DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 389 868 CE 070 342

AUTHOR Warmerdam, John; And OthersTITLE Training in the Motor Vehicle Repair and Sales Sector

in the Netherlands. Report for the FORCE Programme.First Edition.

INSTITUTTON European Centre for the Development of VocationalTraining, Berlin (Germany).

REPORT NO ISBN-92-826-8685-XPUB DATE 94

NOTE 112p.

AVAILABLE FROM UNIPUB, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391(catalogue no. HX-84-94-096-EN-C: 8 European CurrencyUnits).

PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Adult Education; *Auto Mechanics; Case Studies;

Educational Needs; Educational Practices; EducationalQuality; *Educational Trends; Education WorkRelationship; Employment Practices; EmploymentQualifications; Financial Support; Foreign Countries;National Surveys; Needs Assessment; *On the JobTraining; Program Costs; Program Development; ProgramEffectiveness; *Retailing; *Sales Workers; Tables(Data); Trainers; *Training Methods; Trend Analysis;Work Environment

IDENTIFIERS *Netherlands

ABSTRACTTraining in the motor vehicle repair and sales sector

in the Netherlands was examined in a study that included thefollowing approaches: review of the sector'sstructure/characteristics, institutional and social context,employment practices, changing conditions, and available educationand training; in.depth case studies of four auto repair shops anddealerships (two small, one medium-sized, and one large firm); andidentification of economic, employment, and training trends. It wasdiscovered that, in response to stagnation of the Dutch motor vehiclesales and repair industry in the 1990s, both the Dutch government andthe industry have increased their commitment to vocational trainingand inservice courses and have created a training infrastructure thatcompares favorably with those of other sectors in the Dutch economy.All four businesses studied in depth were managed by individuals whowere very involved in training, had access to good facilities andopportunities for or-the-job teaching/training, and could availthemselves of good external provisions for inservice training.Quality of service was an important element of training philosophy.Training needs were not always analyzed in a very structured way, andnone of the businesses studied evaluated systematically thecosts/benefits of training. Contains 20 references and 19tables/figures. (MN)

FRCEFORMATION CONTINUE EN EUROPE

European Commission

MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIRAND SALES SECTOR

S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERICI

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MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIR AND SALES SECTOR

TRAINING IN THE MOTORVEHICLE REPAIR AND SALES

SECTOR IN THE NETHERLANDSREPORT FOR THE FORCE PROGRAMME

drawn up byJohn Warmerdam

in collaboration withHarry van den Tiliaart and Jacqueline Bosker,

Institute of Applied Social Sciences (ITS)

1993

First edition, Berlin 1994Published by:

CEDEFOP European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training,Jean Monnet House, Bundesallee 22, D-10717 Berlin

Fax 49-30 + 88 41 22 22Tel. 49-30 + 88 41 20 Telex 18 41 63 eucen d

The Centre was established by Regulation (EEC) No 337/75of the Council of the European Communities

Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication.

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1994

ISBN 92-826-8685-X

ECSC-EC-EAEC, Brussels Luxembourg, 1994

Reproduction is authorized, except for commercial purposes, provided the source isacknowledged.

Printed in The United Kingdom

FORCE

Formation continue en EuropeCommission of the European Communities

TASK FORCEHuman Resources, Education, Training and Youth

Rue de la Loi, 200; B-1049 Bruxelles

THE IDEA FORCEThe future economic strength and the potential for social progress of the European Communitydepends on a consistent impovement in the competence and qualifications of its 132.000.000 labourforce. Better continuing vocational training is one of the essential conditions for the success of theSingle Market 1993.The European Commission is determined to support and give fresh impetus to the efforts which com-panies throughout the Community are making to improve continuing training.FORCE is the European Community's action programme for the development of continuing vocationaltraining. It is focussed on companies, especially on small and medium-sized companies. It involves train-ers and training bodies, employer and union representatives - everyone concerned with improving thecompetence of the labour force.

WHAT DOES FORCE OFFER?FORCE promotes working partnerships in continuing training between companies, training bodies,public authorities and social partners.These will include: supporting continuing training innovation through a European transnational net-work, an exchange programme, transnational and transfrontier pilot projects and projects concernedwith the evolution of qualifications; assuring closer policy co-operation between Member States byevolving a common statistical means of analysing what is being done in terms of continuing training,through regular analysis of relevant contractual policy and collective agreements, and through enquir-ies into sectoral needs; supporting the establishment of regional consortia and transnational continuingtraining partnerships which specialise in transferring exemplary good practice to economically weakregions.

JOININGYou can take part in the FORCE network and apply for financial assistance to join its innovation andtransfer exchanrs and projects if you are:a large, medium-sized or small company, a training body working with industry orcommerce, an employer or trade union body, a training or human resource expertor manager.Through FORCE you can help improve continuing training in your company, sector or local labourmarket. At the same time you can help to contribute to the improvement and availability of continuingtraining and thus to shaping the European Community.

53

CEDEFOP

European Centre for the Development of Vocational TrainingJean Monnet House, Bundesallee 22, D-10717 Berlin

Institutional status

CEDEFOP is an autonomous body, independent of the departments of the Commission of the EuropeanCommunities, but its task and activities are closely integrated with those of the Commission, to whichthe Centre contributes its technical and scientific expertise.

Working guidelines for the Centre are laid down by its Management Board, whose members repres-ent the EC Commission (3), trade unions (12) employers organizations (12) and governments (12).The Management Board decides on the Work Programme, draws up and approves budgets andadopts the Annual Report.

The members of the Management Board are appointed by the organizations they represent andremain in office for two years. The chairmanship of the Board changes each year.

Institutional tasks

Information:In the field of vocational training, information is one of the Centre's vital tasks. Its documentation serviceand a constantly updated bibliographical database receive information from a network of nationalcorrespondents, and the information is then made available to a very wide audience, in part via highlysophisticated computerized channels. Its carefully planned publishing policy also ensures that theCentre's voice is heard on major issues in the field of vocational training. It produces its own regularpublications (»Vocational Training«, »CEDEFOP flash« and »CEDEFOP flash special«) and occasionalpublications such as research reports, monographs and manuals.

Research:CEDEFOP, as a centre for the promotion and coordination of research within the Community, providessupport in the form of information, expertise and encouragement for the planning and implementationof vocational training initiatives in Member States. In so doing it serves as a focus for innovation.

Consultation:CEDEFOP, as an organization supporting the Commission, has the task af promoting a concertedapproach to vocational training problems. It takes every opportunity to promote and encourage train-ing.

6 5

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As part of the European Community FORCEprogramme, a sectoral survey has been made oftrends in employment, work and training in theEuropean motor vehicle repair and sales sector.This report describes developments in the Nether-lands. The report is divided into three parts. Thefirst part gives an overview of the sector anddescribes current developments in employment,technology, work, education and training on asectoral level. The second part contains four casestudies of companies that are very active in thefield of training and can act as examples for othercompanies inside the sector and beyond. The thirdpart, the closing chapter, draws conclusions andgives a summary of the findings of the sectoralsurvey and the four case studies.

The Dutch study was prepared and monitored bythe central team, which was responsible for thecoordination of the national sectoral surveys in thetwelve EC Member States. This team consisted ofmembers of research centres that participate in theEURONET Work & Education. The "Institut fürTechnologie und Bildung" (ITB) of the University ofBremen had overall responsibility for the project.The central team was made up of: Felix Raunerand Georg Spottl of the ITB, Kaj Olesen and BrunoClematide of DET in Copenhagen, SkevosPapaioannou of SRC in Athens and Oriol Homsof CIREM in Barcelona. The central team cooperat-ed closely with Tina Bertzeletou, project coordi-nator in CEDEFOP, Berlin.

The Dutch survey was carried out by research staffof the Institute of Applied Social Sciences (ITS) inNijmegen. John Warmerdam was responsible for

the project. He compiled the sectoral survey andthree of the case studies. Harry van den Tillaartcarried out tn case study of the FORD company.Jacqueline Bosker assisted and gathered informa-tion for the sectoral survey. Organizationalsupport was given by Theo Reubsaet of the ITSand Jos Tilkin of the CIBB, the Dutch NationalCoordination Unit for the FORCE programme.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank thecompanies which participated in this survey.Without their willingness to cooperate, the surveywould not have been possible. We appreciate thetime and energy they devoted to this.

We would also like to thank the employers andemployees of organizations which providedsupport for the survey. Members of these organi-zations were involved in selecting case studiesand validated the results in the final report.Particular thanks go to:

the Stichting OOMT;the Stichting INNOVAM;the employers' organization BOVAG;the Industriebond FNV; andthe Industrie- en Voedingsbond CNV.

We hope this report will provide these organiza-tions with useful information for developingtraining policies in their sector.

Dr. A. J. Mens

General Director ITS

77

CONTENTS Page

PART 1 - SECTORAL CONTEXT1. Structure and characteristics of the motor vehicle

sector 13

1.1 Structure of the sector 13

1.2 Size of the sector 13

1.3 Types of company 13

2. Institutional and social context 15

2.1 Establishment policy and economic strategy 15

2.2 New environmental and safety legislation 15

2.3 Changes to labour legislation 16

2.4 New developments in training legislation and policy 16

2.5 Employers' and employees' organizations 17

2.6 Training provision in the sector 17

2.7 Training provisions for importers 18

3. Employment and labour 19

3.1 Employment 19

3.2 Structure of personnel 19

3.3 Areas of employment and job structure 20

3.4 Labour and working conditions 20

3.5 Perspectives 21

4. Changing conditions and implications for skillrequirements 22

4.1 New developments in motor vehicle technology 22

4.2 New developments in repair shop technology 23

4.3 Logistics and administrative computerization 24

4.4 Developments in the markets 24

4.5 Job changes and new qualifications in the repair

shop 25

4.6 Job changes and new qualifications in stores and

sales 26

4.7 New specialist areas and informal jobs 264.8 Developments on the labour market and in recruit-

ment policy 27

5. Education and training 29

5.1 The training system 29

5.2 Regular vocational education 29

5.3 The dual specialist training courses of the appren-

ticeship system 29

5.4 Private short training courses 295.5 In-service training provided by INNOVAM 305.6 In-service training provided by importers 31

5.7 Participatin in training and obstacles to training 32

5.8 New training policy in the sector 33

Annex 35

PART 2 - CASE STUDIES1.

2.

A SMALL CAR REPAIR SHOP, DEALER FOR FSO AND

YUE LOONG

1. General description of the case

2. General description of the company

2.1 Location of the company

2.2 Brand names, forms of distribution and repair

2.3 Structure of the company and human resources

2.4 r3rief history and recent sfrategy development

2.5 Impact of new technology

3. The provision of continuing vocational training

3.1 Structure in the company

3.2 Structure of importer's training centre

3.3 Other institutions

4. Training policy of the company

4.1 Training plans and concepts on repair shop level

4.2 Inter linkage of training concepts and demand

4.3 Training activities since 1987

4.4 Costs of continuing vocational training

5. Evaluation of the training concepts

5.1 Evaluation of the training activities

5.2 Good practice versus normal practice

5.3 Future demand for continuing vocational training

6. Conclusions in relation to good practice and normal

practire

A SMALL CAR REPAIR SHOP, WITHOUT DEALERSHIP

1. General description of the case

2. General description of the firm

2.1 Location of the firm

2.2 Forms of repair and distribJtion

2.3 Human resources

2.4 Structure of the firm

2.5 Brief history and recent strategy development

2.6 Impact of new technology

3. The provision of continuing vocational training

3.1 Structure in the firm

3.2 Structure of trade association centre

3.3 Structure of the public centre

4. The firm's training policy

4.1 Training plans and concepts at the repair shop

level

4.2 Inter linkage of training concepts and demand

4.3 Training activities

4.4 Costs of continuing vocational training

5. Evaluation of the training concepts

5.1 Evaluation of the training activities

5.2 Good practice versus normal practice

5.3 Future demand for continuing vocational training

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6. Conclusions in relation to good practice and normal

practice 57

3. A MEDIUM-SIZED FORD DEALER 59

1. General introduction 59

2. General description of the company 59

2.1 Type of business 59

2.2 Development of the company 60

2.3 Structure of the company 61

2.4 Characteristics of the human resources 62

3. Those involved in the in-service training network 62:

3.1 From training strategy to continuing training

strategy via the recruitment strategy

3.2 The training structure within the company

3.3 The training structure of Ford Nederland BV

3.4 INNOVAM's training structure

4. Training policy and training practice in this company

4.1 The training plan for the repair shop

4.2 The relationship between the training plan and

the training requirements

4.3 The target group for training

4.4 The structure and purpose of the training

4.5 The costs and benefits of in-service training

5. Evaluation of the training plan 73

5.1 The employee questionnaire 73

5.2 An example 74

5.3 Future training requirements 74

6. General conclusio.is which can be drawn from the

company 75

Appendix 1 76

Appendix 2 78

42

4. A LARGE GM-OPEL, BMW AND MITSUBISHI DEALER 79

1. General description of the case 79

2. General description of the business 79

2.1 Information on the business 79

2.2 Brief history and recent strategy development 79

2.2.1 A brief history 79

2.2.2 Recent strategy 80

2.2.3 Impact of new technology 80

2.3 Structure of the company 81

2.3.1 Company orgunization 81

3.2 Job structure 81

2.3.3 Work organization 82

2.4 Human resources 83

3. The provision of continuing vocational training 83

3.1 Structure within the business 83

3.2 Structure of the GM-Opel training centre 84

3.3 Structure of the BMW training centre 85

3.4 Other institutions 85

ill=11.4. The business's training policy

4.1 Training concepts at the repair shop

4.2 Training plans

4.2.1 Training plans within the business

4.2.2 GM-Opel's training plans

4.2.3 BMW's training plans

4.3 The employees' training activities

4.3.1 Training activities in the Opel companies

4.3.2 Training activities in the BMW companies

4.3.3 Evaluation of the employee questionnaire

level

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924.4 Costs of continuing vocational training 934.5 Participation of social partners and trade unions 94

5. Evaluation of the training concepts 945.1 Good practice versus normal practice 945.2 Future requirements of continuing vocational training 95

6. Conclusions on good practice and normal practice 95Appendix 1 97Appendix 2 98

PART 3 - TRENDS1. Introduction 992. Trends in the economy, employment and training 100

2.1 The economy 1002.2 Employment 1002.3 Training 101

3. Normal and good practice 1033.1 Main characteristics of the cases 1033.2 Organization of work 1033.3 Specialization and segmentation 1033.4 Regulation o training 1043.5 Training networks 1043.6 Training and service-quality 105

4. Aspects of the social dialogue on training 1064.1 Training philosophy 1064.2 Training plans on repair shop level 1064.3 Needs analysis 1064.4 Traget groups of training 1074.5 Training costs 1074.6 The costs/benefit evaluation 107

5. Perspectives 1085.1 Employment 1085.2 Training needs 1085.3 Quality of training 108

Bibliography 111

1 1

SECTORAL CONTEXT

PART 1:

1. Structure and characteristics of themotor vehicle sector

2. Institutional and social context

3. Employment and labour

4. Changing conditions andimplications for skill requirements

5. Education and training

Annex

12

1. STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OFTHE MOTOR VEHICLE SECTOR

1.1 Structure of the sectorWithin the motor vehicle industry in the Nether-lands, we can identify a number of categories ofcompany according to their principal businessactivities. Diagram 1 shows th s. structure of thesector. Table 1.1 gives an overview of the numberof companies by category for 1977, 1983, 1989and 1990. In 1990 motor vehicle companies areclassified by type: dealers, general motor vehiclebusiness, the second-hand car trade and repairshops (garages). This detailed information is notavailable for preceding years. Furthermore, it is

not always possible to differentiate exactlybetween the different categories. Almost allcompanies carry out repair work. Most generalmotor vehicle businesses sell both new andsecond-hand cars. In the figures presented, wherea company both sells and repairs cars, it is

classified as a repair company when the repairwork accounts for more than 10% of its combinedsales and repair turnover (20% for second-handcar dealers); in all other cases the company isincluded in one of the car sales categories. Table 1.2goes on to give an idea of the number ofcompanies in various branches that are not motorvehicle repair or sales companies, but which arestill included in the motor vehicle sector.

