what is actually needed.
It's been great to see a full circle,
meaning not only do those employers need to come in
to hire our students,
but what is industry really doing
to make sure that our students are industry ready
on the job they want, right?
And that can't happen without a connection.
And so, what are they doing to work with our campus?
How are they participating in PAC meetings?
I think it's really simple to say,
or for shops to criticize tech schools,
no matter what they are, who they are.
But at the end of the day,
if industry isn't helping those programs
to understand what's needed in the field,
it's easy to keep doing the same old thing.
By opening that communication
and getting industry on campus
and really participating with the teachers
and the coordinators and our VP of training,
I am proud to say that industry is so tuned in to YOTEC
that they donate trucks, they're donating software,
they're providing the trainer opportunities
from all across the OEMs to make sure
that our teachers are teaching what's relevant.
And then, you see those results on our students
and I believe that's why people say,
we'll start a YOTEC student at a tech three
versus just push in the broom.
Keep in mind, we don't tell the students that,
we don't tell them, you're gonna start at the top.
When you're climbing a mountain,
you start at the bottom and you work your way up.
And we set those expectations for the kids, students.
I'm always calling them a kid, they're like much ahead.
I think that, I do that too.
Anyway, yeah, there's a lot going on with industry
and industry is beginning to respond.
I think when you talk about partnerships,
you've done it about as well as anybody I've seen.
And that piece about communication
and that feedback loop is so important,
I think especially moving forward
with all the advancements and technologies
and being able to kind of get that feedback from a shop
to make sure that our curriculum aligns
with what those shops are needing is really important
and it's getting harder by the day.
How do you get that out of a shop?
Because when I've sat through
a lot of advisory committee meetings throughout my life,
it can get really easy to kind of go into those meetings
and just say, you know what?
We need the students to be better at electrical
and kind of then every single meeting
is kind of that same tone.
But it doesn't, it's almost like surface level
where I think if you go a little bit deeper
and understand, okay, electrical, what with electrical?
I mean, is it that they can't use a meter properly?
Is it like, what is it that we're missing here?
I think when the shop, and this is just my opinion,
when the shop comes in with a mindset
that they wanna help the school get better,
that relationship works so good.
If they come in and just point to the school
and any school, right?
Like this isn't a wild tech exclusive,
but any school where you would go in and say,
well, you guys aren't teaching the right things
or something along those lines,
it becomes that relationship that's not,
that feedback loop isn't working.
And I think it's so important for you shops
that are out there, you manufacturers that are out there
to go in with that truly constructive mindset of,
we're in this together, we want to make this program
the best it possibly can be.
And by giving good tangible feedback,
rather than complaining about anything,
I think we move the needle in the right direction.
Am I off base there in terms of like that feedback loop
and the importance of that from the shops?
You're absolutely spot on, actually.
In our PAC meetings, I believe they're very well-rounded.
We take the time to be in the classroom,
we review the curriculum,
we talk about maybe what the holes could be
in the curriculum, but then we take it a whole another step.
We walk them through the shop,
we show them how that curriculum is applied,
and then they are able to give us that feedback
right there of what they see as a whole
or what they see can just be added to the changes
that have come along.
That has been incredibly valuable to us
or is your equipment outdated?
What do you need to be working on that's new?
This is irrelevant.
Are we working on transmissions?
Are we just flipping new ones in?
And I can tell you that turned out to be two-fold.
We do work on the transmissions.
We do take them apart.
We do put them back together.
You know what, during COVID,
when you couldn't find any parts,
our students knew how to put them back together.
That's not something that's taught everywhere.
And so, part of that, it's funny
because when we went through our PAC board meetings,
we were able to explain things like that
and to show this is why we still do the fundamentals.
It's like driving a stick shift
before driving an automatic.
You learn the hard stuff first
and then, you know what's also cool
is that you're able to then apply that
when something breaks down, what was it?
It's not just that you take one out, throw it away
and put a new one in or pop a hole in the engine block
and pop a new engine in, it's how do you fix it?
So they have those kind of skills
but industry is giving us that kind of feedback.
Remember something that, so again,
industry can say, gosh, they came out of a tech school.
And they didn't know anything.
But what are you doing to engage with those programs?
What are you doing to get out into not only the high schools
for the kids who are coming, that's like a shark in a pool.
What about those kids in middle school
when they're really starting to think about their careers
and be on the fireman and the nurse?
