This story was written for WRAL TechWire Advisor partner Johnson Automotive.
As cars have become more technologically advanced and the Internet has become a core component of the car-buying process, dealerships and their employees face new challenges and new opportunities. One challenge is a gap in available skill sets, and dealerships around the country are looking for ways to educate potential employees to fill ever-evolving needs.
“We do not have an adequate pipeline of skilled workforce to satisfy the rapid growth and technology advancements that today’s automobile dealerships demand,” admitted Sunny Johnson, a member of the corporate management team at Johnson Automotive. “We have jobs for exceptional, career-minded people, but the need is greater than the supply. Consequently, we are actively participating in a solution by partnering with educational institutions to better understand our specific needs.”
Those solutions come in the form of educational partnerships with local colleges and universities to help train the next generation of automotive industry experts.
Locally, the Wake County New Vehicle Dealers Association has worked to partner with Wake Technical Community College by giving input into the curriculum of the college’s rapidly growing automotive program.
“As a part of our partnership … Triangle auto dealers have intentionally engaged Wake Tech with specific insights to expand their minds and better understand that our businesses offer careers well beyond … sales associates and the old-fashioned concept of mechanics,” Johnson said. “Many vehicles today have more than 30 computers integrated into their systems to identify possible accidents and alert drivers to avoid them. As vehicles continue to become more advanced in active safety, which is the science of detecting and preventing accidents, the dealership workforce must keep up with that rate of change.”
Car dealerships employ many of the same positions you would find in any major business: marketing, human resources, IT, facilities management, accounting, and information management, just to name a few.
“Skills learned in degree programs in those areas or in employment in other industries are transferable and invaluable for today’s car dealerships,” Johnson added.
Then there are more specific skill sets needed within auto dealerships such as photography, reconditioning of cars traded by customers, and shipping and receiving of parts inventory.
“Our association hosted a career day partnering with Wake Technical Community College at our Auto Expo this past February, representing all divisions of our dealerships. Although this was our first year to offer the job fair, it was such a tremendous success for both our dealerships and Wake Tech; it is planned to be expanded and repeated,” Johnson said. “Over 470 students participated in categories including everything from accounting and human resources to body shop repair.”
Johnson explained she wants to reach candidates early in their job search to help them better understand the needs in the automotive industry.
“Once their minds are broadened, they see not only the growth opportunity but also discover the multiple career paths an automotive career at a dealership provides,” Johnson said. “If we can get to them when they are considering, ‘What am I going to do now that I’m graduating high school?’ they get excited and want to investigate further.”
The Wake County New Vehicle Dealers Association has also pushed for support from car manufacturers to invest in these programs.
“We have been successful in having a handful of key manufacturers donate engines, power plants and diagnostic equipment to Wake Tech so students enrolled in their automotive program may learn on the most current advancements,” Johnson said. “It is our mutual goal to engage manufacturers on a greater level. Rapid technology advancements demand continuous education.”
The automotive program takes 21 months to complete and awards an associate’s degree in applied science upon completion. There is a heavy emphasis on hands-on experience with a particular focus on electrical systems within cars.
Johnson Automotive began its involvement with the program six years ago and continues to advise on things like course offerings and even the order students are advised to complete classes.
“Since partnering with Wake Tech, the college has invested greatly to expand their automotive program,” Johnson said. “They have demonstrated interest in learning more about our businesses and listening to our input by developing the program and shaping goals and prerequisites to increase the percentage of graduates. We have met with key instructors, and requested communication and writing skills will be emphasized as well as the importance of strong computer skills in every position.”
This combined focus on student development has culminated in Wake Tech’s Center for Automotive Excellence, which will begin construction soon in Raleigh and will be the new home for their Automotive Systems Technology and Collision Repair training. On Sept. 16, Wake Tech announced a $1 million gift to kick off construction of the training facility.
The facility will allow the college to more than double the number of students in the program.
On a broader scale, the North Carolina Automobile Dealership Association offers to auto dealers education seminars throughout the state, ensuring employees be educated in all current legal regulations of everything from HR laws, titling regulations, protecting the clients security of personal information, as well as holding each auto dealer to the very highest standards of doing business, setting the franchised dealerships apart from independent car lots.
“North Carolina citizens may not realize what contribution the franchised automobile dealers of North Carolina make to our employment base, as well as our state’s economy,” said Bob Glaser, president of the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association. “North Carolina’s nearly 600 franchised new car and truck dealers employ over 36,000 people in our state with an average payroll of nearly $55,000. With $28 billion in total sales, franchised dealers represent approximately 20 percent of all retail sales in our state.”
Lack of awareness and education are the main barriers to a completely filled workforce, but organizations like NCADA and Johnson Automotive are working to bridge that gap.
“The bottom line is that there are so many possibilities for careers in our auto dealerships today,” Johnson said. “Females and males of every diverse ethnicity and age have career opportunities in our business model. Partnering with educational institutions such as Wake Technical Community College just makes good business sense. Now if we can just broaden the communities’ perspective of the many career opportunities beyond the myths of wrench turning and used car salesmen, our challenge to fill these job openings with qualified people at the rate our businesses are growing will be lessened.”
This story was written for WRAL TechWire Advisor partner Johnson Automotive.
