You may have seen there is a request in today’s Weekly Update for your specialist input.

It’s not from us here at Service Dealer – the request has come in from David Kirshner, independent consultant to Land-based Engineering and T Level panel member.

David is asking for dealers to put forth their views on the proposed new training scheme – the Land-based Engineering Level 3 T level qualification which is due to be introduced in 2022 / 23.

David has told us that he believes this qualification will be a vital link for those leaving education and joining the industry.

It seems like something which many dealers could well hold strong views on, considering just how difficult many are finding it, recruiting new staff at the moment. The chance to have your thoughts on how to possibly shape a forthcoming qualification, seems like one which you may not want to pass up.

As David says, “This is the opportunity for those involved in all aspects of our industry and training provision to have an input to ensure that the Land-based Engineering T level qualification meets the needs of industry."

This view is backed up by Keith Christian, director of BAGMA who posted a comment on an edition of this Weekly Update a few weeks ago when we were discussing a possible recruitment crisis.

Keith said then, “The issue of recruitment and retention in the Landbased Industry sector is one that is getting a lot of attention from the various trade associations involved and from LE-TEC as well as related organisations throughout the rest of Europe.

“The bigger challenge has been to get the industry itself, dealers generally, to play their part in a recruitment strategy and step up to the plate and play an active role when asked to do so.

“We absolutely need the employers take an interest in a National strategy to help industry as a whole."

The view taken by these guys is that dealers need to be proactive in shaping future training provision and contributing all that they can into making the industry seem an attractive proposition to potential candidates. And to be fair I think most dealers would agree with this too.

Indeed in the most recent issue of Service Dealer magazine, where we published the results of our dealer recruitment survey, an overwhelming majority of respondents said that to tackle this difficulty in the recruitment market, it’s a responsibility which needs to be burdened by all sections of the industry. Dealers, manufacturers, trade associations, schools and colleges all need to somehow play their part.

Qualifications such as this and apprentice schemes, be they from dealerships or manufacturers, are all vital cogs in the system.

Last week I spoke about a dealer who had been telling me about the faith they place in their own apprenticeship scheme for finding their stars of the future. This week I've been hearing from a manufacturer about their latest training scheme, for a feature in an upcoming issue of the magazine.

Rob Edwards, business development manager, Agriculture, Kubota UK, has been telling Service Dealer about why they as a company have been placing such a high priority on delivering their apprenticeship scheme - "..so that the next generation of dealer technicians have a solid foundation upon which to start to their career," he says.

You can read more about their plans and beliefs when the next issue is published, but to sum it up Rob says, "We strongly believe that attracting new graduates to a career as a dealership technician is an issue worth championing."

Continuing the staffing theme next issue, our Business Monitor editor Adam Bernstein, has put together three superb essays, written by employment experts, which in turn consider issues surrounding recruiting staff, motivating them to perform better for you and vitally, retaining their loyalty.

It's clearly an ongoing and complex subject and one which no doubt will be picked up by both our speakers and delegates at November's Service Dealer Conference. Until then, please feel free to contribute to the dialogue by leaving comments on this Weekly Update or contacting Service Dealer via any of our channels.