And I'm kind of digressing
and going into another direction here quickly
but it's really incredible to me as we look about this problem
of the trades and kids not being taught early on in life.
But I also have to get kind of strong on this comment
and say shame on the public school system
for being just a feeder to a college
that has no requirement for placement,
that simply will teach them marine biology in Wyoming
and then not help them find a job.
So it's not a total ditch on the public school system
but we've let go of those trade programs.
We are not teaching welding like we should.
We've dropped a lot of those FFA programs.
We don't give them the support that they need.
We focus on sports and how are we gonna afford that team
versus what about our other team?
That team that needs to be taught welding,
that needs to be taught the critical job skills
of getting out there into that job field.
So back to the shops.
Do you really want somebody coming in
that doesn't know what a Phillips screwdriver is?
Time, value to money.
Basic business 101, you can grow them
but then be very patient with them
and understand your cost.
Your cost is gonna be exponentially higher
than a student taking the time to go through
a nine month, 12 month trade school
and gain those fundamental basics
and then come into their shop.
But then also remember they have the basics.
They're not coming in as a professional
and remember what it's like to be 18 and 19 years old
again you guys because you have a venom
and a vigor that we're all wearing out with, right?
And those kids are excited about their career
and we should be doing everything we can
to dust them off, push them back out there
and say, okay, you screwed that up but go try again.
And maybe even not in that direction
but don't say, oh, you came from a tech school
and you think you know it all.
The day and age of having to learn it all on your own
is, should be over.
We have neglected training the base.
I got a phone call just the other evening.
My phone starts at six o'clock in the morning
and ends Hawaii Pacific time
and it was an interesting conversation.
He openly acknowledged we have not taught our base.
We have done a terrible job of bringing our kids up
into this trades environment.
So we can sit and talk about dirty jobs all day long
but they make our world go around
and we need our shops to support them and to buoy them up
and to say, get to biotech, get to wherever you're going,
get the best grades, have the best attendance,
be respectful, come out shaking hands and have eye contact
and know those soft skills of how to interview
and understand that process
and then also be willing to know your limitations
and not be afraid to speak up and say,
hey, I need help with this, can you show me?
And as an industry, we need to be wise enough
and we need to be nurturing enough that we say,
come along, I'll show you what I know.
And that was gonna make the difference.
You hit on something there that I think is so underrated
and that is the nurturing of somebody
coming into our organizations.
And I think when you're talking about
when we bring a young person or any student
that is just freshly graduated into our shops
and we don't understand what the expectation is
or what they can realistically do,
a lot of these people are at very young ages,
they still have to figure some stuff out
and realistically, we all do,
we all have battles we're fighting every single day,
every single week, but having some level of empathy
for them in their position and being able to nurture them,
I love that you say that as they come in is so critical
and it's been something that our industry
has really lacked for a long time
as long as I've been around.
And that's, since the age of nine years old,
I've been a part of this industry.
And I think that's something I've seen
over and over and over again.
And there is some level of when a student comes in,
they do have to learn the hard way a little bit, right?
I don't know that we have to communicate it that way.
I think a lot of times maybe that more experienced tech
that's in the shop or a lot of times
you'll have kind of that alpha in the shop
that's like, I had to learn the hard way,
you're gonna learn the hard way.
And you're like, if you could just maybe tweak your messaging
a little bit to help that person out to say,
hey, listen, I know this part stinks
and you're going to get your butt kicked at times,
but there's power in really working your way through
in understanding how to fix a problem
rather than just using a crutch to keep asking other people.
You know, I think that's where we can be realistic
alongside holding their hand
while they're going through that process, right?
And I think expectation levels
for an entry level person at times are just not realistic.
A lot of us want these young people to come in
and put a bunch of billable time out right off the bat.
And you're like, you could just slow down that part
a little bit and allow them to learn the right way.
And maybe don't put all that pressure on them
immediately, let them kind of grow at their own pace.
Easier said than done
because there's pressures on all of us
to perform financially, right?
We've got to be able to have productive shops.
But the shops that I've seen that have really excelled
at this are patient at first, right?
And they take their time developing somebody
fully knowing, you know what?
I could raise this person up and they could leave me.
Like they could go to a different shop.
That's fine.
But I think if the ones that have the mentality
to treat their people right
have much more of a chance
of holding onto that person for the long haul
than if you just kind of chew them up and spit them out.
