Blue Moon Mobile RV, an independent, full-service RV repair shop and mobile business proudly, announced a historic milestone with the graduation of Texas’s first United States Department of Labor (USDOL) RV technician graduate, Jaxon Jackson. Blue Moon Mobile RV started its USDOL apprentice program 2020-TX-78777 in 2020 to ensure its technicians delivered the highest level of expertise to clients.
As a paid apprentice at Blue Moon Mobile RV, Jackson was provided manufacturer-level training on the full spectrum of RV products. He worked under several expert mentors, with over 100 years combined experience. At graduation, he had achieved almost 5,000 hands-on hours over three and a half years. Jackson , originally from Australia, previously completed a Boilermaker apprenticeship, before moving to the United States.
“Jaxon hit the shop floor with the excitement of a 12-year-old! His experience with apprenticeship in Australia allowed him to progress quickly to master/mentor after only three and a half years. His witty good-natured method of teaching the new apprentices is a joy for all,” said Founder Rodney Simmons.
Company & Program History
Blue Moon Mobile RV began with one man and one truck. Rodney Simmons worked at industry standouts such as Foretravel and Buddy Gregg, before opening Blue Moon Mobile RV in 1996. 28 years later, clients return time and again because every effort is made to be a refreshing contrast to the usual repair experience, Blue Moon RV. This has been the fuel that built Blue Moon Mobile RV into one of North Texas’ premier service centers.
The primary constrictor at all repair companies is the staffing of expert technicians. Backlogs, waiting times and rework are all impacted by the number and knowledge base of the shop’s technicians. With every RV consisting of multiple systems, a variety of parts manufacturers, all installed in a variety of locations, training and experience is essential. There is an illusion that a person can become an expert organically or by spending a few weeks in a classroom. Expert performers must practice to achieve mastery — that kind of excellence requires the learner to have an experience with the knowledge over thousands of repetitions. Skilled trades have historically been taught using classroom and apprenticeship.
“Rodney suggested and championed the idea of RV repair technicians needing an apprenticeship training model,” said Abby Simmons, director of operations and USDOL program administrator. “All I did was take his idea and made it happen with the involvement of our highly invested team.”
Since inception, the program has been continually evolving to ensure it is covering all the bases. Administering and building the program was completed without adding any additional employees other than apprentices. The program is a system of training involving 4 levels with a combination of the following:
- Online in-house training
- In person in-house training
- 1:1 mentorship
- Online manufacturing training
- In person manufacturer training
- Tracking of actual hands-on time
The program’s required knowledge and repair competencies were generated by tracking all task items and labor requested on each repair order to build a true needs-based list of training competencies.
“This provided an accurate and relevant way to prioritize training. Products are phased out and new products are launched continually. Using our existing database of workorders helped jump start the workbook of training competencies,” said Abby Simmons.
After establishing the training competencies, additional components were added to level 4 to ensure graduates had a well-rounded knowledge base.
After five years of sponsoring the Registered USDOL program, Blue Moon Mobile RV reports additional significant company-wide positive impacts, which include a clear and consistent standard of quality, greater workforce harmony among the multigenerational workforce and improved staff retention. The Blue Moon Mobile RV’s program now includes four mentors and three apprentices.
“Admittedly, sponsoring the USDOL program has been involved, but providing a life-long career track that does not put people in debt has been very fulfilling,” said Abby Simmons. Additional career and program information can be found on Blue Moon Mobile RV’s career page.
