Maryland nonprofit trains former inmates to be auto techs

HALETHORPE, Md. — Marty Schwartz was running a program to provide low-cost used vehicles to underprivileged Maryland residents so they could get to their job, but then he ran into a problem — the repair shops he worked with couldn't recondition the up to 40 donated vehicles a month because of a lack of service technicians.

That's why in 2015 Schwartz added a service technician training element to his nonprofit organization Vehicles for Change with one specific population in mind.

"As we developed the [technician training] idea, we leaned toward training individuals coming out of prison," said Schwartz, the organization's CEO.

He knew Maryland's prisons had automotive service technician training programs, but many program graduates couldn't get jobs after release because of their criminal record and their lack of work experience.

"They already had some training; we just needed to figure out how to get them jobs," Schwartz said.

Vehicles for Change stepped in to provide the additional training and hands-on experience needed as well as dealership contacts. It currently supplies service technicians to about 10 dealership groups, including MileOne Autogroup, DARCARS Automotive Group and Pohanka Automotive Group.

About 90% of Vehicles for Change graduates were previously incarcerated. It has trained more than 220 technicians and plans to train up to 120 more this year.

The program lasts for four months. Students are paid to attend class eight hours a day, five days a week, including working on vehicles. Most graduates go to work in franchised dealerships, though not all, Schwartz said.

"One of the things we try to do is ascertain the best fit for them," he said. "Some are a better fit for small, independent shops."

The technician training program has an 89% completion rate and a 95% placement rate, Schwartz said. Fewer than 5% of its graduates end up back in prison compared with a recidivism rate in the general population of more than 80% for those with a juvenile record, Schwartz said.

Vehicles for Change is helping meet a huge need, said Mike Coley, president of the ASE Education Foundation. The program is certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.

The auto industry is "woefully short of automotive techs, like every skilled trade in America," he said.

Coley bemoans the general lack of interest in a career as a service technician.

"Too many people have bought into the myth you need a four-year college degree and a pile of debt," he said. "The beauty of automotive service is it can't be outsourced, and it can't be automated."

Vehicles for Change graduate Iyana King, 19, knew she didn't want to go to college, but "I did want to pursue a change," she said.

Her mother gave her information on the program and King, who said she was always interested in cars, was hooked.

King is an outlier in that she has never been incarcerated and is a woman; only about 10 of the program's graduates are female.

The Vehicles for Change class was immediately hands-on, according to King, who said he relished the camaraderie between the instructors and students.

"You are never doing anything by yourself, and there is never anyone telling you, 'You can't do it,' " she said.

When she graduated, the program let her keep her tool kit and sold her a car. Vehicles for Change charges $950 for a used vehicle; recipients receive a 12-month, 7% loan guaranteed by the organization.

King now works as a service technician at Bob Davidson Ford-Lincoln in Baltimore.

"I got a job I really want to do and my first car through Vehicles for Change — all in the same breath," she said.

Bob Davidson Ford-Lincoln employs four program graduates, said Service Manager Chris Maloney. He welcomes the additional source of technicians.

"We have had a tech shortage in this industry for about five years, and we have really felt it since the pandemic," he said.

Program graduates are always well-prepared for a job interview and know what to expect in terms of an offer letter and starting pay, Maloney said. They also know how to work as part of a team in a repair shop.

"This is the best program out there, and I can't say enough good things about it," he said.

More dealerships will learn about Vehicles for Change in the coming months. It began a partnership with the National Automobile Dealers Association in late 2021, and the dealership organization plans to introduce Schwartz and his technician training program to its members.

"We are pretty plugged in around the industry," said Andy Koblenz, NADA's executive vice president of legal and regulatory affairs.

The supply of service technicians coming out of Vehicles for Change is set to expand exponentially in the future. Schwartz and industry partners have developed a virtual-reality training program.

"By using virtual reality, my feeling is we can fill that [service technician supply] funnel completely full at the top," Schwartz said. "Maybe in the matter of three years using VR, we will be training 150,000 people a year. Maybe half will want to be techs."