Companies in the bodywork sector are excludedfrom this sectoral study. A great number of thesecompanies are in fact manufacturing companieswhich also carry out bodywork repairs. The workcarried out in these companies (sheet metal work)is of a completely different nature to that carriedout in the repair shops (repairs). In addition, thebodywork sector has a structure all of its own, withits own employers' federation, separate collectiveregulations governing working conditions and itsown infrastructure for training and further educa-tion.

1.2 Size of the sectorLeaving aside bodywork companies, there were,in 1990, 12,000 companies in the motor vehiclerepair and sales sector. This is a considerablyhigher number than at the end of the seventies,owing to the growth in the motor vehicle sector inthe eighties. This can be accounted for largely bythe growth in the number of cars on the road. Thenumber of cars registered in the Netherlands rosefrom 4.2 million in 1977 to nearly 6 million in1990. The turnover of motor vehicle companies inthe sector also rose in the seventies and eighties,with a small dip in the recession years of '80 and'81 (see tables 1.4 and 1.5 for the shares ofdifferent makes). In 1987 the sector attained apeak turnover of NLG 36.4 billion or approximutely 8.4% of the Dutch gross domestic product.In 1988 turnover fell by 9% to around NLG 30billion, but since then it hr.s increased slightly (DM1990). The development of turnover in the sectoris heavily influenced by developments in tradingactivities. In 1987 new car sales accounted for50% of total turnover, with another quarter coming

from the sale of second-hand cars. The share ofrepair shop activities is a very modest 4-5%(RABO, 1989). Growth in the number of motorvehicle companies is expected to even off in thecoming years with stagnation in the number of carsales. The number of new registrations variedconsiderably in the eighties with a low of390,000 in 1980 and a peak in 1986 of560,000. This figure has steadied at around500,000 during recent years and is not expectedto rise much in the foreseeable future. Littleincrease is expected in the number of cars onthe road and replacement demand is Aely tocome under pressure due to the longer averagelife expectancy of cars. The current life expectancyof a car in the Netherlands is just over 10 years,compared with just 8.2 years in 1978 (EIM,1989; RABO, 1989). The rise in the average lifeexpectancy of vehicles, also a reflection of theimproved quality of newer cars, will also have aneffect on the amount of work for repair shops.

Most motor vehicle businesses fall into the SMEcategory. Accordirg to figures from the chamberof commerc% the breakdown by size of businessin 1990 was as follows:

0 4 employees 70%5 9 employees 15%10 - 50 employees - 11%50 + employees 0.5%figures not known - 3%

According to the Dutch Central Statistics Office,the growth in the eighties came largely fromsmaller businesses, i.e. those with less than 10employees (see table 1.3). In total there were12,000 of these businesses in 1991, in whichsome 70,000 people were working. 40% of thesebusinesses reported no employees other than theentrepreneur himself (RABO, 1989).

1.3 Types of companyImporters play a very important role in the Dutchmotor vehicle industry. For new car sales, theNetherlands has a system of selective distribution,with the distribution of cars through importers'national sales networks. There are about 30 carimporters. A number of them belong to manufac-turers, the others are independent (RABO, 1989).Each importer signs contracts with a dealernetwork, giving the dealers the exclusive rights tosell a make of car within a specified area. Thedealer contracts, which are renewed each year,contain all kinds of agreements concerning thenumber of cars to be sold, stocks to be held,warranty arrangements, sales and marketing etc.In many cases they also include agreements ontraining. The importers take responsibility for thenational advertising campaigns and offer dealersvarious types of support in areas such as manage-ment, administration, sales and training of staff.These tied dealers have the advantage of tradingin a relatively protected marketplace; in their area 1 3

14

they will find no competitors selling the samemake. However, the needs of dealers andimporters do not always coincide. Importers oftencome under pressure from manufacturers toincrease sales. In their turn, they tend to putadditional pressure on their dealers. All sorts ofincentives are introduced to boost sales, most ofwhich mean lower profit margins for the dealers.

With the disappearance of internal Europeanborders in 1992, we can expect the role of theimporters to become less importunt. We canexpect to see more large-scale distribution andmore direct relationships between dealers andmanufacturers. The import organizations whichcurrently fulfil a primarily wholesale function canbe expected to assume a more commercial roleand offer dealers increased support in areas suchas management, supervision, training etc. Therelationship between importer and dealer willbecome somewhat looser. This could also meandealers no longer being bound to one particularmake, but being able to sell different makes. This isalready *tile case for makes which are not mutuallycompetitive (Amro, 1988, NEI, 1988; RABO,1989, ABN, 1989).

In 1990 there were 4,300 dealers in the Nether-lands. The pr incipal activity of these companies is,obviously, selling new cars. We find dealers inboth passenger cars and commercial vehicles.Some dealers trade in both kinds of car. Dealerswill sometimes use other (sub)dealers to sell withintheir areas. In addition to selling new cars, dealersfrequently provide maintenance and repair ser-vices, mostly for the same make, and also deal insecond-hand cars. Most dealers are legallyindependent entrepreneurs. Nonetheless, in run-ning their companies, they are tightly bound to theterms of their dealer contracts (RABO, 1988;ABN, 1989).

In the general motor vehicle business sector, theproportion of repair and maintenance work ismostly greater than in the dealerships. Thesecompanies handle a variety of makes, most ofthem older models, as most people buying newcars take them to their dealers for servicing in thefirst few years. General motor vehicle companiesalso sell cars, but largely second-hand cars. They

14

rarely have large and expensive showrooms anddo not need to keep stock, which enables them tokeep their running costs significantly lower thanthose of average-sized dealerships.

General motor vehicle companies have, over thelast ten years, lost a share of their business tospecialized repair companies. These companiesoffer parts and component repair work. Animportant group in this sector are the accidentrepair shops. Another large group are the so-called 'quick-fit' companies, that is, servicestations which carry out relatively simple repairssuch as replacing batteries, putting in new exhaustsystems or fitting new tyres.

The deaierships' share of the maintenance andrepair market is relatively high; 55% in 1981 and54% in 1987. Non-dealerships increased theirshare somewhat over this period from 9% to 13%.The percentage share of specialized car compa-nies and other companies also remained stable(from 11% to 13% and from 13% to 12%respectively). Motor vehicle companies and spe-cialists can be expected to retain and evenincrease their market share over the coming years(BOVAG, 1987).

A completely new group to enter the marketplaceare the car leasing companies. This group hasgrown significantly in the Netherlands over thepast few years. The sale of passenger cars toleasing companies currently accounts for morethan 20% of the whole new car market. Thearrival of these and other 'fleet-owners' (compa-nies with their own car fleets) has led to aconcentration of purchasing power in the handsof a small number of market players and thus to arelative weakening of the position of the motorvehicle sales companies. Fleet-owners can usuallynegotiate favourable conditions for the purchaseand servicing of their fleets, with subsequentnegative effects on the motor vehicle companies'margins. On the other hand, leased cars areserviced more frequently and the higher number ofcars sold keeps sales costs down. Moreover, motorvehicle companies can offer their own leasingservices, and a significant number already do so.In 1988 one-third of car companies offered theirown leasing arrangements (RABO, 1989).

2. INSTITUTIONAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

Various developments in national legislation andregulations have had an effect on training policyin the motor vehicle industry. These include notonly recent economic and labour legislation, butalso current developments in environmental,(traffic) safety and educational legislation.

2.1 Establishment policy and economicstrategyA very important instrument of economic policy forDutch companies is the Company EstablishmentAct (Vestigingswet) of 1954. This law influencesthe entry of new entrepreneurs into a particularsector, laying down specific minimum qualifica-tions with regard to skills and business know-howfor anybody wishing to set up business. The motorrepair and sales sector falls under four separatesets of establishment regulations: for the carindustry, the motor vehicle industry, bodywork(repair) companies and tyre servicing companies.Establishment regulations for the currently unregu-lated car breaking industry are currently beingdeveloped. To establish a company in the motorvehicle industry, an entrepreneur must hold twodiplomas, the Car Industry Proficiency Diploma(Diploma Vakbekwaamheid Autobedrijf) and thePractice of Commerce Diploma (Handelskennis) orSmall Business Diploma (Middenstandsdiploma).Both employers' training programmes are carriedout by 1NNOVAM, the training institute for thesector (see paragraph 5). The Car IndustryProficiency Diploma can be required for runninga second facility of an existing company. Thisdiploma is also a requirement for anyone wantingto set up a motorbike sales and repair company.

The Company Establishment Act is currently underheavy discussion. The government is consideringloosening its provisions, which many see asseverely hampering the development of theindustry. The detailed regulations based on thelegislation are viewed as unnecessarily limitingthe opening of new companies and presentingunnecessary obstacles for existing companies thatwant to expand into new or related sectors.Someone starting a business or expanding withina limited part of a business activity must currentlyhold a 'complete' diploma. For example, anentrepreneur specializing in maintenance orreplacement of shock absorbers needs a diplomafor the (whole) motor vehicle industry. Accordingto the government, the professional skills require-ments could be scrapped from the CompanyEstablishment Act. The motor vehicle industryemployers' federation (BOVAG) in part supportsthe government's proposals for easing the Com-pany Establishment Act. The industry organizationwants to see a general proficiency requirementmade a legal requirement for entrepreneurs in allsectors which it represents; in their eyes, this willincrease the quality of entrepreneurship. At thesame time it wants to see legal provisions forindustrial technology, ideally joint regulations forcar, bodywork and tyre servicing companies, and

eventually including the motorbike industry. Em-ployers also want a legal guarantee that each carcompany will include a senior qualified engineerwiti, the required technical skills. Only when legalprovision to safeguard professional proficiencyhas been made elsewhere is the organizationready to accept a new establishment act without aprofessional proficiency requirement (Ministry ofEconomics, 1992). The Company EstablishmentAct is still a matter of heated debate; a finaldecision is not expected until a later date.Whatever the outcome of these decisions, theywill certainly have implications for the content andorganization of the training of entrepreneurs in theindustry.

2.2 New environmental and safetylegislationCompanies in the motor vehicle sector are alsoconfronted with new environmental legislation andregulations. In this area there is talk of tighteningpolicy and regulations governing the organizationof business premises (Nuisance Act), processingmaterials and waste (oils, paints, batteries) andexhaust emissions. Both motor vehicle and repaircompanies will have to meet stricter standards;and entrepreneurs and company employees willbe required to have specific qualifications in thisdomain. For employers in the car breaking sector,the new environmental legislation is one reasonmilitating in favour of introducing a specificestablishment act for the sector, providing certifi-cation for car wrecking companies and fordeveloping a new, recognized "car demolitionexpert" training course. These stricter environmen-tal demands should speed up the development ofnew motor vehicle technology, more specificallyfuel distribution and motor adjustment systems.This should also add further momentum to thealready fast-moving introduction of electroniccomponents (see section 4) and to the need fortraining in this sector.

New regulations governing vehicle safety oreputting more and more -1_,Itands on the motorvehicle industry. For iome years now, Dutchdrivers have been obliged by law to have carswhich are more than three years old inspectedby a recognized inspection station. Car repaircompanies may carry out this Regular GeneralInspection (APK), providing they are officiallyapproved as APK stations. This approval can beobtained only if the company employs a personwith a master's certificate in "motor inspection". Amotor inspection course has just been set upespecially for this and many motor vehiclecompanies are already taking advantage of it.The role of motor inspector has gradually devel-oped into a new type of function within the motorvehicle repair industry. Plans are currently underdiscussion to introduce similar, legally bindinggeneral environmental inspections alongside theAPK. If the plans go ahead, this will greatlystimulate training in the motor vehicle industry.

1

1.

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2.3 Changes to labour legislationThe motor vehicle industry also faces changes inDutch employment legislation. The most importantelement involved here is new legislation on workrelations, working conditions and employmentmeasures.

In 1979 a new statute governing works councils(WOR) came into force, regulating employeerelations and in particular employee participationin company management. The statute givesemployees or their representatives in the workscouncil certain rights and a say in employers'corporate decisions. The works council can have afar-reaching influence depending on the decisionsin question. As far as the rules and regulationsgoverning personnel management are concerned,the works council has a so-called "right ofendorsement". The employer can implementa measure proposed in this area only if theworks council has given its endorsement. Allkinds of regulations on training policy also fallunder these rules. The WOR only has a limitedinfluence in the motor vehicle sector, as the statuteonly applies to those companies employing 35 ormore people, whilst a more limited system appliesto smaller companies (10-35 employees). Manycompanies in the motor vehicle sector are so smallthat they are only partially subject to the rules, if atall.

Between 1982 and 1990 new legislation onworking conditions was introduced. The WorkingConditions Act (abbreviated Dutch title: "Arbow-et") comprises a complex collection of conditionscovering the protection and promotion of safety,health and wellbeing in the workplace. A numberof recently introduced articles relating to 'well-being' in the workplace require employers,amongst other things, to take account of thequalifications and potential for developing quali-fications of their personnel when organizing work,installing work places and defining productionand work methods. Employers must take accountof workers' personal qualities, including theiroccupational skills, when defining and allocatingtasks. The work an employee carries out should, asfar as can reasonably be demanded, contribute toimproving his or her occupational skills. All motorvehicle companies fall under this legislation. TheArbowet should, in the coming years, have acertain influence on organization, staffing andtraining, especially in larger companies. Thelegislation is also intended to help reduce thevolume of persons registered as unemployablein the Netherlands. There is a need both formeasures to avoid more workers becomingdisabled and for measures to reintegrate disabled(e.g. handicapped) workers. Both types ofmeasures require employers to pay more attentionto "weaker" groups of employees in their person-nel policies; this can be achieved throughadapting jobs and work places as well asretraining, further training and in-service train-

ing. A third pending change in working conditionsrelates to the maximum working hours of employ-ees. This legislation is currently under review witha view to permitting more flexible working hours.

