'Grow your own techs' movement gets boost with ASE, WrenchWay awards program

Over the last several years, the "grow your own" technician strategy has started to take root around the country as shops struggle to fill their bays with quality workers. Instead of hoping a diesel or automotive tech fresh out of trade school chooses their company, some shops proactively reach out to high schools and vocational schools to identify students who they can mentor and ideally hire on full-time after graduation. The idea is that these techs have a better sense of that shop's operations and culture—and are more likely to stay long term.

National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) had led the charge on this front, starting with its Adopt-a-School program, formed in 2021 through the ASE Education Foundation.

Earlier this year, ASE partnered with trade advocacy group WrenchWay to create the School Assist platform, a site where shops can connect with more than 3,000 high schools and post-secondary schools. The mutually beneficial collaboration would help improve and modernize the school’s vehicle repair curriculum, while providing the shop a pipeline for new techs. Annual subscriptions per shop start at $750, with the Top Shop membership costing $1,800/year; it’s free for schools.

Now, the two organizations have launched a recognition program that celebrates successful school-shop partnerships called the School Assist All-Star Awards. Winners would receive physical and digital awards that let prospective students and partner organizations know they excel at breeding the next wave of highly sought after trade workers.

“We all know we have to help schools and create that next generation of technicians, and this is a way to reward and recognize shops and schools that do a good job working together,” said Mark Wilson, co-founder and CEO of WrenchWay.

The goal is to simultaneously honor those schools, shops, and dealerships succeeding with ASE and WrenchWay’s School Assist platform as well as get more schools and shops to get with the School Assist program.

“By recognizing the collaborations between schools and businesses, we can inspire further positive change and create a steady pipeline of skilled professionals who will be integral to the growth and innovation of the automotive and diesel industries,” explained David Johnson, president and CEO of ASE.

How to participate

In a webinar held May 6, the organization provided more details into the awards and benefits of shop/school partnerships.

For shops, all they need to do is keep an eye on School Assist’s listings throughout the year and select three items to help with, whether that’s speaking to a class or attending an advisory meeting. The point is to get shops involved all year round.

“We all know instructors get kind of annoyed when the only time they hear from industry is at the end of the year—now, essentially—and they say, ‘I'd love to hire your two best students,’” Wilson said. “They should be contacting [schools] earlier.”

 He explained that within the platform, a school can request a call for speakers, shadowing opportunities for students, tool donations, and more. To be eligible for recognition, the school should make at least three requests per year. The shops and schools both log all requests met and the School Assist administrators from WrenchWay and ASE review the submissions.

Schools must also post an update on their program once per year. This can range from describing how many students are participating, noting if the school built a new wing on the diesel or auto building, or if the program got a new instructor this year.

Wilson noted that ASE and WrenchWay selected the award criteria so that shops and fleets of all sizes could participate without too much undue stress, especially knowing how busy small businesses can get.

“We wanted to make sure the small shops could participate in this and they didn't need a full-time person, like if you're a large dealer group, you might have a couple people that only work with schools,” Wilson explained. “So it was a balancing act.”

Ultimately, the awards are more of an accountability mechanism for shops in the program, in the same vein as ASE certifications show a technician’s acumen.

“You might, in your head, think you're more involved from a shop’s aspect than you actually are,” noted Jay Goninen, co-founder and president of WrenchWay.

And the recognition aspect, he said, will keep both sides motivated to continue the partnership they have developed.

“If you can reward people with recognition or shine a light on them and what they're doing for your program, you are really stoking the fire of that program or that business that's actually involved with your school,” Goninen said.