Ford, Texas dealers team to train Army vets for service dept. jobs

Texas Ford dealers have joined forces with the U.S. Army on a two-pronged mission: to counter the dire shortage of trained auto technicians while helping soldiers land on their feet as they transition to civilian life.

Ford's Technicians of Tomorrow accelerated career skills program launched in fall 2020 in conjunction with Fort Hood in the city of Killeen. It features more than 500 hours of classroom training, and hands-on work at the shop laboratory and at a sponsoring dealership.

The bulk of the 16-week program is taught at Central Texas College, a community college in Killeen, but students spend the third week of each month at dealership service departments shadowing top technicians and working on customer vehicles. Dealers cover the student's lodging expenses but keep any income they generate.

Program graduates earn Ford certifications in electrical, brakes, climate control and steering and suspension. The curriculum also covers shop safety, warranty fundamentals, technical writing and express service.

If a student completes the four certifications, Ford considers them chassis master certified. Once the Ford dealer and student sign an intent-to-hire letter, a state grant arms the graduate with a toolbox and tools valued at $4,000.

The Technicians of Tomorrow initiative started with three participating dealerships, and that doubled to six for the second group. The current class has 13 dealership sponsors. For now, enrollment is capped at 17 students per class. Of the participants in the first two groups, 14 have been placed in full-time jobs with Ford dealerships.

The current cohort, set to graduate at the end of August, has 17 soldiers — including the program's first female student. The next group starts Sept. 1 and will have at least 15 students.

The soldiers commit to work at one of the sponsoring dealerships, says retired Army Maj. Gen. Geoff Miller.

"We work hard during recruitment and dealer interviews to establish a good fit for the soldier and family with the future employer," he says.

The Ford program is an outgrowth of a conversation between auto dealers and officials at Fort Hood in 2016.

"Some Texas Ford dealers were at Fort Hood and mentioned that there was a crucial need for auto technicians," Miller says. "We told them we had a great fix."

Sam Pack, who owns four Ford dealerships in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, loved the idea of a tech training program when Miller pitched it to him.

"I was touched because, while the proposal fulfilled a need for us, more importantly, it was an opportunity for us to, in some small way, honor the military and those individuals who are sacrificing in so many ways," says Pack, who also owns Chevrolet and Subaru dealerships.

The program was seeded, in part, by $280,000 from Texas Ford dealers and Ford Motor Co. and $106,000 in state funding from Texas Workforce Solutions of Central Texas.

The students range in age from mid-20s to early 40s. Some have been in the Army three or four years, while others have served 20 years.

"They're more mature candidates," Pack says. "They generally have families, are very punctual and very disciplined."

Brad Stapp, fixed operations director at Randall Reed's Planet Ford in Spring, a suburb of Houston, is a big supporter of the initiative. He tries not to overwhelm the students as they shadow techs, observe the workflow and learn how to get assignments, procure parts and get the job approved.

"We want these guys confident when they come," Stapp says. "Dealerships can be scary sometimes. There's a lot of moving parts."

Stapp has hopes that Mark Vejar, his first Technicians of Tomorrow graduate, is ready when the heavy-duty truck service center that Planet Ford is building opens in 2022.

"I want to grow him into a senior master technician," Stapp says. "He's a very nice guy, well-spoken and very detailed."

In the Army, Vejar was responsible for maintaining all wheeled vehicles and supervised 120 technicians. He completed the Technicians of Tomorrow training while still in the service. Upon leaving the Army in May, the 20-year veteran was immediately hired by Planet Ford.

Vejar says the training program was helpful, especially in showing how civilian shops work compared with the military. Students in the program should "make full use of it, show up every day and get all you can out of the training," he says.

Vejar, one of about 65 dealership technicians, has done well, says Charlie Mutz, Planet Ford's service director.

"The guys coming out of the military have some structure," he says. "There's just a lot of self-motivation."

It took four years to get Technicians of Tomorrow off the ground. Jonathan Cuff, manager of Ford's parts and service operations for the Dallas region, whom Pack credits as being "instrumental" in getting the project past roadblocks, says dealers have lost hundreds of techs during the COVID-19 pandemic and that finding replacements has been difficult.

Ford is ramping up plans to extend its recruiting campaign to other bases in Texas and surrounding states. Soldiers from other bases who are accepted into the program will go to the Fort Hood training hub. There are plans to add a second instructor and lab assistant at Central Texas College, which will enable more students to be added to the Technicians of Tomorrow schedule.

Cuff says an additional 20 Texas Ford dealers are interested in interviewing soldiers and thinks the number will grow to 50 or more "when we have a chance to invite all stores to listen about the opportunity with Technicians of Tomorrow."

"Right now, the plans are to keep this a Texas-based program, but we will monitor our progress and look for other opportunities to expand if it makes sense," he says.

"We are getting a lot of attention from our other regions, and many have expressed interest. But before we do this, we need to make sure we are on solid ground with our core effort, which is to fulfill the technician needs of Texas Ford dealers."