An important institutional change is the updatingof employment measures in the Netherlands. Withthe new Employment Stimulation Act which cameinto force in 1992, the task of finding new jobs forunemployed persons, previously handled by thecentral government, was split into three andregionalized. The regional employment officeshave come under tripartite management, i.e.government, employers and trade unions andhave gained greater freedom to create tailor-made policies to meet the specific needs of theirregions. Through participation in local-levelmanagement, (organized) employers and employ-ees now have a much more direct influence onmajor job creation issues: job finding, careersadvice and education for employees and peoplelooking for work.

2.4 New developments in traininglegislation and policyNumerous developments in training legislationand training policy, in particular vocationally-oriented adult education, are influencing trainingactivities in the motor vehicle sector. Recentlyvarious national policy activities have beenimplemented with a view to improving interactionand cooperation between different vocationaltraining establishments and between vocationaltraining and in-service training, to improvingcooperation between vocational training andprofessional practice, and to making the trainingsystem more market-oriented. An important resultof these operations is that both sides of industryhave become more involved in determining thecontents and direction of professional educationand (dual) vocational training in their sector.Sector-specific "education-business life consulta-tion bodies" provide a forum in which they candiscuss the structure, content and ultimate objec-tives of training programmes. Vocational trainingschools and apprentice training establishmentshave also been given a greater opportunity tooffer training courses or training modules on themarket. This has led to the creation of a new'contractual training' segment, in which normalteaching institutions offer courses (standard ortailor-made) on a contract basis and againstpayment to interested parties, e.g. a company,group of companies or an employment agency. Inthis way, public education institutions become partof the private education sector. The greaterprogramme and procedural flexibility of voca-tional training and apprenticeship schemes hasopened up a new world of potential cooperationbetween educational establishments, companiesand business sectors. In the motor vehicle industryas well, everyone is busy exploring the opportu-nities offered by this new structure (see paragraph5 below).

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2.5 Employers' and employees'organizationsRegulations are imposed both at the national leveland within the sector concerned. The conditions ofemployment in the motor vehicle sector are laiddown in a collective employment agreement(CAO) for the motor vehicle and motorcycleindustry. The two most important employers'organizations in the sector, the Bond van Garage-houders (Union of Garage Owners) (BOVAG),and the Nederlandse Christelijke Bond vanRijwiel- en Motorhandelaren (Dutch ChristianUnion of Motorcycle and Motor Vehicle Dealers)(NCBRN), as well as three employees' organiza-tions: the FNV Industrial Union, the CNV Industrialand Food Union (Christian), and the BLHP Union,are all party to this collective employment agree-ment.

BOVAG is the largest employers' organization inthe sector (with a total of approximately 13,000members). The union has seven sections for motorvehicle businesses, motorcycle businesses, carhire, caravan businesses, driving schools, petroland service stations and mechanical repaircentres. The BOVAG department for motorvehicles comprises over 7,400 motor vehiclebusinesses (private cars and commercial cars) inthe Netherlands, including all the official dealers(approximately 4,300). Altogether 95 per cent ofall the legally established motor vehicle businessesare affiliated. The department acts as a represen-tative in the sector in contacts with manufacturersand importers, the government, and employeeand consumer organizations. There are a numberof special commissions, such as the dealercommission, the repair and service commission,the bodywork repair commission, and the second-hand car commission, which support the mem-bers in specific areas of business management.BOVAG participates in all sorts of national andinternational forms of co-operation.

Of the three employees' organizations, the FNVIndustrial Union is the largest in terms of member-ship; mc .3 employees in the motor vehicle sectorbelong to this organization. The CNV Industry andFood Union is an industrial organization with aChristian basis, which cooperates closely inpractice with its non-denominational sister or-ganization. The third union, the BLHP Union,aims in particular to promote the interests ofmiddle and higher levels of management.

2.6 Training provision in the sectorIn recent years, management and unions havearrived at a number of agreements on trainingpolicy in the sector which are laid down in thecollective employment agreement. The agree.ments on day release for training, and a trainingfund for the sector, are of particular importance It

is partly because of these two arrangements that,in comparison with other sectors, the motor vehicle

sector has built up a relatively powerful traininginfrastructure.

Day release provisions for training purposes havebeen in force for a number of years. Under thissystem, every employer is awarded a number ofdays for training every year, which is equivalent tothe number of staff employed by him in that year.These days can be used for training or coursesaimed at maintaining and/or broadening orincreasing the emplc.yees' knowledge and/orskills which are necessary for the exercise of theirpresent and/or future job in the employer'scompany. The training and coOrses eligible inthis respect are determined by the management ofthe sector's training fund. The employer givesemployees the opportunity to undergo trainingwhile continuing to pay their salaries, and for thispurpose determines a training timetable for eachcalendar year, in consultation with the workscouncil, representatives of his staff, or the employ-ees themselves. The employer organizes theparticipation of his employees in consultationwith the organization providing the course, andthe costs incurred by him are reimbursed by thesector's training fund.

Since 1990, the sector has had its own trainingand development fund, which is financed by agovernment subsidy and the income generated byCAO contributions in the sector (0.55 per cent ofsalaries). This fund, the Stichting Opleidings- enOntwikkelingsfonds Motorvoertuigen en Tweewie-lerbedriiven (Foundation for the Training andDevelopment Fund for the Motor Vehicle andCycle Industries (00MT)) is a form of co-operation between employers and employees,aimed at improving the sector's professionalskills. The foundation has three tasks: partial orentire financing of activitiPs and projects whichgenerate employment, the training of youngpeople and others for the benefit of this branchof industry; the establishment and organization oftraining and/or courses aimed at instilling,maintaining, broadening or deepening the em-ployees' knowledge and skills; the implementationof a common training pol:cy and its whole orpartial financing. The FNV Industrial Union, theCNV Industry and Food Union, and the BLHPUnion represent the employees in the OOMT; theBOVAG and the NCBRM represent the employers.The OOMT does not employ any personnel itself.The policy of the OOMT is formulated andexecuted by the INNOVAM, the innovation andeducational centre for the motor vehicle andmotorcycle sector. For this purpose, the centreorganizes courses and exams which are recognized by the sector arid by the state (e.g. theoccupational training courses for apprenticeshipsand the training for the business establishmentdiploma), and it provides a broad range ofcourses and training in fields such as manage-ment, electronics, the environment, and commer-cicl skills. In addition, the centre serves as an

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information centre for the sector (also see para-graph 5). In 1991, INNOVAM set up a "thinktank", consisting of a group of top experts,representing importers, manufacturers and univer-sities, who regularly advise the 00MT onlong-term training policy on the basis of researchin markets, technology and management. The00MT/INNOVAM are endeavouring to achievea more policy-oriented approach towards trainingin the motor vehicle sector. The first three-yearplan for a training policy, was presented recently.

2.7 Training provisions for importersIn addition to BOVAG, another employers'organization plays an important role in thesector, viz., the RAI, the Nederlandse verenigingRijwiel- en Automobielindustrie (Dutch Associationfor the Motorcycle and Motor Vehicle Industry).The RAI brings together, inter alia, motor vehiclemanufacturers and importers. The importers inparticular have traditionally played a large part inthe training activities in the sector; they take careof the largest proportion of private "industrialtraining courses". Many importers have their owntraining centres, and the contracts which theyconclude with their dealers usually include agree-ments on training and in-service training. Some

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importers work with INNOVAM, usually in a

bilateral context, for example, in joint trainingprojects. However, the RAI does not participate inthe CAO consultation, and in that sense, it is notconsidered as one of the social partners, and istherefore not represented in the management ofthe 00MT. Recently the RAI has started, as amatter of policy, to devote more attention totraining, and has also endeavoured to arrive atmore structural co-operation with BOVAG and the00MT. For this purpose, the RAI has introducedits own training commission, in which INNOVAMparticipates as an observer. In addition, the00MT has assigned the RAI an advisory functionfor determining the training policy of the sector.However, cooperation between the RAI and00MT/INNOVAM is still in its infancy.

Section 6 examines in greater detail the actualtraining activities in the motor vehicle sector andthe role of the different institutions (public, dual,private) in this respect. Before this, we will firstdiscuss the most important developments inemployment, work, the market, technology andorganization and their implications for the jobstructure, qualifications, and the training require-ments in the sector.

3. EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR

3.1 EmploymentTable 3.1 gives an overview of the numbersemployed in the various branches of the industry.In 1990, a total of over 70,000 people wereemployed in this sector. In comparison withprevious years, there is still some growth inemployment. Following a slight fall in the employ-ment figures at the beginning of the 1980s, a timeof economic decline, the employment situation in1990 was better than that in the late 1970s. Theeconomic recovery during the second half of the1980s also had its effects on the motor vehiclebusinesses. The current growth in employment isfound particularly in general motor vehiclebusinesses and repair shops. Motor vehicle deal-ers and dealers in second-hand cars, accessoriesand parts show a slight fall in employment in1990, compared with 1989.

Table 3.1 shows that the large majority of thoseemployed in the motor vehicle sector areemployed in (sub) dealer businesses. These arealso the businesses with the largest number ofemployees per business. In motor vehicle busi-nesses, about 6 people are employed on averagein every business. The size of the business variesfrom an average of 13 people in deale.businesses to an average of 1.7 people forbusinesses dealing in second-hand cars (see

table 3.2). The majority of businesses jn the motorvehicle sector are medium or small. In 1987, thesector comprised only 15 large businesses, i.e.businesses employing 100 or more employees.Altogether these 15 businesses provided work forabout 3,500 people (EIM, 1900).

The smallest businesses (fewer than 4 employees)are often self-employed people who employ oneor two staff, sometimes with members of the familyworking in the business. (The average number ofowners, partners and members of the familyworking in the business is greater than 1 in thiscase.) Dealer businesses and the retail trade oftenemploy more people and less frequently have a(self-employed) owner. (Average number of own.ers, partners and members of the family workingin the business is smaller than 1.) These are moreoften businesses which are owned by an importer.

It is expected that in the next few years employ-ment in the motor vehicle industry will graduallydecline as a result of a levelling off in the numberof cars on the road, technological innovations andquality improvement of cars, and the increase inproductivity in the repair shops. There are groundsfor such expectations. As table 3.1. shows, theaverage number of cars produced per employeehas increased from 65 at the end of the 1970s to85 in the early 1990s.

3.2 Structure of personnelTable 3.3 shows that the large majority ofemployees in the motor vehicle sector work morethan 15 hours per week. This does not mean that

they all have full-time jobs, but the figures doindicate that the motor vehicle sector is notcharacterized by substantial part-time employ-ment. The number of part-time employees is lessthan 5 per cent. Moreover, it is not knownprecisely how many hours are worked by ownersand members of the family who work in thebusiness. It may be assumed that many ownerswork at least a full working week, while membersof the family who work in the business usuallywork part time.

The overage age in the motor vehicle sector isfairly low. It employs a relatively large number ofyoung people, and relatively few people overthe age of 45 (OOMT, 1988). This is largelyattributable to the fact that people enteringemployment in this sector are fairly young. Theyare mainly school leavers. About 4 per cent ofpeople leave the sector every year. This is areasonable percentage, which is compensated forparticularly by the entry of young school leavers,and to a lesser extent, by people coming in fromother sectors, resulting in a fairly young workforce.One main factor accounting for the small numberof people coming from other sectors is the fact thatthe motor vehicle repair sector has a fairly lowstatus, so that it is not particularly attractive. Onthe other hand, experienced employees in themotor vehicle sector are of interest to businesses inother sectors, taking into account the level of theirqualifications. Higher salary levels in some ofthese sectors draw the more experienced employ-ees away from the motor vehicle sector.

The motor vehicle sector comprises a relativelylarge number of employees with basic technicaltraining. In addition, there is a large group whichhas completed apprenticeships; in 1991, thisaccounted for 35 per cent. The number ofemployees with further education is fairly low. In1991, 4 per cent of employees had a diploma offurther technical or administrative education, andanother 2 per cent had followed further educationfor a short time. The number of employees withhigher education is very small. Only some of thelarge businesses employ people with highertechnical qualifications.

The motor vehicle sector is a traditional domain ofmen. Mechanics, car body workers and businessmanagers are jobs which are traditionally con-sidered to be men's jobs. In fact, the percentage ofwomen in this sector is very low. It is estimated atabout 10 per cent, but the exact figure is notknown. The majority of this 10 per cent canprobably be found in administrative jobs, and insome cases, in sales departments. For a number ofyears the motor vehicle sector has been trying toattract more women, even for technical jobs,through special campaigns and measures de-signed to encourage women, but up to now theseefforts have had little effect. This is due in part tothe nature of the potential target group (too few

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women appear to be prepared to opt for atechnical job in the motor vehicle sector), andpartly due to the situation in the motor vehiclebusiness. In a study of the ideal situation forexperienced repair shop employees carried outby the sector in 1988, more than 70 per cent ofmotor vehicle business managers indicated apreference for men. Only 30 per cent had nopreference for either gender (00MT, 1988). Thisis a clear indication of the prevailing views, whichhinder women from entering this sector.

No adequate information is available on theproportion .of other special groups in employeesas a whole in the motor vehicle sector, such asethnic minorities and the handicapped, though it isknown that the number of immigrant workers hasincreased in recent years, partly because of anumber of special employment projects. For

example, in 1991, 500 immigrants took upapprenticeships (of a total of almost 13,000).

3.3 Areas of employment and jobstructureThe different types of work in motor vehiclebusinesses can be roughly divided into five areasof employment: the repair shop, the stores, sales,administration and management. The KWWsector study (KWW, 1988) shows that, onaverage, the repair shop accounts for more than50 per cent of the work, but the relativeimportance of the areas of employment differs,depending on the size of the business (see table 3.4).In small businesses, which account for a largeproportion of general motor vehicle businesses,the importance of the repair shop is relativelygreater than in larger businesses, while stores andadministration are more important in largerbusinesses, although even here the work carriedout in the repair shop still accounts for more than50 per cent. In terms of the number of employees,the ratio of jobs in stores and in the repair shop inbusinesses with fewer than 10 employees is 1:26,while in larger businesses, it is 1:6.3; on average,the ratio is 1:8.6. The sales-repair shop ratio insmall businesses is 1:4.3, and in large businesses1:3; the average is 1:3.4.

The motor vehicle sector has a fairly homogeneousjob structure. The study carried out by the sector in1988 (KWW, 1988) identified the following jobs:business manager, manager/foreman, chief me-chanic, mechanic, apprentice mechanic, instruc-tor, bodywork mechanic/sprayer, receptionist,stores manager, stores assistant, sales manager,sales assistant, head of administration, andadministrative employee. These jobs are not allrepresented individually, particularly in smallerbusinesses, where the different jobs are oftencombined in a single person or several people.The owner often works in his own repair shopand/or sales, and in many cases also takes careof (part of) the administration. In small businesses

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there is often no separate personnel for stores, butthe stores form part of the repair shop. By nomeans all businesses employ sales personnel.Research has shown that 34% of business do notemploy any sales personnel (KWW, 1988).