Like I just don't think that's a healthy foundation
to our industry that we've really struggled with
for a long time.
You know, something that occurred to me
as you were talking that made perfect sense
is that when industry comes to our campus
and I encourage that to happen as much as possible,
we have industry there every Tuesday and Thursday
plus our career fairs every quarter.
But more importantly than that
when I'm talking to industry every single day,
one of my very first things that I say to them,
come visit.
And something that helps to bridge that gap
as we send our technicians out into the great unknown
is that a lot of our industry has already been
on our campus.
They already understand what we're teaching.
They've seen it.
They've met our teachers.
They know our culture.
And they know what they're gonna expect
when they get a student out of YOTEC.
And I think that that makes a huge difference
in their placement.
When our industry partners are literally making offers
on our shop floor at the career fairs,
they know what they're getting.
And they have a lot of people that they get a seat
from the students to the industry.
And that helps.
So industry, I have to encourage you.
I know it's hard getting out of your shops.
I know it's hard taking a couple of hours out of your day
because they have a fire on their tail
of getting things fixed and back out on the road, right?
But know your local program.
Know what they are teaching the kids
so that you know what kind of a tech you're getting
so that your expectations are in line
with what's coming out.
And I think when they take the time
to educate themselves just a little bit locally
so that they kind of have a concept,
I think we can clear a little bit of that up.
You're always gonna have to take the knocks on life
to learn a new job.
Nobody knows what they need to know on day one.
I didn't.
Any new job that I've had,
you don't walk in there knowing everything you need to know.
And sometimes that is the expectation.
That's not realistic.
And it's almost like a surgery, right?
It takes a year to really feel better.
Well, it really in fairness takes six months to a year
for somebody to get their feet underneath them
and catch their ground and see the rhythm
of what they're working in that environment.
And hopefully they grow in that, right?
But that's something that can be done
on an industry side.
And you know, on the school side too.
Take the time to show the students
what it's like to be out there.
Don't just teach them the engines.
Don't just teach them the transmissions.
Don't just teach them the electrical or the drivetrains.
But get them out in the field.
What's a day like in the shop?
What is, how clean is the shop?
What is meet the owner, meet the service manager,
meet the people at the front desk,
find out what it is that you really wanna do before
you make those big decisions.
But that's something that the school,
public schools can be doing to better that conversation
and to help their decision making
as they take the time to get into what is their career.
I think that what you just talked about there
is so important, which is the visibility
to young people into our industry.
I talk a lot about that.
And I think it's not just important for the kids
that will potentially be in our industry.
I think it's important for those that might think
that this industry is for them,
but maybe once they get in the shop and say,
oh, this is a little different than I thought it would be.
I think it's good for them to not go spend a bunch of money
on tools in school and stuff like that
that isn't going to pay off for them.
That's where I think industry could do so much help
to these high schools.
And like you said, even middle schools bringing exposure
to find out those kids that are mechanically inclined,
that do think with their brains
and really hand critically think
because that's such an important element
to everything that we do.
And the more we can kind of get invested
in those programs earlier,
the more I look at it as you're appealing
to the best and brightest that could come into this industry
and showing them,
and I always talk about the importance of job shadowing
because I think it's a really big deal
to get kids out of the classroom and into the real world.
And I like when a kid might go to a diesel shop
and maybe they're going to an independent and a dealership
and just kind of seeing the differences there.
They go into an automotive shop,
they go into a collision shop
and just kind of see all the,
if this is kind of in their interest range
or this is what they're thinking
they wanna do with their life,
exposure to different kinds of shops
to kind of see which one would appeal to you the most.
And even though they're completely different
in a lot of ways,
there are a lot of similarities between the shop.
So being able to get out there
and see even the type of people in a particular shop
in making sure that it's a fit for you
as a young person coming into the industry,
just any way that we can get visibility
to that young person and get them into our shops.
And I know there's probably shops listening to this,
like one, we can't take anybody under 18,
we can't do, you know, all like list the excuse
and why you can't have a young person in.
But even if you can't do that,
I'll point to the Wisconsin Auto Truck Dealer Association
or the Minnesota State Department of Transportation Excellence.
Hopefully I got that acronym right, it's a long one,
but they do the NitroX little RC cars
for middle schoolers to kind of stoke that fire.
And it's just so cool for me to see all of these efforts
of these great organizations that are going in
and trying to stoke that fire of that young person
that's going to be a fit for our industry.
