RVTI and RV Retailer Deliver ‘RV Techs Needed’ Message at School Counselor Convention
The demand for RV technicians to service and repair RVs has increased along with demand for units, especially with all the new users entering the lifestyle. To keep up with this demand, the RV Technical Institute is looking for ways to recruit and train the next generation of RV technicians.
Last week, the RV Technical Institute was in Austin for the American School Counselor Association Annual Conference. Approximately 4,000 school counseling professionals were in attendance, including K-12 school counselors, college professors, graduate students and school counseling supervisors.
During the event, RVTI partnered with RV Retailer, one of its Authorized Learning Partners, to highlight the opportunities the RV industry offers to high schoolers looking for an alternative to a traditional four-year college degree. Discussions included implementation of the RVTI training program in public schools, allowing high school students across the country to graduate with Level 1 and Level 2 certifications.
RV Retailer said it understands this critical need to train and recruit RV techs, and attending the school counselor event alongside RVTI is the latest example of the way RV Retailer has prioritized RV technician training. RV Retailer continues to be a leader in the industry with its investment in service technicians by extending their relationship with RVTI earlier this year. That partnership provides their service technicians with access to the RVTI standardized training, curriculum and certification resources through RVTI’s Authorized Learning Program. RV Retailer has continued its support of the industry through the education and certification for service technicians; they have the most RV dealership locations nationwide who are enrolled in RVTI’s curriculum.
The American School Counselor Association conference was a way for the two organizations to team up and spread the message about the need for service technicians to school counselors, many of whom were learning about RV technicians as a career path for the first time.
“We had a great turnout and the partnership with RV Retailers was fantastic,” said Catherine Barsanti, a content manager for the RV Industry Association who assisted the RVTI team with the event. “They provided two towable RVs and we had so many curious individuals drawn to the booth because of them. Once we explained the RVTI program, we kept getting feedback such as, ‘This is awesome’ and ‘I had no idea this was an option.’ The exposure and awareness these events provide is invaluable and, with the number of counselors that mentioned the program was something they or a family member or friend would also be interested in, the reach extended far beyond schools alone.”
“School counselors are the gateway to the next generation and can help guide students to look into otherwise unknown career opportunities,” added Curtis Hemmeler, executive director of the RV Technical Institute. “Establishing relationships and partnering with K-12 schools across the country is a monumental expansion of our Authorized Learning Partner program. Our team was excited to expand our partnership with RV Retailer earlier this year, and we are pleased to work with their team again. This event is a great chance to put the career path of an RV technician on high schools’ radar.”