Table 3.5 gives a survey of the types of jobs forevery area of erooloyment, and of the (expected)development o' rhe percentage share of these jobsin the total job structure. The figures are based ona forecast for future employment developmentdrawn up for the sector in 1988 (KWW, 1988) inthe context of its medium-term exploratory study.The survey shows that on the whole, the motorvehicle sector has a fairly stable job structure, inwhich the jobs of mechanic and chief mechanicare the most important. There is.a trend for thechief mechanic's job to increase in importance atthe expense of ordinary mechanics. The mainreason for this is technological development,which means that the work of the mechanic isdeveloping to a higher technological level. Thetable also shows that the jobs in administrationand stores are becoming increasingly important.Within the different job categories there is verylittle important division of labour in the privatemotor vehicle sector. In general, the division oflabour runs parallel to the hierarchy. It is only inlarger repair shops that electrical and electronicsspecialists can frequently be found. In the largerbusinesses a distinction is sometimes madebetween sales of new and of second-hand cars.Specialist jobs are found more frequently in theheavy goods vehicle sector in electro-technologyand electronics, as well as in areas such aspneumatics, hydraulics, construction and welding(KWW, 1988).

3.4 Labour and working conditionsTable 3.6 gives a survey of the sort of work carriedout by the various employees in the repair shop,and of the (expected) developments in the 1988-1993 period. The information is taken from a timeand motion study in 115 motor vehicle businesses(KWW, 1988). The activities are grouped in fourmain categories: customer relations, diagnosis/instruction, practical mechanics and manage-ment/administration. The category of practicalmechanics covers a great diversity of maintenanceand repair work, full service, interim service,holiday service, ordinary repairs, repairs todamage, and smaller tasks such as oil changes,engine tuning, battery changes, fitting newexhausts etc. Obviously customer relations alsoincludes the sale of new and second-hand cars.

The table shows that mechanics in small busi-nesses have a more varied range of tasks thanmechanics in larger businesses. Apart from theirpractical mechanical work - which is also clearlythe main part of their job - they have more contactwith clients, are more involved with detectingfaults and with instruction, and devote more time

to administration than their colleagues in largerbusinesses. Small businesses clearly have less of adivision of tasks. The figures also show that themanager's job is very different in small and largebusinesses. In small businesses the manager oftenworks alongside his employees, but in largebusinesses, he more often takes care of customerrelations himself. This is attributable to the fact thatlarge businesses include many more dealerbusinesses with large sales departments. Finally,when we look at the forecasts, there are cleartrends. Customer relations is more time-consum-ing, particularly for the repair shop managers(and for instructors). There is an increase indiagnostic work, particularly for the chief mechan-ic, and this is at the expense of normal mechanicalwork. The changes expected in the instructor'srange of tasks are striking. Both in large and smallbusinesses, instructors will have to spend muchmore time on diagnosis and instruction. Further-more, they will have to be involved in customerrelations to a greater extent than at present.

Little data is available on the working conditions ofemployees in motor vehicle businesses. Someinformation about their own views of their work-ing conditions is provided by a study carried outrecently by the ITS of approximately 1,000employees in small and medium-sized businesses(Warmerdam et al., 1992). Amongst other things,they were asked to evaluate a large number ofaspects of their working situation. Of these 1,000employees, 62 worked in a motor vehiclebusiness, of whom 14 were car mechanics. Inan analysis specially carried out for this study, thedata relating to the working conditions of theemployees in motor vehicle businesses werecompared with the data on other employees. Thiscomparison led to the following conclusions:

In general, employees in motor vehicle busi-nesses have fewer problems than oiher em-ployees regarding the physical working condi-tions. However, there are three areas in whichthey have more problems. They suffer morefrequently from heat, cold and draughts, fromdust, dirt and pollution in the repair shop, andfrom noxious substances, gases and vapours.

Employees in motor vehicle businesses listfewer problems than employees in otherbusinesses with regard to the psychologicalworklbad. They are less troubled by matterssuch as working quickly, excessive overtime,monotony, and boredom. However, they statemore frequently that they have too fewopportunities to deal with problem situationsthemselves. This can be an important cause ofstress at work.

With regard to work content, employees inmotor vehicle businesses are generally lesspositive than employees in other businesses.They indicate more frequently that they havetco few opportunities to determine for them-selves the rate at which they work, the worksequence, and the working methods. They alsostate more frequently that they are too oftenexcluded from matters which concern their ownwork. Clearly, limiting autonomy at work isquite often a problem in motor vehicle busi-nesses. Furthermore, compared with em-ployees in other businesses, car mechanics inparticular more often state that they have toofew opportunities to apply and develop theirknowledge and skills in their work; 57 per centof car mechanics indicate that they haveproblems in this respect occasionally or evenfrequently, compared with 32 per cent of otheremployees. Despite the diversity of work for carmechanics, they still appear to be under-employed. This applies much less to otheremployees in the motor vehicle business(sales, stores, administration, bodywork, servicestation etc.).

However, it is important to be careful whenattempting to draw far-reaching conclusions fromthese data. The numbers involved are too small,and it is not known to what extent the group thatwas studied is representative of the whole sector.Nevertheless, the figures provide some indicationof working conditions in motor vehicle businesses.

3.5 PerspectivesTo summarize, we can state that it is generallyexpected that the next few years will see areduction and shift in the employment situation.The most important trend is: "less work, butwork of a higher quality" (KWW, 1988). In aquantitative sense, the employment available willdecline as a result of market saturation, thelevelling off of the number of cars sold, and thereduction in the number of hours worked in therepair shop, as a result of improvements in thequality of cars on the road. In qualitative terms, ashift is expected in the repair shop to the presentlevel of the chief mechanics. This is the result of theincreasing technological complexity of systemsand parts used in cars. In the coming few years,problems are expected to arise with the presentgeneration of mechanics. An important questionwhich arises in the sector is whether it will bepossible to provide adequate in-service training,so that mechanics will be able to acquire newtechniques. The next section will look more closelyat current developments in jobs in the repair shopand sales, the job structure and qualificationrequirements. Section 5 will then examine trainingactivities.

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4. CHANGING CONDITIONS ANDIMPLICATIONS FOR SKILL REQUIREMENTS

For a proper understanding of training activities, itis necessary to begin by looking at the develop-ments which to a great extent determine thequalification requirements and training needs inthe motor vehicle sector: technological develop-ments, commercial developments, developmentsin job structure, and developments in the labourmarket. In a publication dating from 1988, theVAM (the predecessor of the INNOVAM), thesector's training centre, outlined the most impor-tant developments. The KWW study also devoteda great deal of attention to this. The followingsection is based mainly on these publications.

4.1 New developments in motorvehicle technologyTechnological developments in the motor vehiclerepair and sales sector are largely determined bydevelopments in product technology - in this case,motor vehicle technology - and by developmentsin repair shop technology, particularly in measure-ment and testing equipment and computer tech-nology.

From the point of view of product technology, themotor vehicle sector is currently characterized(and this is true not only of the Netherlands) byrapid product innovation and a rapid increase inproduct variation. Product development is aimedat producing cars which are increasingly safer,more economical, which last longer, are morecomfortable, and more environmentally friendly.New models are of a higher quality than theirpredecessors. They last longer, require less repairand maintenance work, are more economical andcleaner, are more comfortable to use, and oftenhave all sorts of new accessories and technicaldevices to increase driving pleasure. Theseinnovations are particularly apparent in fourfields:

in the field of engineering/construction tech-nology; for example, in the development ofsafer bodywork, new types of engine, newtypes of fuel systems (LPG), and new hydraulicand pneumatic applications (particularly in

commercial vehicles);

in the field of materials technology, forexample, in the use of synthetic components,ceramic materials, new car paints and coat-ings;

in the field of (traditional) car electronics, forexample, built-in car radios, cassette players,telecommunication equipment, electrically oper-ated windows, mirrors, locks, etc.;

in the introduction of micro-electronics and the"car information systems" based on this.

This last development, the great increase in thenumber of applications of micro-electronic control

systems in cars, has had by far the greatestinfluence on jobs and qualification requirements inmotor vehicle repair businesses. The above-mentioned VAM publication (VAM, 1988) identi-fies three main applications of micro-electronics:motor management systems, vehicle control sys-tems, and vehicle pilot and monitoring systems.We will examine these new techniques in greaterdetail.

The first applications of car electronics concern theengine. The engine management systems, i.e.systems regulating and/or controlling essentialengine functions, can be divided into three maingroups: intelligent ignition systems, electronicallyregulated fuel systems, and the electronicallyoperated accelerator pedal. The control ofignition and fuel injection are increasingly inte-grated in a single electronic unit. The latestversion's of these systems, e.g., the "monojetro-nic" by Bosch, have an adaptive or self-regulatingcharacter. They are able to constantly adapt thedata which control ignition and the mixture of fuelwhile driving, to the behaviour of the engine underchanging circumstances; for example, when thereare changes in fuel quality or in the driver'sbehaviour. Important advantages of this technol-ogy are the constant optirnalization of engineperformance, and therefore the engine's de-creased vulnerability to faults (VAM, 1988). Thesesorts of electronic systems, initially used particu-larly in more expensive cars, are currently alsostarting to penetrate the cheaper middle-of-the-range models. It is expected that Dutch environ-mental policy, which has imposed stringent normswith regard to exhaust emissions (compulsorycatalytic convertor) will strongly encourage theintroduction of electronic control systems in cars.Electronically controlled engines not only givebetter performance, they also use less fuel andconsiderably reduce the emission of noxioussubstances.

The incorporation of the electronically operatedaccelerator pedal in a car also allows for theapplication of new vehicle control systems, suchas anti-blocking brake systems (ABS), and anti-skid regulation (ASR). An ASR system ensures thatthe engine capacity is accurately transmitted tothe drive wheels, taking into account the natureand condition of the road surface. This consider-ably increases driving safety and comfort indifficult road conditions, e.g., a wet or snow-covered road surface. With a link to a car radarsystem, the electronically operated acceleratorpedal can fulfil a similar function in conditions offog or of poor visibility. The next few years willalso see the introduction of other vehicle controlsystems, such as electronically controlled clutchesand gearboxes, and electronically controlledsuspension. Some commercial vehicles alreadyhave this (VAM, 1 98 8) . ABS and ASR systems arecurrently still found mainly in the more expensivemodels.

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A third important application of micro-electronicsthough this is still largely a thing of the future -

concerns vehicle pilot and monitoring systems,including dashboard information and navigationsystems. Because of the rapid development ofsensor technology, it is possible to continuouslymeasure an increasing number of functions whiledriving, such as oil pressure, the temperature ofthe water in the cooling system, the water level inthe battery, and tyre pressure, and display themon the dashboard. In this way, routine check-upsare replaced by permanent systematic monitoring(VAM, 1988). In future, cars will be equipped withon-board computers and navigation systemswhich help the driver to determine his location,plan a route, avoid detours, etc. Linked to newtraffic monitoring systems outside the car (radiodata systems, systems for the notification of trafficjams etc.), these can considerably increase drivingcomfort. However, in the Netherlands, thesevehicle and traffic monitoring systems are still atthe developmental and experimental stage; theyhave hardly been introduced in practice.

4.2 New developments in repair shoptechnologyThe great increase in the use of micro-electronicsin the repair shop, particularly for tasks which areat the heart of the job - tracing and remedyingfaults - is very important for the work of carmechanics. Significant progress has been made,particularly in measurement and testing equip-ment, and currently all sorts of new testers areappearing on the market at a great rate, whichare much more sophisticated than the traditionalmeasurement instruments. Engine testers ;n par-ticular have undergone great innovations Untilrecently the engine tester was primarily ameasurement instrument. With the introduction ofdiskette stations, hard disks and CD-ROM, thetester has developed to become a diagnosticstation and database (AM Special, 1992). Themost modern machines (Bosch, SUN, Crypton) areequipped with a personal computer which moni-tors the engine tester. They can be used as anindependent working station, but can also be fittedwith a modem which allows for communicationwith other computer systems and networks. In

addition to regulating the engine, they can alsooften be used for testing other electronic systems.Thanks to the introduction of this new computer-monitored testing equipment, tracing faults, one ofthe most time-consuming tasks in the repair shop,has been considerably simplified and partlycomputerized. The new testers hove a largememory capacity in which the factory and tuningdata of different makes of cars can be stored. Thediskette stations allow the new data to be enteredmore quickly and simply; updates from carmanufacturers can immediately be processed bymeans of diskettes. The new testers often measurenot only the recorded values, but also compare themeasurement data with the factory norm data andindicate whether or not the measurement value

falls within the tolerance limits (approval/errorsignal). Some testers go even further, and in thecase of faults, also provide an explanation of thepossible causes of the measured defects; themechanics can then trace the causes of the defectmonitored on the menu. The more expensiveengine testers print out a diagnostic report afterthe testing programme, giving a survey of all thedeviations that were found. In some cases acustomer report can be drawn up as well as arepair shop report, explaining the results of the testin terms which the customer can understand. Thecontrol systems in the car and the diagnosticsystems in the repair shop, and above all thepossibility of linking the two, have led to greatchanges in the nature of diagnostic work and havegreatly reduced the amount of time involved inthis. The new technical systems also allow for allsorts of new ways to organize work. For example,the motor testers can be linked to importers' andmanufacturers' databases so that the data canbe updated from a distance. This also opens upthe possibility of making a diagnosis from adistance, e.g. by specialists at the manufacturers(AM Special, 1992).

Currently, diagnostic stations are being marketedin the Netherlands at a great rate, both stations forparticular makes and general stations. For thegeneral stations, separate software is supplied forevery make, because the engine electronics differ.At the moment, the hardware and software are stillfairly expensive, which is a problem particularlyfor general motor vehicle businesses. They repairevery make of car and therefore have to investmuch more in testing software. At present this isnot too serious, because they often repair theslightly older cars which do not have so manyelectronic components. However, in a few yearstime this will certainly be a problem. Anotherproblem that has arisen in smaller businesses isthat the technology in this case, the new testersis often relied upon as a "solution to everyproblem". This can result in the in-service trainingof mechanics being neglected.

In fact, it is not only in the private car sector thatcomputerization is increasing. Computerization isalso on the increase in repair shops for testing anddetecting faults in heavy goods vehicles, usingengine testers, but also other new testing equip-ment. For example, a brake testing console can beexpanded nowadays to become a fully automaticbrake diagnostic centre. The centre can be built upin modules. For example, a standard brakeconsole con be expanded with weighing unitswith which all the axles can be weighedseparately, with a provision for measuring in twodriving directions, and with a weight simulatorto test the performance of the brakes undervarying axle pressures. Because of this modularstructure, the garage owner himself can determinewhich functions/system components he wishes tohave, and rapid modifications or expansions of

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parts are possible if required. This sort ofequipment also requires large investment, andfor the time being is of interest only to larger and/or specialist businesses.