But that last piece to me is the critical, critical piece.
It's getting the right people into the industry
in the first place.
And hopefully that would help with that entry level person
as they come in like, hey, this is,
I know this is what I wanna do.
This is what I was born to do.
I think we'd have a little bit more luck there too,
just in general with some of the early stage attrition rates
that we see.
You know, I agree, but there's more that we can do.
I think that, and I know here in Wyoming,
it's something that we talked about last year
at the legislative session.
And that is, you know, I know child labor laws
and all that other stuff is a big deal.
But I don't know about you.
I know I'm a lot older than you, but I can tell you,
oh, by the way, happy birthday.
This is your birthday.
So-
Hey, thank you.
I had to get that in there.
It's the fact that legislatively,
there are things that can be done.
Talk to your legislature.
Get some of that stuff changed just on an apprentice side.
There could be boundaries around that.
But the best thing that we can do for our kids,
instead of sitting on the couch and using the phone
or the video games, is to teach them
to get out there and work.
It's not that life has to be about work.
It has to be about balance,
but learn the responsibility.
I think that's healthy,
and that we need to do more of that as parents.
So I like where this conversation is going today,
because you know what, it's not just industry.
I really believe, and I personally see firsthand
how much industry is passionate about helping.
There's a tremendous amount of money out there
for scholarships, for tool donations.
There's a lot of these companies
that have really sharpened their pencils
to do tuition reimbursement.
And we have some amazing partnerships in that.
Waste Connections has been fabulous on that.
And so many more.
So may we ever be mindful that there is that for being made?
Yes, there can always be more.
There could be more chocolate in the world.
But at the end of the day,
I really believe that we're beginning to move that wheel.
And it's interesting,
industry's going through a lot right now.
They've got the tariffs, trucks are not selling,
the inflation rate is out of the roof.
And so I talk about donations and money
and all that other stuff, but industry's hurting.
And we need to be mindful and supportive of that.
So one of the first things that I do
when I've got a couple of meetings this afternoon
with new industry partners
is I help them in their recruiting effort.
I ask for nothing.
We're not a pay to play school.
You don't have to pay money to work with Wiotek.
Everything that we do for industry is 100% free.
So I get them started in working in our database.
I introduce them to the teachers at our campus.
I try to do everything that I can to open those doors
so that they have immediate success to their bottom line
and get that technician in on their shop floor.
So I also think as tech schools, we owe them that.
We have two customers, our students and our industry.
So we need to, at the best of our levels,
take care of both at a very high level
so that both of them have success.
And if we don't do that, then we're failing.
To me, you do that as well as anybody, right?
Of kind of connecting those dots and doing it in a way.
You've done that for me a lot over the years.
And hey, you wanna have a conversation with this person.
Okay, not a problem.
I think are the ultimate connector of people.
And that helps with growing a program like you've done.
I think that is a unique skill to you
to want to connect all of these people.
That helps at the end of the day benefit the students
because there are more industry partners coming in
and they are able to see more options
for the type of company they'd like to work for.
But then I think it also,
it just helps in the relationship side of it.
Like you were talking about where
when you do wanna have a good open conversation
with a shop that's out there
and you do want that candid feedback,
I think there's enough,
you've built enough of a trust level
to where people will give you that candid feedback
and they're doing it in a way to try
to make the program better, right?
Or always kind of trying to improve that growth mindset
that we talk about a lot.
When you get that feedback,
how, I mean, I'd assume that's pretty critical
to everything that you do in your job
and trying to make sure that's communicated
back to the school
or make sure that's communicated back
to the students as well.
And like, hey, these are some things we need to work on
or these are the things we're doing great,
like keep doing those things.
That feedback loop, I just can't stress enough
like how important that part is.
That's very true.
First of all, thank you.
I mean, it hasn't always been easy
but I've learned so much by working with industry
and my grandpa used to say,
you know, Cindy, God gave you two ears
and one mouth for a reason.
And we've heard that cliche over the years
and I don't know that I've always listened to it
but I can tell you that it has served me well
and that when you hear something from industry
that has to be related back to campus.
When I hear something from campus that they're needing
and they need to expand on, I'd go to industry immediately.
And by keeping that continuity running
and it's not easy.
I mean, I'm one person covering the United States of America
and for a campus and, you know, what 1500 or not 15
but about 1200 on campus right now, it's a big job.
But, you know, when you get, and I say I'm one person,
listen, I've got every single person
on our campus behind me.
