Calling all technicians

While Oct. 22 may be Dealer Day at GIE+Expo at the Kentucky Expo center in Louisville, Ky., that doesn’t mean the buck stops with dealers.

All dealers can bring their top technicians in for dealer technician training. The offered programs include basic tech classes on fuel service training, carburetor systems and diagnostics, electrical basics and propane fuel systems. Advanced tech classes will also be offered on two-stroke and four-stroke engine failure analysis and drivetrain systems.

Michael Goad is the director of education for B3C Fuel Solutions. He strongly advises dealers to bring their technicians in to provide their customers with a more holistic knowledge of what is going on with their machines.

“There is a huge skill deficit in the industry,” Goad says. “A lot of dealers have an inkling of what’s going on. They’ve heard of the problems, but there’s so many people claiming to be experts that give out bad info. The dealers are getting confused on what’s really happening.”

While the new skills may not add quantity to a business, the better and more thorough understanding will improve the quality of services offered. “It betters them by providing another skill,” Goad says. “It would make them more proficient at what they’re doing. It gives them a better understanding of what’s going on in the engine which will make them more efficient.”

All Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are Power Pro Approved, an accredited certification developed by the North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA) for outdoor power equipment dealers. With enough CEUs, dealers can become fully certified through the Equipment and Engine Training Council (EETC).

The EETC is a non-profit professional association organized to address a lack of certified technicians through its accreditation programs.

All classes offered require pre-registration. Following pre-registration, all signees will receive email confirmation and a link to register for an optional certification test. Testing will take place after each technician training class.

The tests are 150 question exams to be taken within two hours. Study guides are available to help prepare for the tests. Testees will be notified on Oct. 28 whether they passed or failed. Certificates will be mailed to those who passed. A certification lasts for three years.