4.3 Logistics and administrathecomputerizationA third field in which micro-electronics is making amark is that of logistic and administ,ative comput-erization. This development is par'icularly affect-ing stores, sales and managemr.nt functions inmotor vehicle businesses. Initially, computerizationwas concentrated mainly in lamer businesses. Inrecent years, increasing numbes of medium- andsmall-sized businesses have also become comput-erized, particularly their administration. BOVAGestimates indicate that in 1990 almost two-thirdsof dealer businesses were computerized, whilethe level of computerization in general garagebusinesses was about 15 per cent. The majority ofcomputerized dealers use their own computer,usually a PC or mini computer. All VAG dealersare linked to the importer's central computer; anumber of others make use of computer servicecompanies. Most importers aim to achieve uniformdecentralized dealer computerization, in whichevery dealer has his own computer which can belinked to the importers or manufacturer's centralcomputer. However, in practice there are quite alot of differences in the extent to which and theway in which the various dealer organizations arecomputerized. Some importers, particularly thefactories (e.g. Mercedes, Peugeot, Renault, Fiat),have a closely integrated network which, in turn,is linked into the manufacturer's network at theEuropean level. Other factory-based importers(e.g. Saab, Skoda, Lade) still hardly work withcomputerized networks at all. Independent import-ers who often import several makes are also lessoften bound by central manufacturers' regulations.Many dealers can make their own choice from thehardware and software packages available onthe market; currently there are more than 100of these. All in all, the communication betweenrepair shops and importers still appears to belacking in structure. However, it is clear that smallmakes and general businesses are increasinglyfalling behind the larger dealer orgbnizations asregards their facilities. In order to remedy this, thesector organizations are endeavouring to estab-lish a national sector network, so that applicationscan be organized centrally.

Computerization of importers is aimed particularlyat the data flow on car sales, the financialadministration, parts, and guarantee arrange-ments. Howev,r, computerization is also increas-ingly being introduced in the businesses them-selves. Computers are being used for improvingcontacts with customers and increasing car salesInformation about customers is systematicallystored in databases which can be used for servicepurposes. For example, in this way it is possible to

check approximately when customers are due fora service or for a new car. At this point they can beapproached directly by the business concerned. Inthe repair shop, the computer can be used for theadministration of the repair shop and stores.Information about work carried out, the numberof hours worked, used parts etc., can be stored inthe computer and used more easily for makingmanagement decisions. All these applications ofcomputerization allow for more efficient businessmanagement and impose new demands on themanagement of the repair shop and of thebusiness.

4.4 Developments in the marketsIt is not only technological development whichinfluences the nature of the work in motor vehiclebusinesses; developments in the market and theworkforce available will also influence the jobs ofemployees in repair shops and sales departmentsin the coming few years. As regards thecommercial aspect, a number of developmentsplay a part (see cdso, 'N./AM, 1988; RABO, 1989;AMRO/ABN, 1990).

The quality of curs on the road is increasing.Gradually increasing numbers of new cars areappearing on the Dutch roads; which requirefewer visits to the garage and less maintenance.They wear out less quickly and do not need theattention older models need. The trend is towardsreduced maintenance arid repair work. In addi-tion, maintenance is taking up less and less timebecause of the use of advanced equipment andbecause maintenance increasingly consists of thereplacement of parts and is less reliant on labourintensive repairs. According to information fromBOVAG, the maintenance requirements of theaverage car fell by 30 per cent between 1981and 1986 (RABO, 1989). In the long term, thisdecline in maintenance work will no longer befully compensated for by the growth in the numberof cars, the relatively greater age of the cars on theroads and the increase in the repair work ondamaged vehicles.

A second factor is the gradual saturation of the carmarket and the accompanying increase in com-petition between motor vehicle businesses. Thenumber of Du'ch cars on the roads is still growingand will continue to grow for the time being, butthis growth will level off. Competition is not onlyaimed at quality and technological devices, butalso takes place at the level of prices andexchange values. Car makes and motor vehiclebusinesses will have to make additional marketingand sales efforts if they wish to retain their marketshare. P ,sinesses will have to adopt a more activeapproa, towards markets and client groups, andwill have to take greater care of their clients.Because of the current high prices for exchanges,the trade in second-hand cars will also continue toremain under pressure for the time being.

Furthermore, demographic developments have ledto changes in the consumer population and toshifts in the demand for cars in the private sector.In the Netherlands, the family is viewed less andless as the sole cornerstone of society, and thenumber of one and twoperson households israpidly increasing. From being a "family posses-sion", the car has increasingly become a personalpossession. In more and more households there isa need for more than one car. Because of theincreasingly ageing population, the percentage ofolder drivers is also growing constantly. These twodevelopments will probably lead to an increasingdemand for economical, compact, safe andreliable cars, at the expense of medium rangeand more expensive models. Within this categorythere will be another distinction between youngerand older car owners; two groups with verydifferent demands as regards cars (fast/sportyversus safe/reliable). Car dealers will have to bemuch more sensitive to these differences in clientdemands.

In general, consumers and this is the fourth factorwill become increasingly critical when purchas-

ing a car and having maintenance, repairs andservices carried out. When they purchase a car orhave repairs done, customers will want moreinformation about the pros (Ind cons of thedifferent options and will express their viewsmore emphatically to dealers and mechanics.When they buy a car, customers will be increas-ingly influenced by specific personal needs andthis will lead to a greater differentiation in

demand. The reaction to these different customerrequirements is the emergence of all sorts ofproduct variations and accessories, but it is to beexpected that in the near future the motor vehicleindustry will adopt the concept of a "modularcar". This concept means that the client choosesfrom a limited number of more or less "bare" basicbodyworks, and from a range of modules fromwhich he can put together a complete car togetherwith the car dealer. For example, he can make achoice of different sorts of engines, dashboards,seats, wheels etc., (VAM 1988). Given the state ofcar production technology (flexible computeriza-tion !), this process is possible in principle.However, the introduction of this concept willhave major consequences, not only for sales, butalso for the logistics of ordering and deliveringnew cars. We have not reached this point yet, butthe present variety of makes, models, parts andaccessories already means that car sales is far

more demanding than it used to be.

4.5 Job changes and new qualificationsin the repair shopWhat do all these developments mean for thework and the organization of work in motorvehicle businesses? Let us begin with a closeexamination of the changes in jobs in the repairshop.

Obviously developments in the technological fieldare the most important factors with regard to jobsin this area. The VAM has characterized thepresent development in mechanics' tasks with theexpression "from practical mechanic to diagnos-tician". The VAM is afraid that this developmentwill lead to a division between mechanics. Fordiagnostic work, the larger motor vehicle busi-nesses will increasingly tend to attract specialistelectronics technicians with further and bettertraining. This would leave the relatively simplejobs such as services, small repairs or thereplacement of electronic components for thepresent mechanics, who usuaily have a lowerlevel of training. The VAM advocates major in-service training for this last group of mechanics, astheir opportunities for advancement or for thefuture will otherwise be considerably limited(VAM, 1988).

The KWW study also anticipates far-reachingconsequences as a result of the large-scaleintroduction of micro-electronics in the repairshop: vehicles are more complex, the faults andbreakdowns are more complicated, and theequipment for detecting faults is becoming moresophisticated. According to the study, thesedevelopments will have consequences for thebusiness managers, the repair shop managersand the cnief mechanics in particuiar. Employeesat these levels will have to come to terms with thenew electronic systems. In future, their mostimportant tasks will consist of detecting andremedying faults and maintaining componentsequipped with electronic control systems. This

will apply to larger businesses more than tcsmaller ones. A knowledge of electronics andthe ability to use the measurement and monitoringequipment will be extremely important require-ments for these employees. However, they do nothave to be electronics specialists, but requirespecific knowledge of how the systems function.For this purpose they must understand blockdiagrams, wiring, signal measurement and inter-pretation (with the help of documentation). Whatactually happens inside the electronic "black box"is unimportant. However, they must understand thesignificance of the signals into and out of the blackboxes. This requires a considerable capacity forabstract thinking (KWW, 1989). An importantconclusion of the KWW study is that electronics isno longer a separate specialist area but is/mustbe an integral part of the job of the chiefmechanic.

The KWW stu iy does not paint a very optimisticpicture for (ordinary) mechanics either. At themoment their main tasks include assembly, strip-ping down and routine maintenance work. Theydo little diagnostic work because of the increasingtechnological complexity. The study reported twodifferent views on the division of tasks between thechief mechanic and the other mechanics in thebusinesses they studied. One view is that "the

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chief mechanic is an all-rounder who can carryout the (limited) practical mechanical work on theside. Only routine work such as simple mainte-nance tasks, the fitting of accessories etc., is left forother mechanics". The other view is that the chiefmechanic specializes in diagnostic work, leavingassembly and stripping down to his colleagues,who have a lower level of training and lessexperience (KWW 1988). According to the study,the first point of view is more realistic; certainly thetwo views indicate the existence of a degree offlexibility in the organization of the mechanics'work. The demands placed upon mechanics infuture will primarily involve more traditionalqualifications such as a knowledge of the basicprinciples of motor vehicle technology andelectronics, and practical mechanical skills. Me-chanics who are able to progress towards a job asa chief mechanic will then have to acquire anunderstanding of electronics at a later stage oftheir career (KWW, 1988).

4.6 Job changes and new qualificationsin stores and salesThe changes in the job profiles in stores and salesare to a large extent determined by changes in themarket. However, developments in car technologyand logistics are also important for the employeesin sales and stores.

Specific jobs in stores are found mainly in largermotor vehicle businesses. Smaller businessesusually do not have a separate employee for thestores, and in practice there will be little change inthis for the time being. In large businesses weanticipate an increase in the work in stores. Therewill be an increase in the sale of parts andaccessories, and the employees in the stores willprovide more and better services for the staff inthe repair shop. As a result of the introduction ofcomputer technology, administrative work will bereduced. Commercial tasks in buying and sellingwill increase. The store manager in particular willhave to have an adequate insight into cartechnology, and into the commercial car sector,even down to the mechanic, in addition to havingqualifications in commerce and administration(KWW, 1988). In addition, a knowledge ofbusiness management is, and will continue to beimportant for these jobs.

Even greater changes will take place in future jobsin sales than in stores. The VAM terms thedevelopment of the sales job profile "from sales-man to advisor" and in this context has evencoined the term "motor vehicle consultant" (VAM,1988). At present, this seems rather exaggerated,but there is no doubt that in future the demands onsalesmen in motor vehicle businesses will be muchgreater than they have been up to now on accountof increased competition, differentiation in themarket, increasing technological complexity, andthe growing demands of clients. In the first place,they will have to have an up-to-date knowledge of

motor vehicle technology. According to VAM,sales is increasingly a matter of "translatingtechnology": "the task of a good salesman is totranslate the specific technological aspects of acar into commercial, functional and economicarguments on the basis of which a hesitantconsumer will ultimately decide to purchase thenew car he wants from him" (VAM, 1988). Inaddition to sound commercial qualities, salesmenwill also have to have a good technical back-ground and an adequate knowledge of new motorvehicle technology. Furthermore, salesmen, andcertainly sales managers, will have to have aknowledge of modern marketing techniques andinstruments, not only in order to attract newcustomers, but also to keep existing customers. Inaddition, future salesmen will have to have goodselling or "consultancy skills". They will have to beable to clarify, discuss, evaluate and translate theclient's wishes into technically and financiallyfeasible options. When the concept of the"modular car" becomes a reality, selling a carwill certainly become less and less of a standardtask, and will become increasingly a "made-to-measure" job. The ability to respond well to thevarying demands of critical clients then becomescrucial.

For the time being, the KWW study has found lessfar-reaching changes in jobs in sales. There is anincreasing degree of professionalization in thisjob, which is expressed for example, in anincreasing use of marketing techniques andcomputerized aids. This results in demands forhigher qualifications in smaller businesses. Inlarger businesses this is not the case to the sc meextent. The most important qualification require-ment for salesmen is and will continue to be agood sales technique. In the businesses whichwere studied, a technical knowledge of theproduct clearly takes second place, and willcontinue to do so in the future, while demandsore greater in the commercial car sector than inthe private car sector. In addition, it is evident thatexperience is quite highly valued (KWW, 1988).

4.7 New specialist areas and"informal jobs"The developments outlined above have beentaking place for some time, and it seems that theywill continue at an even faster rate in the nextfew years. A number of the large lanufacturers,particularly those which h,,ve a technologicallead, have responded to these developments withchanges in their training programme for mechan-ics in dealer businesses. As a result, new specialistjobs have been introduced in various dealerorganizations, some of which are above the levelof traditional repair shop jobs.

For example, the Mercedes importer has threetraining groups/levels: service/maintenance, re-pair, ond diagnosis; mechanics are trained atthree levels. There is a separate package of

courses for each group/level, culminating in a testand a diploma.

The VW/Audi importer also organizes its owntraining courses, consisting of modules, whichtrain employees for specific jobs in the dealerorganization. A distinction is made betweenthree jobs:

VW/Audi maintenance technician (level ofentry: assistant mechanic/LBO (basic vocation-al training))

VW/Audi repair technician (level of entry:mechanic);

VW/Audi technical specialist (level of entry:chief mechanic).

The preliminary training requirements are gearedto the content and level of the sector training.

Other makes, such as Ford and Renault, also havethese sorts of training courses. At the instigation ofthe manufacturer, a number of importers ofspecific makes have recently expanded theirtraining courses with training at a level higherthan that of chief mechanic.

For example, Citroën has a course for CO-TECH mechanics. This course lasts 9 weeks,comprises most of the other technical in-servicetraining courses (usually electronic applica-tions), and is aimed at experienced mechanicswho can subsequently work in their business astechnical specialists as well as instructors.

Peugeot has had its own three-level technicalin-service training path for some time. Thisextends up to the level of chief mechanic. Inaddition, it has recently added a new trainingcourse which trains employees as "PeugeotTechnical Specialists". This training is aimed atexperienced mechanics, comprises seven sepa-rate course-, with the main emphasis onapplied electronics, and culminates in a

certificate.

Probably the Japanese makes, particularly Toyotaand Nissan, go furthest in adapting the jobstructure in dealer businesses.

The Toyota organization has a training pro-gramme in which employees are trained at 4levels:

Stage 1: Maintenance mechanic;Stage 2: Technician (emphasis on mechan-ical work);Stage 3: Master Technician (emphasis onelectronics);Stage 4: High-Tech Master Technician (em-phasis on diagnosis).

Mechanics can follow this whole programmeover a period of five years. Subsequently, they

undergo regular in-service traini% to keeptheir knowledge up to date.

Nissan recently introduced a new job structurefor its technical repair shop personnel in whichthe term "mechanic" was replaced by "tech-nician". A distinction is made between fourlevels of technical jobs:

Repair shop assistantTechnicianTechnical specialistHigh-tech engineer

The last two jobs are at a higher level than thatof chief mechanic.

