Jeff Furrow, owner of Wellsboro Automotive, explained how he pays for each of his employees to be fully trained. He covers every expense, from the cost of travel to their meals.
He sees it as necessary to not just have the best-trained staff, but as an investment in his shop.
After explaining what he does during a session at Worldpac STX in Nashville, he was asked by an audience member if it worries him that one may leave after he’s put so much money into training them.
Furrow’s response was simple: “What if I train them and they leave? What if I don’t and they stay?”
So it’s important to him to ensure that apprentices receive the tools and education they need to thrive in their careers.
“It is an investment. I spend money. My apprentices, I will always provide all their tools. I’m going to provide all their schooling and training no matter what it is,” Furrow said.
He highlighted his commitment to covering all training costs, including travel fees and even lunch money for hands-on classes.
“If there’s a hands-on class, it’s $300 and in the next town over, I’m going to pay them to go there. I’m going to pay their travel fees and give them some lunch money. So I’m going to pay them. They will never pay for training.”
Furrow emphasized that training should occur during work hours, ensuring that apprentices don’t have to sacrifice their personal time.
“They’ll hopefully always do training on my time. They don’t have to train after hours,” he said.
This approach ensures that apprentices have a proper work environment, necessary tools, and no financial barriers to furthering their careers. “Their tools are paid for, they have a clean work environment, I’m going to invest in their training, of course, I’m going to pay for all that.”
The investment in training, while costly, is viewed by Furrow as essential for the long-term success of his business.
“It costs money, but it’s going to enrich him to the point that I can, in the future, it’ll just keep this ball rolling. As much as I can give them, they can soak up,” he explained.
His goal is to eliminate any barriers that might hinder his apprentices’ career progression. “I don’t want them to have any barriers in furthering their career ever. I never want any barriers.”
He repeatedly called this method an investment. It’s how he ensures a steady supply of skilled technicians in the years to come.
“This is my investment in having technicians in the next four years. And it is evergreen,” he stated.
Image credit: Depositphotos.com
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Comments
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I agree that training is very important. In these times I have found it necessary to have all employees sign a training agreement stating they need to remain employed with us for 1 year after completing their training. If they quit they are responsible for reimbursing me for the training. The last three employees had to pay their training when they left. I pay for any worthwhile training they need including apprenticeship costs for new employees.
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