A lot of good people.
They are my team.
So they hear it, they share it with me.
I go to it, whether it's an industry partner
that had a question, whatever the case may be.
So yes, the loop is important.
And I think that's part of the problem
that has happened over the years is that
we haven't done a good job all the way around.
I talk about public schools and shops,
but us, other industries need to make sure
that we're all talking.
Connecting people is a lot of fun, I gotta tell ya.
You know, you hear something that somebody needs over here
and you pass it that way.
I can tell you, we recently have a need opportunity
through the ASE Foundation to get 162 of our diesel students
to sign up for their first professional ASE
paid for by industry.
And you rarely get that opportunity
to take a professional ASE test
before you're out in the field for two years.
Unique, and other schools didn't take it on
and I heard that there were even more opportunities
out there, so I took every single one,
I could get my grubby fingers on
and went to the kids personally
and helped them to sign up because it's their success.
Industry, working with kids, working with Wiotech
is equals success.
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One thing I kind of picked out of what you had said earlier
too is something that I think is so important
which are the focus on some of the basics as well, right?
I think the culture at YOTech from my experience,
you are instilling some of those values
like showing up on time and having a clean appearance
and kind of that professionalism
that I think is so important.
I know when I talk to a lot of technicians,
I'll kind of say to them,
hey, listen, we're out battling our tails off for you
for like to get that public perception in a better place
and we're trying our best to get you the respect
and kind of even the pay.
Like everything that a good technician desires,
we're really working hard at that as an industry right now.
I think there's so many good people in our industry
that are fighting the good fight for technicians
to kind of change some of those perceptions
and the outside perceptions of them.
But I also will say to technicians,
like you have to help us out here, right?
You have to act in a professional manner.
You have to act in a way that your mother
would be proud of, right?
That you have to act in a way where we,
when we're out kind of fighting that good fight,
that you, you're backing us up, right?
And so those focus or that focus on that professionalism
at an early stage in a career is so important for us
as this industry continues to evolve.
I think that's going to be something
that will be a common theme moving forward is that,
you know what, if you wanna be eventually treated
like a doctor, you've gotta act
a little bit more like a doctor then, right?
And if you want that, I'll talk about Val
on our marketing team does a fantastic job
with a lot of social media content.
And some of the comments she'll get on video
is you're like, come on guys, like we're better than this.
Like why do we have to talk this way, right?
Like so to me, it is about a standard
that we need to uphold on all ends of our industry.
And that is one of the things that I'll talk
to a lot of technicians about.
And then also one thing, I guess as we are talking
through this that comes to mind is shining a light
on those that are doing it the right way.
Wildtech has done a fantastic job of shining a light
on their incredible alumni network
and some of the stuff that you're doing out there.
So showing that, hey, you know what,
there are people that have done this
at a really, really high level.
And those are the people we should be looking up to, right?
They're the ones that hold the standard.
And that's for all any young person listening
to this that's coming out.
Look to those folks as your standard, right?
Look to those people as the one setting the bar
so that you have something to live up to
and that we constantly are pushing the industry forward
in a positive manner.
You said it best, Jim.
It is so important to have old fashioned standards.
A lot of people think that those are outdated
and that they're just over and above it
and they can do whatever they want.
Well, I'll tell you, you aspire to those things.
So I always say aspire higher.
Don't set your goals down here, set them up here.
At the end of the day,
it is so important to show up professional.
You know, at Wildtech, your hair has to be short.
Your britches had better be pulled up.
Your shirt had better be clean.
Your face had better be freshly shaven every single day.
And for girls, your hair needs to be pulled up
for shop safety.
We take attendance eight times a day.
You know, it's important to be on time and to show
and even be early for heaven's sakes.
It seems like, you know, now with Zoom and everything else,
you don't have to show up until eight o'clock.
So you should still show up five minutes early
and make sure your camera works, right?
Or your microphone or whatever the case may be.
The point is be professionally ready in your dress,
in your attitude, in everything that you do.
And industry, I remember somebody came to campus once
and said, I don't care what their grades are.
I don't care what their attendance is.
I just want them to show up.
Well, your most expensive employee is the one
that has been on your shop for even a month.
You have onboarded them.
You've spent all this money to get them there.
And then all of a sudden, you know, they don't show.
You want to make sure that you know who you're hiring.
Yeah, it is what it is.
