Pub. 1 2021 Issue 2

48 SkillsUSA MONTANA: AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT NARROWING THE SKILLS GAP By Mary Heller, SkillsUSA Montana U nless you live under a rock, you know full-well the crisis of workforce shortage in all the skilled trade industries. The automotive industry certainly is no exception to this problem. The lack of qualified service technicians is one of the most significant struggles dealerships face across the state and nation. For the last eight years, I have been in the midst of this issue from the standpoint of trying to help the automotive industry bui ld a quality workforce. For seven years, I was the Director of Career Center/Industry Relations at MSU- Northern in Havre, Montana. I worked with employers across the nation who came to that campus to recruit students trained in the trades programs that col lege offers, including Automotive Technology. In al l that time, the common message from these businesses was: 1) we simply do not have enough qualified technicians in the pool to hire from; and 2) what do we need to do to get more into the pool? These discussions focused on a central problem we all know about; in general, any skilled trade industry is viewed as “dirty, blue-collar” work. Young kids, their parents, and the guidance counselors at the high schools who play a key role in steering students down a career path have absolutely no idea about the amazing opportunities in careers such as the automotive industry. Not only that, but they also don’t realize that careers in the technician field can be obtained with a much shorter time and monetary investment than other careers that require high tuition costs for at least four years past high school. Included in these discussions was the frustration from dealerships that the days of working jointly with secondary schools were gone. There are a handful of communities in Montana where dealerships have a well-worn path to the local high school, and those are great partnerships. Many others, however, find the doors closed to them. In my seven-year tenure at MSU-Northern, I was repeatedly asked, “What can we do to get into the high schools to change this ‘bad’ view of our industry, pique the interest of these kids, and educate them about all the opportunities we offer?” My answer to that question is what I have been doing for the last year. Having a passion for the skilled trades, seeing the ever- growing skills gap, and knowing that more needs to be done in the secondary schools, I became the State Director for SkillsUSA Montana. What is SkillsUSA Montana? Historically, SkillsUSA was known as VICA, Vocational Industrial Clubs of America. Some of you may remember that this organization was started in 1965 at the national level. Montana created our association in 1966, and schools across the state had their own chapters. Then, in 2002, the name was changed to SkillsUSA. So what, exactly, does SkillsUSA Montana do? SkillsUSA is a national association and a partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. At the state level, SkillsUSA Montana has the same vision. We are a 501(c)(3)