For company that looking for a good source of tech is the local school system. Many of them offer auto classes and when the kids finish they cant find jobs. If a dealer want younger tech then start them off as PM tech and move them up as their talent grow.
I know of a company that did that to one guy and paid $8.00/hr and after six months the guy ask for more money and the company said NO. So the guy went to another dealer and now after 10 year in the business the guy is making $23 per hour.
So the lesson learned is if you hire young tech at low pay dont be afraid to raise their pay or you will lose them.

The biggest obstacles to get lift truck techs that I have seen is pay and work environment. If a tech works for an auto dealer he is working in a clean comfortable well organized shop. They also have the potential on Florida's pay scale to make the better part of $70,000 a year where as a master grade tech that has to work in the field, in some of the worst environments, weather, disgruntled customers, etc. In Florida a master grade lift truck tech will make at best $55,000 a year.

The right person to be a lift truck tech are few and far between anymore. The work ethic, the desire, just isnt the same as it was 20 or 30 years ago. The guys that are master grade techs are getting to the age of getting out of the business and retiring or getting into an area of the business less abusive on the old body.

The industry as a whole needs to step up and decide to bring up wages and benefits. Make the job more appealing and really step up to the plate with good apprentice programs because vocational schools aren't getting the demand for classes on lift truck education.

I'm sure there are some forklift trade schools out there, just not many. It's good that your company is willing to hire and train new guys.

I think if you want to get young people interested in forklift service, it's like any other product you want to sell, advertise, advertise, and have the schooling available, wether it's at a communtiy college or a devry type trade school.

Then again, I think I like it just the way it is, Auto mechanics are a dime a dozen (note: i'm not in no way disrespecting or degrading the auto guys !!) but there are alot of them and I think that it's because its promoted in college and on trade school commercials all the time.

I say this humbley and I know alot of you forklift mechanics out there that have been in the business a while know this as well, you can get a job tomorrow at any of the competitors if you wanted too and thats because the forklift mechanic is a trade that is not offered in most schools or advertised on tv. It's a trade were you had learn from grumpy old school forklift mechanics and maybe sent to some dealer schools but mostly had to learn by trial and error.
So in my own hillbilly mind, I like knowing no matter where I go I have job, because the market is not flooded with forklift mechanics.

I hope I did not offend any auto machanics out there, i know they work just as hard as the forklift mechainc and are needed just as bad, so I apoligize if I did.

There are some colleges & trade schools for lift truck training. There are 2 colleges in Canada that offer courses in fork lift repair. I believe Flight Systems Industrial Components in PA still offers lift truck electrical training.
Our company has hired 3 apprentices so far with very good luck. They work in the shop until we feel they have the lift truck mentality. If they want to pursue a road career, then they ride with different road techs to get a feel and the experience of the road and how each tech operates, hoping he gets the best from each one.

You said sales rep didnt you? The discussion was concerning technicians. I also know alot of reps that have minimal or no mechanical or forktruck background. Having a material handling or mechanical background is a plus when being a rep but is not a requirement. Most major dealerships that i know look for someone with a mechanical background when hiring, whether it's automotive, or diesel. I havent seen a major dealer hire someone straight out of high school and train them from the ground up, not to say it has not happened, i just have not seen it.
When a dealer is looking for a tech they need someone that can jump in with minimal supervision and needs minimal training, that the way that i have seen it work with most of the dealers in Chicago.

I am a sales rep in MN our sales team has 5 reps I am 25 and the two other reps are 26 45 and 60.

I think another reason is that the material handling industry does not have any tech schools dedicated to the industry. If you want to be an auto mechanic, there are auto mechanic programs offered in every community college and there are plenty of auto mechanic tech schools offered.

I believe if there were programs in our local community colleges or tech schools that taught this industry there would be as much intrest in this field as with the auto mechanics.
I know a lot of kids and some adults who ask me where i went to school to be a forklift mechanic and i tell them that i was in the Army for 12 years working on Tanks and heavy equipment and when i got out i was hired in a forklift company where i learned the trade and was sent to schools through the dealerships.

Unfortunately the dealerships that i know do not want to hire young people that have no experience or mechanical background, so thats why we need programs in our local colleges that will promote and teach the material handling industry.

I hope i did not repeat myself to many times, thanks for listening.

In a nutshell - service industry is an example of low cost business model. A low cost business suggest you pay low wages, because you can't afford pay high rates. Low wages repell new labor force.
From an 'attractivity" perspactive - forklifts and and service in particular - very inattractive industries, so new labour force would go to other industries even if they offer similar wage rates.
There are some other easons, but even those two are quite significant.....


Hope I didn't offense anybody :-)