But we need to, well, back to that industry partner.
They said, you know, I just wanted them to show up.
They were going for the pulse.
I kind of lost my thought train there.
And when I heard that, I had to talk to them just briefly
and say, and chuckle with them and say, okay,
you want them to just show up,
but you don't want them to get good grades.
You don't care what their attendance is,
but you want them to show up.
Opposite, you're sending the wrong message.
And honestly, at Wildtech,
Jay, we don't recruit for that pulse.
We recruit for the passion.
We look for the kids who have been in those programs
who want to be a gearhead and really get in there
and get their hands dirty and their feet wet
into a new career.
If we hadn't have done that,
then we're going to be a part of that ASC statistic
where in two years they're leaving the industry.
So we need, as parents, as schools,
as schools at all level,
we need to set our kids up for success.
And we've been terrible about doing that.
Public school settings are not a babysitter.
They're an educator, and they need to act accordingly.
And when they get out to post-secondary schools
or two-year, four-year schools, whatever they choose,
we need to make sure that we are giving those kids
the absolute best and then making sure
that they're employed with the best.
So I get to be that filter, right?
I get to meet the companies.
I get to see the culture.
And I also get to say, is that a good match for Wildtech?
Because if you're going to just get your name
in a database but not recruit, then you're just a number.
And you're like a salmon swimming upstream in an ocean
that's never going to see a result.
So may we all connect the dots and do our own part
and own our own spots and then make it the best yet.
Well, you talked about that hiring anybody with a pulse,
or a lot of times, if I'm out giving a presentation
to a bigger group, I'll say,
how many of you would hire somebody that could fog a mirror
and people kind of chuckle and laugh and then raise their hands.
And I'm like, that's where we've got to think
a little bit differently from here on out,
where we need to have intentionality
in the type of people we're bringing into our shops
and then how we're treating them once they're there.
You almost have to view it like a Major League baseball team
or somebody that has a minor league
where you're working to develop that next level of talent.
And that is where that relationship with your school,
that you're, you know, whether it's middle school,
high school or tech school, the more you have that relationship,
the more times you get to go be hands-on at a place
and really kind of get to know people
rather than just maybe a drive-by
where you're not truly maybe talking with these people
or you're doing it in a conversation that could be,
I want to say awkward, but there are some in our history.
I think that when you sit down with a young person,
it's a different type of conversation.
And so I think it would be in our best interest
to have a standard of which we hold people to
when they come in our doors.
And when you do see a good, I say this a lot too,
and to me, it's one of the most beautiful things
in the world, they're organized.
And like I've always got kind of this mind
or this avatar almost in my head of that professional tech
that is just well-organized, clean cut,
shows up 15 minutes early to work,
to have their bay in order, ready to go.
And just when you see that, you're like,
that's what we're talking about.
That's the standard that we want for our industry to have.
And I had mentioned earlier, your alumni network,
but the BioTech alumni network is crazy.
Like the amount of talented people that have come out of there,
and it's just, it's so impressive to me.
And the more we can really point to those type of people
and say, look, they started off in the same place
that you're starting off right now, look what they've done.
And I think that's an all elements of our industry.
I think with BioTech, a lot of times, I love hot rods, right?
And you see the amount of builders
that have come out of that program, that's crazy.
I've had diesel techs that have worked for me over the years
that came from BioTech that were super impressive.
Same with automotive techs.
Like there's just so many good coming out of there
that I hope that we're able to kind of continue
to shine a light on those folks
because that is really showing the way for the next generation.
Well, you know, this is our 60th year.
So BioTech has been around since 1966.
So it's fair to say that we've got over 66,000 graduates from BioTech.
That's huge.
And yes, you are absolutely right.
We've got the Hall of Fame where we honor our graduates
who have done amazing things.
And every single year, they come back to our campus
and they give back to the kids to inspire them to be the best
because they could be one of them.
You know, we had a young girl just the other day
who put her application in.
She's an Eagle Tech.
She's taken almost every single class at BioTech.
She's now just signed up to take the associate's degree
and so she'll be there like, gosh, I don't know how many months.
But Alexis, in my opinion, is going to be the next Jesse.
You know, Jesse Cohen.
That's high praise, high praise.
2023 BioTech graduate.
And she has set the bar for every single woman
that attends BioTech, in my opinion.
I'm humbled by the friendship of her mom and her family
and the foundation and the work that they do.
But this young girl is amazing.
