Independently Speaking…

Dave Stoddard is the owner/operator of Dave Stoddard’s Automotive Service located in Nepean, Ontario. He is a board member and past-chair of the CARS National Accreditation Board of Directors, was involved in the development of the CARS Workplace Mentor/Coach program and is a member of the Automotive Aftermarket Retailers of Ontario (AARO).

Busy? You bet!!

So, if running a business is a full time job in itself, why be involved in these other roles?

“When I was asked if I would like to become involved with the CARS Accreditation Board of Directors I agreed immediately. I really supported the idea of raising the benchmark for post-secondary automotive training and felt that this would be a way to have some impact.”

“The Board is very involved with the accreditation process, very hands-on, and has made a real effort to ensure the evaluation process is challenging but not unattainable. It is very important to all the Board members that the program’s credibility is maintained so the reference standards are continually reviewed and revised when necessary. Some of the colleges that were the first to receive accreditation will be coming up for renewal soon. So, we have developed a renewal evaluation process that the college will have to challenge to ensure they have kept up their standards since their original evaluation.”

“It was through my involvement with the Accreditation Board of Directors that I heard about the CARS Mentor/Coach program. The purpose of this project was to develop a training program to provide technicians in the workplace with improved ways to share their skills and knowledge with an apprentice. From my standpoint, if there is a way to train your senior technicians how to improve their mentoring skills and make them and the apprentice more skilled and productive, this would be a great advantage.”

Stoddard understands the importance of a well-trained employee as he recently faced the challenge of hiring.

“My business recently went through an expansion and I needed to hire another technician. I put an ad in the local newspaper and didn’t receive any responses. I had responses from an ad on the IATN web site but eventually hired a qualified professional through word of mouth.

You realize that good, qualified people are scarce but it really hits home when you actually go out and try to find someone. When you do find a potential candidate, it is helpful to me as an employer to know that the candidate who has completed an accredited post-secondary program will have the employability skills needed to be successful in the workplace.”

“You know, my time is at a premium these days but I really believe that the Accreditation Program and the Mentor/Coach program will be to the employer’s advantage. It is because of this that I find the time to participate on these worthwhile programs.”