Thus, in the Netherlands, all sorts of "informal job"(Rauner & Zeymer, 1991) have developed next to,and partly above the traditional job structure. Thefears expressed by traditional training bodiesabout excessive specialization in the field ofmechanics are not entirely unfounded. Further-more, these initiatives on the part of the manu-facturers/importers have several different pur-

poses. In the first place, it is in the interests ofmanufacturers/importers for the repair shoppersonnel in their dealer businesses to be trainedas well as possible in the latest techniques, so thatthey can provide the best possible service tocustomers. With increased competition, the qualityof the service in the repair shop is becoming anincreasingly important sales instrument. Secondly,the new jobs are intended to motivate personnel,as mechanics have more potential for advance-ment in the new structure than they had in the old.

Thirdly, it is hoped that in this way the image of themechanic's job will be enhanced, so that the motorvehicle sector becomes more attractive to peopleentering the labour market for the first time.

4.8 Developments on the labourmarket and in recruitment policyImproving the job image on the laboui market isby no means superfluou in this sector. For sometime, the motor vehicle sector has had seriousproblems with recruiting manpower. The numberof school leavers joining the labour market everyyear has fallen drastically in the last few years (byapproximately 25% between 1980 and 1990),and in addition, lower technical education (LTO),the most important branch of education supplyingthe motor vehicle sector, appears to attract adecreasing number of -young people. Within thiseducational field itself, a decreasing number ofstudents are opting for the course in motor vehicletechnology (KWW, 1988). Only through intensiverecruitment campaigns has the motor vehiclesector been able to keep the numbers enteringfrom LTO education at a constant level up to now.In recent years, an average of approximately3,000 young people entered the sector °from LTO.

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There is general agreement in the motor vehiclesector that the level of the present LTO is actuallytoo low, given the higher requirements placed onrepair shops. However, businesses are apparentlyfinding it very difficult to attract people with higherlevels of education. This is partly related to thesector's image. The motor vehicle business has arelatively low status in comparison with relatedsectors, has relatively low salary levels as a resultof low profit margins, and in general offersmechanics little prospect of promotion. Thisdiscourages newcomers, and means that experi-enced, well-trained people, who are equallyattractive to other sectors, are soon inclined tomove to other employers. Nevertheless, it is

expected that the larger dealer businesses inparticular will make greater efforts to attract newemployees at a higher level, and that in time therewill be larger numbers of technicians with furtherand higher education than is the case at present.In 1991, 800 school-leavers entered the sectorfrom (short) vocational training courses. Half ofthese had technical training; the other half,economics/administrative training. In the sameyear, 3,700 apprentices entered the sector fromthe apprenticeship system; 3,000 from basic, and700 from advanced training courses; 80 per centof these were technicians.

The KWW also indicates a discrepancy betweenthe supply and demand for young people. In theearly 1990s, there was a particular shortage ofemployees with LTO education entering the motorvehicle business at the bottom end in apprenticemechanic jobs. The sector has responded to thisdevelopment successfully with an intensive recruit-ment campaign aimed at this target group. Thedownward trend has been reversed, and the

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number of LTO students opting for motor vehicletechnology has started to increase once again.

The sector considers that shifting the recruitmentefforts to target groups other than school-leaversfrom LTO, is another solution to personnelproblems at lower levels. For example, businessescould start to recruit more school-leavers fromfurther education in general, or school-leaverswho have left (short) further technical coursesprematurely. These groups have a higher startinglevel, and probably also have more to offer thanLTO school-leavers. In view of the higher qualifica-tion requirements of businesses, this is all to thegood. At present, this option is being given seriousconsideration. A third possibility is more recruit-ment from the so-called disadvantaged groups,i.e. job-seekers regarded as having poor chanceson the labour market. The motor vehicle sector isfairly active in this field as well. For some years,special projects have been set up for particulartarget groups, such as the long-term unemployed,immigrants, the handicapped and women goingback to work. The rrojects are co-ordinated by theINNOVAM. Participants are given basic training,and practical training course with work experi-ence in a business. They can follow a course oftraining in a specialist area, and are then givenpermanent employment. This is a path with theguarantee of a job. The initiative has been fairlysuccessful. In 1992, 34 projects were carried out,with approximately 300 participants. For 1993,48 projects are planned with 450 participants.

The projects are mostly carried out in co-operationwith training bodies in the public employmentorganization. The sector is also trying to attractnew employees through such projects.

5. EDUCATION AND TRAINING

It is not only through recruitment at a higher level,but also through stepping up the in-servicetraining of personnel, that attempts are made torespond to the latest developments in the technicaland commercial fields. The sector organizationsare very aware of the importance of training andin-service training, and recognize the need tocatch up in this field, particularly as far as thepresent generation of mechanics is concerned. Inrecent years, all sorts of activities have beenundertaken to stimulate in-service training. Thissection describes these activities.

5.1 The training systemThe present training system in the motor vehiclesector has three main divisions: the (initial)daytime education, the dual specialist training,and the short training courses. Each division has anumber of specific training institutions. The initialdaytime education takes place in the public sector;it is financed by the state from the national budget.The dual specialist training is organized by thetraining institutions of the apprenticeship system.These are financed partly by the state and partlyby industry. The short training courses are virtuallyentirely organized by private bodies. They arefinanced entirely by companies, or by theparticipants of the courses themselves. Moreover,in recent years the dividing line between thepublic and the private sector has blurred. Centresfor regular vocational training have been giventhe opportunity to start developing commercialactivities, e.g. for businesses, on a contractualbasis. Private training institutions aim to beincluded in the apprenticeship system, andschools for regular daytime education would liketo cooperate more closely in certain fields.

5.2 Regular vocational educationWithin daytime education, the most importanttypes of education are: lower technical training(LTO), short further technical training (KMBO),further technical training (one specialist motorvehicle technical school, and a number of MTOschools with a special class for motor vehicletechnology within the technical engineeringcourse), and the Institute for Car Dealers (IVA),specific specialist training for the job of carsalesmen. The LTO is the most important supplierin the sector. With an LTO diploma, a student canfind employment as an apprentice mechanic. Witha KMBO or MBO diploma, it is possible to startor be promoted to the job of mechanic, chiefmechanic or aspire to the management level. Asalready stated, problems are expected with theentry of employees at this level as a result ofshortages on the labour market. The number ofschool leavers with LTO motor vehicle technologyfell by approximately 40 per cent between 1987and 1991. Although the number of new students iscurrently increasing again, it is still expected thatthe supply of labour will not suffice in the comingyears to meet the demand for apprentice mechan-ics. The recruitment campaigns in this target group

will be intensified. In the last two years approxi-mately 3,000 new students have started thistraining each year.

5.3 The dual specialist trainingcourses of the apprenticeship systemFollowing daytime education, virtually everyone inthe repair shop completes an additional dualspecialist training course in the apprenticeshipsystem. For this purpose, apprentices conclude anapprenticeship agreement with a business wherethey work 4 days a week; on the fifth day, they goto a regional school for supervised vocationaltraining (BB0), where the theory is taught. Theapprenticeship system for motor vehicle technol-ogy has vocational training courses at three levels.The primary level (2 years), trains the apprenticefor the job of mechanic. The advanced level,another 2 years, trains him for the job of chiefmechanic. For a job at management level (e.g.,repair shop manager), additional training is

required at the tertiary level (1 year). The dualtraining courses are organized by a centralinstitution, the National Association for the MotorVehicle Sector. This was recently integrated in thenewly-founded innovation and training centre forthe sector (the INNOVAM), directed by themanagers and union members in the sector'sTraining and Development Fund (00MT).

The number of participants in the apprenticeshipsystem greatly increased during the second half ofthe 1980s, viz., from 6,780 in 1984 to 12,855 in1991. About half of these apprentices followprimary or advanced training as mechanics forprivate cars. Another large group (approximately20%) participates in the primary and advancedtraining for commercial car mechanic. In 1991these apprentices were working in a total of 7,025apprenticeship businesses. About 35 per cent ofthe apprentices did the training in the context of aso-called GOA system, a joint training activity inwhich the practical component of the trainingis organized between businesses and practicalcentres, through which the apprentice pro-gresses. In 1991, there were 1,800 of theseGOA systems, virtually all combinations ofseveral apprenticeship businesses and "pro-tected" training places.

Within the motor vehicle businesses, the appren-tices are supervised by an instructor for thepractical component of their training. The sectoremploys about 300 of these instructors on a full-time basis (KWW, 1988). However, the number ofinstructors is not much greater, because this job isoften carried out by the repair shop manager orchief mechanic in (small) businesses which do nothave a separate instructor.

5.4 Private short training coursesShort training courses are available for the variousjobs. In comparison with other sectors, there is 29

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only a limited number of bodies on the marketproviding these.

The sector training centre, the INNOVAM, notonly organizes dual specialist training, but alsotraining for entrepreneurs (Business Establish-ment Act) and management training. In addi-tion, it provides in-service training and refresh-er courses (daytime, evening and correspond-ence courses) for mechanics, including basiccourses in applied motor vehicle electronics.General motor vehicle businesses make use ofthis provision. This will be discussed in moredetail in the following section.

Courses organized by importers are veryimportant. These are often training courses forspecific makes, organized by importers for themechanics employed by their dealers. Thereare approximately 20 importers' trainingcentres in the Netherlands. In terms of thenumber of course days, 3.vy provide about80% of the in-service training rbnuirement. Thisis discussed in more detail in section 5.6.

All suppliers of new testing equipment providetraining programmes for mechanics who haveto use the new equipment. The training usuallyconsists of a combination of on-the-job trainingand a short course with the supplier. In

addition, extensive programmes are suppliedwith the equipment to help with its use. There it.no information available about the number oftraining courses or the number of participantsin this type of training.

There are some private training institutes whichprovide (basic) training in motor vehicletechnology in the form of (correspondence)courses. However, the number of peoplefollowing their coases is very low, and onlyamounts to several dozen per year.

In cooperation with the government, i.e. theregional employment offices, special projectsare organized for particular target groups,such as womt n, the long-term unemployed,and ethnic minoritie: Government subsidiesare used for these projects, as well as specialstate-run training centres. Most projects arecarried out in collaboration with the INNO-VAM. Altogether this involves several hundredpeople per year.

Relatively new on the market are the schools forvocational training and dual specialist trainingcourses. On th basis of new legislation foreducation (see section 2), these were recentlygiven the possibility of providing parts of theirwhole course as a separate paid activity, andof developing paid made-to-measure coursesfor industry. These forms of "contractunl educa-tion" are currently still largely in their infancy,

but are expected to increase in the comingyears.

Short training activities mainly concern courses fortechnical jobs. There is little in-service training forsales jobs, but this is increasing, particularly withimporters. There are not yet many in-servicetraining courses for management jobs in thesector, apart from the very specific managementtraining courses aimed at particular makes, whichimporters organize for dealers of affiliatedbusinesses.

The in-service activities in the sector are virtuallyentirely concentrated on two categories providingcourses: INNOVAM and the importers. We willdiscuss the courses provided by these iwo partiesin more detail below.

5.5 In-service training provided byINNOVAMThe INNOVAM, formerly the VAM, has tradition-ally organized an extensive range of in-servicetraining courses for the sector, used particularly bysmaller general motor ;,ihicle businesses. Thesesmaller businesses, which are not linked to aparticular make, do not have access to the trainingfacilities of the dealer networks; they are virtuallyentirely dependent on the INNOVAM, as there ishardly anyone else on the market providingcourses. The INNOVAM's courses can be roughlydivided into a number of main groups:

training courses for entrepreneurs; these areprimarily the courses which someone whowishes to start his own business in the sectorcan follow to comply with the requirements ofthe Business Establishment Act which makesprovision for professional and commercialskills;

management and business management; thesecomprise several courses to support an entre-preneur and/or manager with regard tomanagement, e.g. balance analysis, budget-ing, store management.

inspection training courses; the courses re-quired to obtain a certificate to carry out gen-eral periodic safety checks in the business.

technical in-service training courses; theseinclude four basic courses in applied electron-ics and a number of courses geared to specificareas: fuel systems, engine management,brakes/steering/suspension, and environmen-tal aspects; it also includes a number of specialcourses in damage repair;

commercial training, such as courses in salestechnique, communication, client.oriented be-haviour and quality consciousness;

0

in-company made-to-measure training courses;these are made-to-measure courses developedin consultation with, and adapted to thespecific needs of a particular business.

Most training courses are short, lasting one day orseveral days. They are provided as a standardcourse, and employers and/or employees cansubscribe to them freely. In principle they are paidfor by the employer, who is then sometimes (partly)reimbursed from a suasidy in the training fund. Anumber of courses can also be followed ascorrespondence courses or as evening courses.Virtually all the courses award certificates.

A recent innovation, with which the INNOVAMhas tried to respond to the latest technicaldevelopments in the sector, is the Basic Course inApplied Electronics. This course, which is aimedat mechanics who have not yet finished theirtraining, consists of three modules of progressivelydifficult levels, in which the mechanics areintroduced to the principles of electronics andelectronic engine control. The course lasts 3 days,plus 20 half-days. When the mechanic hascompleted the whole course, he receives acertificate. In addition to this basic course,courses have also recently been developed forspecific electronics applications, e.g. for injectionsystems (K/KE-jetronic, L/LE-jetronic, Mono-jet-ronic) and for ABS and ASR systems for bothprivate and commercial vehicles. With these newcourses the INNOVAM is also responding tocriticism regularly expressed in the sector in thepast, that the training programmes lag behind thelatest technical developments, and are not suffi-ciently geared to current practices in the repairshop.

According to the KWW study (KWW, 1988) the(INNO)VAM catered for approximately 20 percent of the in-service training requirements in thesector in 1988. The precise figures on the numbersof participants in INNOVAM courses are notavailable. However, incomplete data does showthat the Basic Course in Applied Electronics is

particularly popular. In 1990, more than 2,000participants registered for this course. In addition,there was a great demand in 1990 for manage-ment training courses and after-sales courses. Theinspector's course attracted the largest group ofparticipants. In fact, this course is not described asan in-service training course by the INNOVAMitself.Altogether the INNOVAM employed 255 employees in 1990. How many of these actually providetraining is not known.

5.6 In-service training provided byimportersThe majority of in-service training efforts in theDutch motor vehicle sector is organized by theimporters, and consists of training courses pro-

vided by importers for mechanics employed bytheir dealers. The courses are given centrally, areoften geared to a specific make, and are aimed attraining the dealers' personnel in all sorts of newtechniques used in the make concerned. In termsof the number of course days, importers cateredfor approximately 80 per cent of the in-servicetraining requirement in 1988 (KWW, 1988).