So when we do aspire higher and we see those people
that have set the example before us,
we should never put that glass ceiling on our head and say,
oh, wow, that looks like it's impossible to do.
That's your potential.
So by having the Hall of Fame,
our kids get the opportunity to meet the best,
to literally have the best in the industry
who were once where they were, now inspiring them to be like them.
And how remarkable is that?
I mean, it's such a family.
And back into our shops, we need to make sure that that culture,
when you get a new tech, that you're taking the time to know them.
Do you like to hunt?
Do you like to fish?
Do you like to ride cycles?
Do you, what's your passion?
Because this is why we work.
We don't just work because we want to work.
We want to work to edify our lives.
So do I hold value in this company?
It's one thing to talk about recruitment, retention.
But retention is a part of that.
You want to give your employees meaning and it takes time.
You need to know their names.
You need to know about their kids and what they're going through in their lives.
And it's not easy right now.
So are they getting by okay?
And is there something that you can do to pool together whatever the case may be,
but to lighten their load or to take everybody out and go fishing?
So work on your culture.
And I don't know that I like the word culture
because I think it's popped out there so much.
Yeah.
Work on being a friend.
Work on being just a good human being that truly cares about who's working for you
or who you're bringing in or how you're recruiting.
And to those kids, pay attention to how you're treating these people.
Make sure that you treat them with respect.
That there's nothing wrong with yes ma'am, no sir.
Or taking off your hat when you enter a room holding the door for a woman
or anybody who just needs your help through a door.
And we don't see a whole lot of that anymore.
You know, in Wyoming, we could be driving down the road and we still wave as people go by
and people say, why do you do that?
And it's because it'd be kind.
It's the way you're raised.
And so just consider some of those things because it's the little things that make
a huge difference on how you treat people and just making a difference for everybody's lives.
Recognize that this young generation want to have purpose.
They want to have balance.
They want to know that they matter.
And how can you make that happen?
Let them contribute.
Let them say, hey, I learned this.
Let me show you what I learned and be interested.
Be curious.
That's what I think is more important than anything.
Oh, and I think wild tech is so unique in that regard, right?
Because you're in Laramie, Wyoming.
There's a lot of you talk about the old fashioned values.
And I think there's so much value to that.
And I think a lot of employers could learn from that along with the students, right?
In just having that old style work ethic, having some of that.
I think that's what, when I say unique about Laramie, Wyoming,
it is a lot of hard workers.
There are kind of almost that, I've talked to Jim Mathis quite a bit.
It's been a while, but I'm just talking to him.
I think that is driven down throughout everybody, right?
The kind of those values that are really important.
And as an employer, if you get somebody in that has those old fashioned values,
which I think are the best thing in the world to have, right?
Like you said, being polite.
And my wife still makes fun of me this day because I wave at everybody as I'm going by.
And yeah, we actually have a game now to see who actually waves back to me,
which is hit or miss at times.
But it is, I think that's such a unique part about what you've all built out there
is that you're able to, in this modern world, still bring a lot of those values
that are really impactful to a young person.
And the more you kind of get that ingrained in them,
the more I think the more quality their life is going to be,
the more quality human being they're going to be.
And ultimately, if you can build a business with quality human beings that treat people right,
you're not going to have some of the attrition problems that a lot of shops have.
You're going to build it with the right type of people.
And to me, that makes all the difference in the world, right?
Like between having a great shop with people that like working together versus,
hey, I'm just filling this with whoever will apply.
It takes some intentionality, but I think you guys do it as good as anybody.
You know, I love the fact that you brought up Jim Malthus,
and I love it because great things happen from great leadership.
He was a Wiotek grad that went back to work for Wiotek later, got fired,
came back the next day as the vice president, and now he owns the school.
And he is literally the catalyst for changing so many lives at this time of the trade renewal.
But when I talk about leadership with him, it's nothing to see Jim walk across
a parking lot and see a piece of garbage and pick it up.
It's popping his head into a shop and walking over curiously to one of the groups of students
working on transmission or some hydraulics and saying, tell me about it.
And that doesn't happen every day because we get busy.
And I can tell you, I don't think Jim Malthus sleeps for the things that he keeps us busy with,
but he takes the time.
And I know time is valuable, but it's an investment that he makes back into his
people literally daily. He keeps his office door open, anybody can stop in and talk to him.
