A career day will be held during KnowledgeFest in Dallas later this month for students at local vocational and technical schools to introduce them to the 12 volt industry.
If successful, the program will be extended to the other KnowledgeFest shows, which are held annually in Indianapolis, Orlando and Las Vegas, potentially providing many retailers around the country with a chance to meet and mentor new installers.
The program is sponsored by the Mobile Electronics Association (MEA), its member manufacturers, MECP and other industry members.
The goal is attract 50 candidates for the new career day, said MEA. The candidates will attend KnowledgeFest on Sunday, August 28 from 11:30am to 2:00pm where they will speak to exhibitors. They will also attend an orientation session where local retailers will host booths to discuss their internship programs with the candidates.
Kris Bulla of MECP and a representative of the Installer Institute will speak at the orientation. Jason Kranitz of Kingpin University will also address the meeting.
The career day is designed to help resolve the industry’s critical shortage of installers. “The lack of qualified installers could have a crippling effect if it continues and now is the time for the industry to work together to address this serious issue,” said Mike Anderson of AlpsAlpine.
If you are a retailer in the Dallas area and able to mentor and train interns to become technicians, please contact Richard Basler at [email protected]. The goal is to have 20 retailers participating in the event.
Car Toys, Seattle, with 48 stores in all and twelve stores in the Dallas/Ft Worth region, has played a significant role in creating the new Install Tech Career Day Workshop at KnowledgeFest August 26-28th. It joined with committee members from MEA, VOXX, Alpine, Installer Institute, MECP and others.
Gregg Thomas, VP Merchandising for Car Toys said, “KnowledgeFest is a great place to showcase what we do in our industry all in one location…. New candidates that want to start a career in Mobile Electronics installation will experience demo and competition show vehicles, new products and be able to enroll in a 1 hour workshop. The workshop is focused on how to get into our industry, meeting with local retailers that are hiring installers through apprenticeship programs, and available training courses from MECP and the Installer Institute to develop new skills.”
Thomas said enlisting new installers “is the most important, key element in what drives our business. In the past two years, the industry has had incredible growth, even with the shortage of products. But every car audio retailer relies on their install teams to drive sales every day. We can’t just rely on [the current] group of installers, as we need to replenish that with a younger installer that may have an interest in cars, or wheels and tires or in detailing their car, and may not even have thought of career in installation.”
Thomas will attend the Dallas event along with the Car Toys’ Dallas Regional Manager, Store Managers and installers.
MEA is a 12 volt trade association, which sponsors the following upcoming KnowledgeFest industry events:
- August 26-28, 2022 – Dallas, TX
- February 3-5, 2023 – Las Vegas, NV
- May 19-21, 2022 – Orlando, FL
- June 26-28, 2022 – Indianapolis, IN
- August 2023 – Dallas, TX
