Jeffrey Personett’s (JP’s) dream job would be working as an auto mechanic. He had a short term on-the-job (OJT) training opportunity as a mechanic helper and loved working on cars. He moved to Roseburg and worked at McDonald’s for seven years, demonstrating his loyalty to his employer but he really wanted to get back into automotive work. His job developer presented a proposal that showed how hiring JP would save the company money and offered an OJT to train him to do more automotive duties. Mobile Tune owner, Ken Deatherage interviewed JP and asked him about the work he did at his former OJT. He was impressed that JP remembered the steps to an automotive process that he had not done in over seven years. He called JP’s former trainer and was given a glowing recommendation so Mobile Tune accepted the OJT offer and agreed to hire JP as an oil, lube filter technician/mechanic apprentice if he successfully completed the OJT.

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We prepared a daily duty list to itemize his duties, indicating whether he did the job under guidance or if he did the job without assistance. He was doing most of the duties unassisted but his productivity was slow. So we made weekly training and productivity goals. We also set a daily phone alarm to remind JP to focus on work and socialize less. He also struggled to find the right wrench for a project so we started an automotive resource guide where he would list the year, make and model of a car and the wrench sizes he used. This helped him see patterns and learn to use the correct wrenches. He was able to increase productivity and learn new techniques to the point of being offered the job and given a raise, uniform and tools.

He mainly works with one trainer but the plan is to have JP assist all the mechanics with preparatory or finish jobs so they can focus on more technical work and increase the whole shop’s productivity. Ken, the owner was able to see how hiring an apprentice truly saves the company money and gives a chance to someone with the dream of performing basic automotive work. Since he is doing well, they plan to teach him more techniques and broaden his expertise.