FenderBender and ABRN have teamed up with TechForce Foundation to share perspectives to help you better understand, recruit, and retain the new generation of technicians. Read on for insights that you can use to grow your talent pool.
Jasmine Cazarez is a technician with Archer Collision Center in Houston. She has been working as a technician for five months now. She still has much to learn but offers important insights into how the new generation engages with technician careers.
Are there challenges you faced that you want the industry to know about?
I made a career shift from teaching to becoming a technician. I worked most of my life in childcare. In making such a big career change to a new industry, I found that I had to prove myself to my colleagues and employers.
When you look at my resume, it's clear I don’t have much experience in this trade. Employers were hesitant to take me on despite my technical education. Eventually, with the help of a friend who vouched for me, I found a shop willing to take a risk on me. In the months since I have risen to the challenge and proven myself a capable technician.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to teach soft skills like networking to technical students. Without building my professional network, I would probably still be looking for my first job as a technician.
As a woman in a field where fewer than 3% of your colleagues are women, what would you like the industry to know?
There are, without a doubt, women who want to become technicians who either don’t know how or think that they can’t. I was one of those women. I was intimidated by the trades. My family wanted me to go to college. It took years and steady encouragement from my grandfather and fiancé to finally pursue my interest and give it a shot.
Once I finally did, my life changed. I was doing what I loved, and I was excelling at it. I was never happy in a four-year school and eventually gave up on it. But in tech school, I was an A student.
If you want more technicians in this industry, we’re out here. We just need your help to get started.
How else can the industry better support young technicians?
If the industry can help technicians overcome the need to start with their own tools on day one, that would go a long way in giving new techs a chance to succeed. I could not find a job until I had my own tools, but I couldn’t afford tools until I had a job.
Thankfully, someone in my life helped me get tools. Not everyone has that. Something like an extra tool set in a shop for new technicians to use until they can save up to afford their own tools could really make a difference.
Is there anyone who helped you in your career journey?
Grandpa always told me, if you want to do something, do it. He showed me how to create with my hands. My fiancé, a professional diesel technician, was also a big help. He taught me more about mechanics and helped me decide to start my technical education.
I am still deciding on whether to specialize in paint or body repair. My mentors José and Edwin at Archer Collision Center are helping me learn about both, which has been invaluable. I thank everyone for being so willing to teach me and my boss at Archer Collision Center for taking a chance on hiring me.