That kind of accessibility keeps things moving. And it sets the example of, for all of us,
of how to treat people and how to communicate to your team and us also set that example.
And now we're all picking up garbage and the kids are too.
So you set the example and then the example is emulated. So he is a great leader.
Wojotek is blessed to have him at the helm and lucky that he took the time he didn't have to.
He's at that point and has been successful in his life. He didn't have to.
He chose to and is passionate about what he's doing with it.
And that passion runs down to all of us.
So I really appreciate the leadership that we have at Wojotek and the opportunity to do what I do with them
and then just to be a small part of the growth that we see in the kids.
I absolutely love that. Echo everything that you just said about Jim, a wonderful, wonderful leader
that our industry is blessed to have. He's just a top notch person in general.
And I feel like he does things the right way. So we couldn't agree more.
All right. As we're getting close to the end of the podcast, we have some get to know you type of
questions that I've got some quick hitters here. More fun than anything. But I want to start with
what was your first car? Oh my goodness, you're not going to believe this.
But it was a 1969 Chevy Impala two door with a 360 engine was a 360. Does that sound right?
Yeah. Yeah, something. Yeah. It sucked gas more than I drink milk. And I love that car.
Bought it for 250 bucks. And the owner before me.
How did that thing get around in Wyoming? Oh, great. Really?
I never was held back. No, but it's something that just makes me sick literally today.
Actually verbally say this out loud. I was sheep herding from my family up in Otter Creek,
Montana. And I was driving back out there one day and I was driving, they had just graded the road
and I rolled it. Oh, no. No, I totaled that car in a ditch. And it was so, I mean,
I could feel myself going over and I rolled down in there and I couldn't even get out of my doors
and the engines revving up and I reached up and I shut it off. But I had no way to get out.
Oh my. Because my doors were locked by the ditch. So I had to kick my windshield out.
And it pains me today to tell you the story because I know the value of that car.
But when I drove it home, I drove it home like an airplane with a scarf around my neck and the
windshield went home. And I had to drive it back like an hour and a half to get back to
Sheridan, Wyoming. So yeah, I was like driving Miss Daisy in a row.
69 Chevy and I did take all the glass out, but totally illegal.
If there could have been photos of that, that would have been.
I'm so glad there's not. Yeah.
Oh, all right. That's going to be a hard one to top. That's pretty good.
What is your favorite type of food?
Oh gosh, I wish there was something I didn't like, but I love homemade bread.
And so I love making it. I love giving it away. And Lord help me if I keep it in the house.
So homemade bread.
That sounds really good right about now.
Last question. What time do you wake up in the morning?
Well, I wish I could tell you that I sleep in, but I am the, and it doesn't matter what time
I go to bed. I'm at the five. And I just sometimes want to tell the
old body to just quit doing that. So it's, I mean,
that you travel a lot. So that, that goes across time zones too. And I'm sure you get
that late flight into somewhere. You're like, it would be nice to get a couple more hours of sleep
here. Think about that when you're going to the east coast and coming home,
you lose three hours plus you were up at five.
You relive six hours of your life.
How often are you on the road right now? I said that was the last question, but I,
I, I would like in a given year, like you're, you're on the road a lot.
Oh yeah. So January's been kind of nice. I've been to the campus. So I live four hours north
of the campus, but I've been to the campus three times this month. I'll be headed down there again.
Thursday. Um, but travel, um, I'm, I'm as home in the air as I am on the ground
the month of January. I won't be, or February. I won't be in March. Oh yeah. In April,
oh yeah. May. And then it's closed down in June and July a little bit, but yeah, I'm gone a lot.
I think I'm worse for two dogs than a cat.
Well, you're, I said it at the top, but one of my favorite people in the industry always have
a lot of fun with our conversations. You, me, George from ASC, George Aaron, sweet. We have a
lot of fun together. Yeah. Right. Right. Right. Oh, if, if he hears that, no, I, I, I, uh, it's just
always fun. I always learned something from you and it just, uh, really, really value our friendship
and it's just been so fun to see what you've been able to do over the years. So, uh, really,
hope we don't wait for another three years to have you back on. Uh, it's always a pleasure.
Yeah. Come on. That's on me. Happy birthday. Happy. Thank you so much. And thank you for being
on the show. Uh, take care.
We run the ASC connects community, which empowers shops and dealerships with reliable data,
school connections and industry insights while helping grow the future technician workforce.
You can learn more by visiting wrenchway.com. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week.
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