Ready, set, service!
A select 10 up-and-coming service technicians will show off their skills at
the International Lawn, Garden & Power Equipment Expo in Louisville, Ky., in
the first Expo Extreme Team Competition, July 19-20, sponsored by the Equipment and Engine Training Council (EETC) and SkillsUSA.
The two-day competition will test 10 young technicians’ service savvy in three segments, explained Judy Fuller, manager, Fuller’s Power Equipment, Lansing, Mich. “They will be displaying their talents in electrical circuitry and they will rebuild an engine from a short-block status,” she explained. “Then, there is also a question and answer portion - like a Jeopardy in a game-show type of arena.”
Fresh from the SkillsUSA National Championship, which took place June 27 in Kansas City, Mo., five finalists from both the secondary and post-secondary
categories will move on to the Louisville challenge. Each student is sponsored by an EETC member company, including Ariens, Briggs & Stratton, Honda, Hydro-Gear, Kubota, Kohler, Tecumseh and Toro, which will cover the student’s expenses to the show.
“The competition showcases the EETC accreditation program and we are
addressing the critical shortage of service technicians,” Fuller explained, noting that the organization estimates a 30,000 shortage in technicians across the U.S. “The mission of the competition, No. 1, is to show the students the industry that they are going to school for. No. 2, it’s to show the industry what EETC is doing for the industry - we are bringing in technicians and we are working together with SkillsUSA to do this.”
Students will get a taste of the industry when they work in their sponsors’ booths for two hours on Saturday, Fuller added. Then, on Sunday, winners
will walk away with wards donated from industry members, from engines to
tools of the trade.
The competition will add a new dimension to Expo this year, attracting attention from manufacturers, dealers and even retired industry members,
Fuller said, spelling out the purpose behind the moniker “Extreme Team
Competition.” “Expo is where our industry comes together, Extreme is to show
our efforts and Team is not the team of students, but of the industry working together side by side for the common mission of addressing the shortage of technicians,” she explained. “And the Competition is the students showcasing their talents.”
The author is Managing Editor – Special Projects for Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at khampshire@lawnandlandscape.com.