The in-service training provision of importers canbe roughly divided into the following maincategories:

basic technical courses; these are the above-mentioned courses which mechanics mustfollow to become familiar with the specifictechnical aspects of the make concerned (seesection 4.6.); for most makes, these courses areavailable at three levels; usually each level isone step higher than the corresponding level inthe vocational training of the apprenticeshipsystem; a vocational training diploma is usuallyneeded for entry to the course; at the end of thecourse, participants receive a certifkate;

specialist technical courses; training, courseswhich are above the level of the advancedtraining in the apprenticeship system, aimed atexperienced mechanics who can or wish todevelop towards a job such as technicalspecialist, or even further as a high-techspecialist in their business; in these courses,aspects such as the detection of faults anddiagnosis using modern electronic systems areof central importance;

courses on new products and models; shortspecialized courses, usually organized prior tothe introduction of new types or models, whichprovide in-service training for mechanics forthe technology applied in the new models; theprovision of this sort of course is in line with themanufacturer's product policy;

commercial courses, including many courses insales and communication techniques, forsalesmen of affiliated dealers; these are alsocourses for promoting customer bonding withparticular makes and businesses;

management courses; these are courses rein-forcing customer bonding with the make andorganization and include general managementtraining courses, and courses dealing withspecific aspects of management within thedealer network.

The technical courses are by far the most importantin this range. It is through these courses that theimporters, at the instigation of the manufacturers,endeavour to maintain and increase the standardof qualifications of personnel in the dealerbusinesses, and therefore the service to the"users".

1

3 1

1.

32

In the Netherlands, there are about 20 importertraining centres. The factories and some largeindependent importers, have their own centres. Ingeneral, the training centres are well equipped.They have access to the latest technology andequipment, as well as modern teaching aids, suchas interactive video, simulators, opened outmodels, etc., which are often supplied directlyby the manufacturer; they adapt the teachingmaterials themselves to the Dutch situation. Thelarger training centres employ 6-8 full-timetrainers; the smaller ones employ 3 or 4. Usuallythere are specialized trainers for technical,commercial and management courses. Not allimporters carry out all the courses themselves.Some contract out certain courses to privatetraining organizations. Others collaborate withthe INNOVAM for certain courses, particularly thebasic courses. Recently the Ford importer has eventransferred his whole training programme, includ-ing the whole staff of trainers, to the INNOVAM.Several importers have also set up cooperativeprojects with schools for regular daytime educa-tion (LTO, MTO). In this context, for example, theyorganize excursions to the training centre or todealer businesses, and provide the schools withmodern, up-to-date teaching materials.

The importers' courses are only open to employersand employees of the affiliated dealer businesses.Training arrangements are set out every year inthe contract between the dealer and the importer:the dealer contract. The arrangements made, theway in which the training is organized, and thedegree of obligation differs from importer toimporter. Some importers impose fairly stringentobligations on their dealers. They draw up a sortof "training schedule" for their dealer network,and indicate themselves which mechanics mustfollow which courses; the dealers are bound bythis programme. For other importers, the arrange-ments have a less compulsory character. Theydraw up a programme every year and inform thedealers of this, but then leave the dealers free todetermine for themselves which employees go towhich courses, and when; however, the importersensure fair selection procedures. A number ofimporters make a distinction between compulsoryand optional courses in the range of courses theyprovide. The costs of the compulsory courses areusually borne jointly by the importers and thedealers. The costs of the optional courses areusually wholly charged to the dealers or theparticipants. Unlike the INNOVAM courses, theimporters' courses are not subsidized by thesector's training fund. According to the managersand union members who form the board ofdirectors of the fund, money from the fund, whichis generated as a result of the conditions ofemployment, can only be used for training coursescarried out under the umbrella of the sector'straining institute.

No summaries are available of figures on theparticipation in importers' courses.

According to information from a number of thelarger importer5, the numbers of participants inthese courses every year are (very) large. By wayof illustration, a few figures on the number ofcourse days (technical plus commercial) in 1991are given below:

Alfa Romeo

Citroen

Fiat

Mazda

Mercedes

Mitsubishi

Peugeot/Talbot

Toyota

VW/Audi

Renault

700

6,000-7,000

900

1,000

6,000

250

3,500

6,800

2,000-2,500

2,000-2,500

Source: importers

It should be noted that these figures are veryapproximate, undocumented estimates. Neverthe-less, it is clear that the in-service trainingprogramme of importers significantly exceedsthat of the 1NNOVAM.

5.7 Participation in training andobstacles to trainingTo summarize, it may be said that the motorvehicle sector has a well-developed traininginfrastructure. There is a training fund, there aretraining regulations, there is a large range ofcourses, and there are good organizations whichcan provide the courses. Nevertheless, it is oftenpointed out in the sector that the training under-taken in businesses is not as good as it should be.Why is this? What prevents adequate use beingmade of the provisions available?

Before answering this question, let us take anotherlook at participation in in-service training. There isno satisfactory recent survey of this, though thereare studies giving some indication.

A study of the in-service training provision in thesector in 1989 for 65 businesses (KWW, 1989)shows to what extent motor vehicle businessesactually make use of the training rights which theyhave on the basis of the day release trainingarrangement (1 day per employee per year).Table 5.1 shows how many business allocatedmore days to training in 1989, how many keptexactly to the norm, and how many fell below thenorm. This shows that the motor vehicle sector as a

32

whole complies reasonably with the norm, butlarge dealer businesses clearly do more fortraining than small businesses.

The 1988 KWW study includes a survey of thenumber of days that the subjects of this study stateddifferent employees spent on courses on averagein the years after 1988, for every type of job (seetable 5.2). The figures are based on a survey of115 motor vehicle businesses, of which 73 weredealers, involving a total of 1,100 personnel.According to these data, the number of days of in-service training per employee per year amountedto an average of 2.6 in the years after 1988. Insmall businesses the average was approximately2, in large businesses, almost 3 days. Two-thirdsof the businesses which were questioned say thatthis number is more or less equal to the numberof days involved in 1987. In one-third of thebusinesses, the figure was higher. The figuresreveal a striking need for training for repair shopmanagers and instructors.

Last year the ITS carried out a study of the trainingof employees in 362 small and medium-sizedbusinesses; 57 of these were motor vehiclebusinesses (Van den Tillaart et al. 1991). On thebasis of the information obtained, the employeeswho were interviewed were divided into fivegroups, depending on the extent to which theyactually used the in-service training of personnelas an instrument for dealing with problems in theirbusiness, resulting from new developments.Table 3.3 compares the data on motor vehiclebusinesses with that for other employers. The datashows that employers in motor vehicle businessesrespond to or anticipate new developmentsthrough the in-service training of their personnelmore than employers in other sectors.

There have been several studies in the sector toexamine why participation in training is relativelylow. For example, in 1988 the day releasearrangement for training was evaluated in astudy among 244 employers and 305 employees(00MT, 1988). It showed that many employers(40%) and employees (57%) did not know of thearrangement; therefore ignorance of the trainingpossibilities clearly plays a role. In addition, asubstantial group appeared to be opposed to thearrangement; about 20-25% of the employersconsidered the arrangement unsuitable for thebusiness, and preferred to have nothing to do withit. The KWW study of in-service training provi-sions in the sector show that the most importantobstacles to participation were: lack of time,problems with absence of personnel; expensive;insufficiently geared to practical applications; orheld too far away. The problem of absenceparticularly plays a role in small businesses.When someone from a small business goes to acourse for a few days, this immediately makes abig difference to the manpower available. The ITSstudy also shows that the problem areas in the

motor vehicle sector are not so much at thesectoral level as at the level of the businessesthemselves. With regard to points such as thecontent and quality of the training provisions, theirup-to-dateness, the accessibility and proximity ofthe provisions, the costs of training, the expertiseof the instructors, and the support of the sector foitraining matters, the motor vehicle employers whowere interviewed had few problems, or at leastfewer than their colleagues in other sectors. Theyindicate that the most important problem areas arein the businesses themselves. There are still toomany entrepreneurs who are insufficiently enter-prising, i.e., they do not look around and ahead,and do not adequately understand the importanceof training. In addition, in businesses which dorecognize the importance of training, the problemof manpower is often a major bottleneck. Manysmaller businesses cannot really afford absencefor training purposes (Van den Tillaart et al.,1991).

5.8 New training policy in the sectorThe training efforts of many employers andemployees ill the motor vehicle sector fall behindwhat is desirable in view of commercial andtechnological developments. To counter this, thesector has further intensified its training policy. TheBOVAG defined 1991 as the "year of training",and in that year the training policy of the sectorwas stimulated.

The training and development fund, the OOMT,was reinforced. The fund was made the centralpolicy-making body for the sector, so that allimportant decisions are now made jointly bymanagers and union members. The training ininstitutions of the apprenticeship system weretaken over by the fund. A:, a result, the influenceof employers' and employees' organizations onvocational training and in-service training coursesincreased; the influence of government and theeducation sector was reduced.

In addition, the position and tasks of the nationaltraining centre, the INNOVAM, were redefined. Inthe new structure, the INNOVAM particularly hasthe task of preparing and executing policy. Asregards the training programmes themselves, theINNOVAM will have a co-ordinating functionmore than an execution function in the comingyears. For this purpose, it has a new task to serveas a centre of innovation and expertise, whereemployers can go with questions on new devel-opments in technical, commercial and manage-ment fields.

A start has been made on decentralizing the(vocational) training and in-service training provi-sions to a number of Regional Practice Centres(RPCs). The aim is to establish 10-15 RPCs in the1990-1993 period, geographically distributedas widely as possible throughout the Netherlands.

3 3_

1 .

33

1.

34

Training, courses and excms will increasingly beorganized in these RPCs. The GOAs will also beincorporated in these RPCs. In addition, possibleforms of co-operation will be sought with localsecondary and further technical schools forregular daytime education. In this way an attemptis being made to bring training and the courses"as close as possible to the people".

A start has also been made on a number ofexperiments aimed at making the vocationaltraining progi,_ ,ds more flexible. The pro-grammes are divided into complete units (mod-ules) which can be followed in combination witheach other, but can also be done individually, andeach one concludes with a certificate. In this way,training and courses can be geared more appro-priately to the specific needs of individuals orgroups of employees. In addition, the vocationaltraining programmes can also be linked moresatisfactorily to the programmes of other traininginstitutions.

A start was also made on a system of trainingplanning. Managers and union members drew upa training plan for several years for the sector onthe basis of a study of the requirements (Riphagenet al., 1989), indicating the in-service training

Flow chart

priorities for the next few years for every type ofjob.

Finally, plans have been developed to achieve amore appropriate provision of vocational training,dual training courses, and private training institu-tions, i.e., the importers. The INNOVAM devel-oped a system defining the positions and tasks ofthe various training institutions (importers, INNO-VAM, LTO schools) in relation to the innovationprocesses in the sector. To maintain a broad rangeof qualified experts for the sector, agreementswere formulated on linking the provision of the in-service training of importers' training centres, theapprenticeship system and regular LTO and MTOeducation. Importers will take over training fornew technology for specific makes during theinnovation introduction stage. When a new tech-nology is introduced on a broader scale, such asthe ABS systems being introduced now, forexample, they are included in training providedby the apprenticeship system. At an even laterstage, when the new technology has become partof basic motor vehicle technology, it will beincluded in regular technical education. In thisway technical innovations will gradually beincluded in the sector's training provisions forvocational qualifications.

Car ; Importersmanufacturers " subsidiaries

*4- of carmanufacturers

Parts andaccessor iesfactories

Now cot;Potts and accessories

Source ABN 1990

Independent [-.1 car companies I

Parts andaccessor iesimporters/wholesalers

34

Dealers

! leasingcompanies

J 7

..,,,i General purpose -------..,

I car companies 1

Second-hand"I car trade

1---i

I Repair companies!, specializing inIpart repairsi

,..

Parts andaccessoriesretailers

Consumers

ANNEXTables and diagrams

Table 1.1 - Number of companies in motor vehicle repair and sales sector

1977

Motor vehicle business (total)

including (sub)dealers

general motor vehicle businesssecond-hand car traderepair shops

Car body repair shops

Retail trade in spare parts and accessories

Car repair shops (not inciuded above)

7,686

446

358

1983 1989

8,414 10,700

503 600

449 600

1990

10,800

3,8001,4003,1002,400

1,400

600

600

Source: Central Bureau for Statistics

Table 1.2 - Production, wholesale trade and distribution of motor cars and their parts in 1990

Production:motor car factories and assembly plants, car engine factories 48factories for trailers and semi-trailers 148

bodywork factories 362factories for car parts 92bicycle and motor bicycle factories and assembly plants 44body construction plants 10

factories for bicycle and motor bicycle spare parts and accessories 39

Wholesale trade:wholesalers of motor cars, car accessories and spare parts 3,244wholesalers of bicycles, motor bicycles and mopeds (including parts and accessories) 323

Distributive trade:distributors of motor cars, accessories and spare parts 176

distributors of bicycles, motor bicycles and mopeds (including parts and accessories) 25

Repair shops for coaches and lorries 71

Breakers' yards (wholesale) 847Breakers' yards (distribution) 60

Source: Chamber of Commerce, 1991

Table 1.3 - Number of companies in the motor vehicle sector

1984

Companies , 10 employees 8,611

Companies 10 - 100 employees 1,329Companies , 100 employees 25

Total 9,965

1987 1989

9,456 9,9041,222 1,324

14 15

10,692 11,243

Source: CBS

Table 1.4 - Financial turnover (Statistisch jaarboek 1992) 1985 = 100

1980 1985 1988 1989 1990

All companies of which 82 100

motor car (sales) companies 83 100

bodywork repair shops 91 100

retail trade in parts and accessories 75 100

114 121 127

113 120 126

132 144 162

108 114 11235

1.

