Lack of trained techs!!

[FLOWER]

The poll regarding problems at Milton, perhaps should be about problems in the industry regarding techs....

Why is there no accredited training course, no 'bits of paper' to show that training and a certain level of experience has been achieved? Surely, in this day and age and with the expense of bowling equipment, game charges and tournament entry fees climbing all the time, has this area of our game/sport/business been so sadly neglected....machine breakdowns, ball damage and lack of lane preparation knowledge is a common occurrence in most centres - there is so much advertising of products to boost sales of equipment, sponsorship and time going into providing major and minor tournaments to showcase the game, state of the art oiling machines, drilling machines etc. etc. - but not enough TRAINED personell at the most important and basic levels of the industry. Hold ups, lack of maintainence, machine breakdowns etc. are time wasters and $$$ wasters....

Surely, it is time now to address this 'old chestnut' in the industry - it has been getting worse as the years go by and the bowlers and techs. themselves deserve better.

I hope this will not offend 'trained' techs. but we do criticize when there are problems, only to see a 'baby' down the back, trying their hardest to fix something basic.

Flower

 

[Black Duck]

Being a service manager in a another industry that is desperately short of qualified technicians I cannot harp enough on TRAINING.

Then again in this time and day why would young people want to take on a trade technical job when IT and high tech jobs are paying higher hourly rates.

Air-Cond techs can earn $25 to $32/hr + fully serviced and maintained vehicle
with fuel card and moblie phone

Others may be able to tell me but the last time I looked TAFE's were not running courses for Bowling Centre technicians, this is all carried out by the individual centres and let us face reality, why would a qualified tech want to train another person all about their job, this would lessen the ablity of the qualified tech to demand a higher hourly rate from the centre operator.

An apprenticeship in "Service Technician" for bowling centres, sounds good but I do not think it is going to happen, hence you are going to get electrician, mechanical fitters, fitters and turners or just good guys with mechanical aptitude attemptng to learn about machines that are designed and built in another country.

Some of the techs I have met over the years were lucky or motivated enough to work with experienced techs who in turn were taught the right way, but what is going to happen when the teaching process stops, as I have experienced the techs who have the abilties and knowledge will be able to dictate what they want in wages consequently costs will go up and hence game rates will rise, the old demand and supply theory

 

[Hayley]

thats a good point flower, as there are ball drilling coarses and not tech coarses so when there are no bowlers to bowl on the lanes we wont need ball drillers?

 

[willey]

Good point Flower, as someone who worked for over 36 years as a Technician I can tell you that we regularly had Training Schools from the late 70's till the mid 80's, but it's nearly 20 years since a proper School has been set up like we used to have at Bankstown Bowl.

Unfortunately many Centre's to save money, have thier Technical Staff, do multiple jobs, such as cleaning the Centre before closing or being second man on the Control Counter.

All this makes it impossible to run the Schools as the Centre's won't pay the extra cost in Staff wages( somebody has to work while they learn), this also creates the famous "CATCH 22" situation, if nobody is working down the back who is maintaining the Machines.

Food for thought.

willey