Larry Michaels is the general manager of Park Place Infiniti in Las Vegas. The dealership recently instituted an internship program for students to two local vocational schools in order to provide training for the students, and increase the pool of qualified potential employees in the region. The students work in every department, including parts and service.
What was the genesis of this program? Why did the dealership decide to move forward?
Park Place has a long history of offering comprehensive training and job development. In Las Vegas, we saw an opportunity to complement our commitment to on-the-job training while also filling a void at local automotive technology courses, namely the lack of real-life experience at a dealership. Thus, we created a six-week, paid internship opportunity for students attending two Las Vegas technical academies: the Southeast Career Technical Academy and the Southwest Career and Technical Academy.
We take pride in offering local high school students the opportunity to learn first-hand about how a dealership operates, from the technical side of service to the business perspective, including customer service and sales.
What types of jobs are the interns performing in the parts and service department?
An intern assists the parts department with keeping the dealership’s inventory updated and accurate, as well as ensuring that parts are stocked and available for use or purchase.
In the service department, the intern gets hands-on experience with regular maintenance tasks, like oil changes, as well as more involved projects, like an engine repair. And while working on the vehicles, the intern rotates so they can learn from a different technician each day. This rotation allows the intern to see how each technician performs their daily tasks, offering them multiple perspectives and enabling them to develop their own process.
How are they trained for those jobs? How are the technicians, advisors, and counter staff involved?
The interns shadow the technicians, service writers, and sales staff to see first-hand how they do their jobs. Each team member takes the time to explain to the intern their job, their work process, upcoming tasks and dealership policies so the intern can fully assist the full-time employees in their daily work. The training the intern receives is similar to that which a new employee would receive.
What are the goals of the internship program?
The goal of the internship program is to support the local education of students interested in the automotive industry, with the hope that some of them will come back to work at the dealership after graduation.
What are your plans for the program moving forward?
We hope to expand the program and hire two or three interns at a time. We see supporting the education of local students interested in the automotive industry through this internship program as an investment in our future employees.
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