36

Table 1.5 - Market share of the most important makes (RAI, ABN '90)

1987 1988 1989

General Motors 16.1 14.0 14.1

Ford 10.1 10 1 10.3

Volkswagen/Audi 10.2 10.0 9.7

Peugeot 6.2 7.3 7.2

Japanese makes 25.9 27.6 26.2

Others 31.5 31.1 32.5

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

Table 3.1 - Changes in the number of persons working per type of company 1977-1990

1977 1983 1989 1990

Motor vehicle business (total) of which: 60,904 54,148 64,400 65,400

(sub/dealers 50,300 49,600

general-purpose motor vehicle companies 4,000 5,300

second-hand car trade 5,600 5,200

repair shops 4,400 5,300

Retail trade in parts and accessories 1,753 2,426 3,600 3,100

Car repair shops (not included in the above) 1,730 1,220 2,400 2,500

Total number of employees 64,387 57,794 70,400 71,000

Total number of cars (x 1000)including company cars

4,188 5,118 5,928 6,052

Average number of cars per employee 65 89 84 85

Source: CBS

Table 3.2 - Average number of persons working by type of company and function in 1990

Owners/ Repair shopPartner/Family Member

Sales Others Total

Motor vehicle companies 0.9 3.2

of which: (sub)dealers 0.6 7.2

general purpose 1.1 1.9

second-hand car 1.1 0.5

repair 1.2 0.8

Retail parts and accessories 0 8 1.7

0.7 1 3

1.7 3.3

0.3 0.4

0.1 0 1

0.1 0.21 9 0 9

6.1

13.0

3.8

1.7

2.2

5 3

Source. CBS

Table 3 3 - Distribution of persons working by nature of employment

1983 1989

Working proprietor s and family members 15 8 20 7

employees . 15 hours per week 80 8 76.4

employees i 15 hours per week 3 5 3 2

employees working for others 0.2

Source CBS

36

Table 3.4 - Breakdown of jobs by function in small and large companies

Repair shop Stores Sales Administration Management Others

Small companies< 10 employees

Large companies10 employees

66.3

53 4

2.5

8.4

15.4

17.9

6.9

10.1

5.9

4.9

3.0

5.3

Total 57.2 6.6 17.2 9.2 5.2 4.6

Source: KWW 1988

Table 3.5 - Development of the job structure in the motor vehicle sector 1987-1995

Percentage of employees working as 1987 1992 1995

repair shopmanager 6.0 5.3 4.8foreman 6.0 5.5 5.1

chief mechanic 17.2 17.8 17.8

mechanic 19.0 18.0 17.2trainer 0.7 0.7 0.6apprentice mechanic 8.8 8.6 8.3bodywork mechanic/sprayer 4.2 4.5 4.6receptionist

store

store manager

6.3

5.3

6.8

5.4

7.1

5 4store employee

sales

sales manager

4.1

1.5

5.1

1.4

5.6

1.5

salesman

administrationadministration manager

8.1

4.1

7.7

4.1

8.4

4.2administration clerk 8.7 9 1 9.3

Source: Adapted from KWW 1988

Table 3.6 - Repair shop job functions 1988/expected developments by 1993

Percentage of time spent oncustomerrelations

diagnosis/instruction

repairsadministration

management

head of companysmall company 27/+ 7 11/+ 2 28/-13 34/+4large company 45/- 16/- 7/+ 1 32/-2foremansmall company 24/+ 10 24/-1 35/-9 17/-1large company 30/+ 1 30/+ 1 29/-4 1 I /+2

instructorsmall company 25/1-10 33/+10 25/-20 17/-large company 8/-2 38/+26 5/-24 2/-chief mechanicsmall company 9/- 9/+2 78/-3 3/-1large company 3/41 12/+7 82/-9 3/-mechanicsmall company 7/-1 8/-6 82/41 3/-1large company 2/-1 6/-1 94/-2 1/+7

apprentice mechaniclarge company 3/-3 5/- 89/4-5 3/-2small company -/-- 97/- I 3/-

Source KWW 1988

3 7 -37

Table 5.1 - Actual inservice training compared with regulatory requirements

small companies large dealers total

Number of companies offering more free timefor training than required by the regulations(one day per employee per year) 6 20 26

Companies providing the required free time 6 19 25

Companies not providing the required free time 6 8 14

Total 18 47 65

Source: KWW 1989

Table 5.2 - Average number of course days per employee by type of job function

Job Expected number of course daysper employee per year in 1988

Company head 2.7

Foreman 5.4

Chief mechanic 3.1

Mechanic/inspector 2.3

Instructor 7.9

Bodywork mechanic/sprayer 1.2

Receptionist 1.6

Repair shop administrator 3.6

Total average for all companies 2.6

Total average for small companies 2.0

Total average for large companies 2.9

Total average for importers 1.8

Total average for (INNO)VAM 0.5

Total average for others 0.3

Source KWW 1988

Table 5.3 - Extent to which entrepreneurs use inservice training as a tool to adjust to market changes (%)

Type of behaviour companies Car companies(n = 57)

All companies(n = 362)

1. Entrepreneur does not notice any changes 14 24

2. Entrepreneur does see changes but sees no need to adjust 18 18

3. Adjustments are made without any recourse to staff training 10 15

4. Adjustments are made but incompletely 18 25

5. Training of staff plays an important role in the adjustment process 40 19

Source, van den Tillaart el al 1991

38

CASE STUDIES

PART 2:

4D

1 . A small car repair shop, dealerfor FSO and Yue Loons

2. A small car repair shop, withouta dealership

3. A medium-sized Ford dealer

4. A large GM-Opel, BMW andMitsubishi dealer

3)

1. A SMALL CAR REPAIR SHOP, DEALERFOR FSO AND YUE LOONG

1. General description of the caseThis first case study describes the operation of asmall, independent general motor vehicle repairand sales business, which is also a dealer for twofairly unusual makes of car. These two makesare imported into the Netherlands by the sameimporters' organization, and for technical in-service training activities, the business uses in

particular the provisions and facilities provided bythis importer. It is also in contact with INNOVAMin connection with the vocational training of oneof its employees, and with private trainingestablishments in the area for administrative in-service training activities. In addition, it has anumber of contacts w th LTO (lower technicaltraining) and MTO (intermediate technical train-ing) schools in the area for providing workexperience for pupils. However, this case studyparticularly examines the technical in-servicetraining activities, and two organizations are ofcentral importance in this:

the business itself, as the client of the in-servicetraining courses;

the importers' organization, which providestechnical in-service training courses.

The developments in the business itself form thestarting point for this report. In the description ofthe training activities, special attention will bedevoted to training provided by the importer.

2. General description of the company

2.1 Location of the companyThe business is situated in the northeast of theNetherlands. Since 1989, it has been accommo-dated in premises on a small industrial estate onthe edge of a large city. It is close to the motorway,and easily accessible from different directions. Thepremises have a total surface area of approxi-mately 500 square metres. Approximately threequarters of these are used as a showroom for thedisplay of new and second-hand models. Theback of the premises is equipped as a repair shop.There is one inspection ramp in the repair shop.One corner of the repair shop is a storeroom forparts. There is a small office next to the showroomwhich houses the computer, and is also used forreceiving customers. There is direct access fromthe office to a house, which is built next to thepremises, where the owner of the business and hisfamily live.

2.2. Brand names, forms of distributionand repairAs stated above, this is a case study of a small,independent business for the sale, maintenanceand repair of private cars. The business operatedfor a long time as a general motor vehicle businessand still trades in all makes of cars, particularlysecond -hand ones. However, since 1988, it hasalso been a dealer, originally for one make, and

since May 1992, for two different makes. Boththese makes are unusual, and only have a verysmall share of the Dutch market.

Since 1988, the business has operated as adealer for the Polish make FSO, which is not avery well-known name in the Netherlands, andbelongs to the range of cheaper, mid-range cars.The importer is located in the west of the Nether-lands, and has approximately 15 dealers through-out the country. This business is the dealer forthe northeast region, and in particular for theprovincial capital nearby. In 1988, FSO had justbeen introduced on to the Dutch market, andinitially sales seemed to be developing very well.In the first year, 1988, the business sold about100 FSOs, many more than had been expected.However, in 1989, developments in easternEurope stopped this trend. Following the collapseof the Berlin Wall in November 1989, and thesubsequent "opening up" of eastern Europe andthe economies of the eastern bloc countries, a verynegative image developed of eastern bloc productsand demand slumped. The Dutch FSO organiza-tion also felt the consequences of these develop-ments. In 1990, the market for FSOs collapsedcompletely in the Netherlands. In 1989, thebusiness managed to sell 90 FSOs, but in 1990it was unable to sell more than 15 cars. 1991 wasalso a bad year, and this was one of the reasonswhy the business ran into serious financialdifficulties. However, the biggest problems nowseem to have been overcome. In the past twoyears, sales have started to increase again, and itis expected that this trend will continue in the nextfew years. In 1992, the business sold 30 FSOs,and for 1993 it is expecting to sell 40.

Following the problems with FSO, the businessturned to other makes in 1991. At the beginningof 1992, a dealership was concluded with theTaiwanese make, Yue Loong, in addition to theFSO dealership. This make is imported through thesame importers' organization as ISO (the import-er also imports the Mitsubishi and Hyundaimakes). Yue Loong was introduced in the Nether-lands in 1992. The importer has estimated that itshould be possible to sell approximately 1,200Yue Loongs in the Netherlands in the first year,of which 60 should be sold by this particularbusiness. However, 1992 sales were extremelydisappointing, partly because the prices were toohigh. In 1992, the business sold only 3 YueLoongs, further compounding le difficulties whichit already faced because of the problems withFSO. However, in response to the disappointingdevelopment, at the end of 1992 the importerstarted a number of campaigns to promote sales,and the effects of these are already noticeableNationally, sales of Yue Loongs doubled in the lastmonths of 1992, and it is expected that sales willalso increase in the northea3t of the country in thenear future. Because of these reasonable pros-pects, the business is continuing to operate as adealer business, despite the current difficulties.

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2.

39

1:1FAT nnw AV1I.Ai F

2.

40

According to the owner: "After all, building up adealeiship is a long-term process".

A large part of the business's turnover comes fromthe purchase and sale of second-hand cars. In

1992, it sold almost 100 cars altogether, of which70 were used cars. In this sector it deals in anymake: "In principle, we buy just about anything".However, according to the owner, the variety inthe work coming in to the general motor vehiclebusiness is also constantly diminishing in thesecond-hand market, because of the increasingconcentration of distribution and repair activitieswithin the dealer networks. Importers oblige salesorganizations/dealers to have special show-rooms, use special tools, and follow specialtraining courses. Larger dealer businesses increas-ingly make use of sub-dealers. However, thisbusiness wishes to continue operating as ageneral motor vehicle business in the second-hand car market.

Because of the disappointing sales of new cars,the business has intentionally moulded an imagein the last few years as a general maintenanceand repair business. An attempt has been made tokeep the maintenance work at a satisfactory levelby selling any make of second-hand cars. Themaintenance and repair services of the businesshave been advertised more widely. In principle, itundertakes any sort of maintenance and repair onevery make and type of private car. It does notturn down more specialized jobs, such as, forexample, the repair of outomatic gearboxes orelectronic faults. The ad6;tional advertising hasbeen aimed at specific jobs, such as themaintenance and replacement of batteries, shockabsorbers, tyres and exhausts. In the last few yearsthe business has attracted quite a lot of workinvolving the repair of LPG systems: "This is one oftl-ie most important ways of keeping the businessafloat". Furthermore, the business is a recognizedAPK testing centre. The APK tests, usually carriedout in combination with a service, bring asignificant amount of money into the business. Asregards maintenance and repairs, the business isan all-round general motor vehicle business. Theowner maintains: "We have in-house knowledgeto carry out every possible type of repair".

2.3 Structure of the company andhuman resourcesThe business is a true family business. At the timethe study was carried out, four people wereworking in the business, all members of the samefamily.

The father (53) established the business and isthe owner. Altogether he has been working inthe motor vehicle sector for 36 years, and as anindependent operator for the last 20 years.Before that, he was employed for 16 years ina Volkswagen garage where he gained hismechanic's diploma and went through the

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whole career structure from apprenticemechanic to repair shop manager and totechnical business manager. In this garage hewas also an instructor, and as such, he wasgenerally responsible for a group of approxi-mately 12 apprentices. In 1972, he becameself-employed.

His wife (50) always worked in the businessfrom the beginning, mainly in sales. She hasnot had any further education after secondaryschool.

The son (24) has been a salaried employeesince 1987. After his LTO education, hefollowed INNOVAM's primary and secondaryvocational training course for Car Mechanic,and gained the diplomas for mechanic andchief mechanic. Currently he is taking a coursefor Motor Vehicle Business Manager, which isalso run by INNOVAM, and which trainsparticipants in running a business in the motorvehicle sector. Over the years he has had agreat deal of practical experience in the familybusiness ("running after his father from the ageof four"). He is employed full time.

The daughter (26) worked full time in the officefrom 1988-1992, doing the administration.Since the middle of 1992, she has worked parttime, 9 hours a week. After her secondaryeducation she took a vocational training coursefor administrative assistant, through the appren-ticeship system.

In addition to these four people, a pupil from alower technical training school (LTO) is doing asix-month work placement at the repair shop; he isnot employed by the business.The business has not always been as small as it isnow. In the 1980s, there were still 13 employees,but as a result of financial difficulties, it had to cutback considerably after 1988. However, accord-ing to the owner, it is, if anything, rather under-staffed at the moment. In view of the positivedevelopments in car sales, he is consideringemploying another mechanic in the fairly nearfuture.

Each member of the family has his or her own roleand tasks in the business. As the owner, the fathermanages the business, does a great deal ofbuying and selling, and is active outside thebusiness in all sorts of fields, including training.For example, he is a member of the BOVAGeducational commission and the local advisoryboard of the district school. He spends 40 per centof his time on mechanical work in the repair shop,"but only early in the morning or late at night,because usually there's not much spare timeduring the day". The son does the "technicalwork". As chief mechanic, he is responsible for therepair shop, and does all the work to be donethere, with the help of the apprentice. He is not, or

is hardly involved in sales administration and isnot very interested in this. The daughter works inthe office and does the administration for thebusiness, together with the accountant. 3he alsodoes the secretarial work, such as dealing withpost, correspondence, and so on. The owner'swife works in sales, and helps wherever she isneeded, for example, meeting customers orpicking up parts from dealers. There is a

considerable degree of flexibility in this generaldivision of tasks. The owner says: "Everyone hastheir own area, but within this, we are all versatile.We work very differently from a large business,where everything is laid down, prescribed,standardized, planned and budgeted. It doesn'twork like that in our business. We don't count manhours in a business like ours. We try to achieve acertain turnover at a particular cost. In the last fewyears the whole family has really had to pulltogether to do this."

2.4 Brief history and recent strategydevelopmentThe development of the business, certainly in thepast ten years, is described by the owner ashaving been "stormy, certainly stronger than galeforce 12". In 1972, he started the business as ageneral repair shop, and it expanded consider-ably in a short time. From 1977 to 1980, thebusiness operated as a Mitsubishi dealer. At thattime it employed 13 employees and sold anaverage of 400 cars per year. However, in 1980,it ran into difficulties when part of the quayside onwhich the business premises were situated col-lapsed and the access road was closed. Thismeant that the business was no longer accessible,and had .to be shut down after a few months withheavy financial losses. The owner then returned tohis home town and managed to start anothergeneral motor vehicle business there in the sameyear. In the next seven years, he succeeded inalmost completely making good the loss he hadsuffered in his first business, "with six people: thewhole family and two mechanics".

In 1988, when trade was reasonable once again,the business became a dealer for FSO. Accordingto the owner, his reason for becoming a dealerwas the fact that a dealership leads to strongeridentity and greater stability and continuity withthe customers. The most important reason forchoosing FSO was that FSO was a completelynew make for which it would be possible to buildup a completely new market; all the other makeswere already well represented in the area. In thefirst year the sale of FSOs went very well, thoughthe sales were concentrated in the neighbouringbig city. In 1989, the business moved to its presentpremises in the city. The importer wanted hisdealer to be situated closer to the customers, andthe accessibility of the former premises wasbecoming a problem because the area wherethe business had been located was to become a30-km zone. However, in 1990 the business once

again faced difficulties. As mentioned above, thesale of FSOs completely collapsed in that year,which greatly reduced the business's income. Atthe same time, there were extra financial liabilitiesas a result of the purchase of the new premises,and problems with the sale of the old premises.Many of the regular customers in the village didnot stay with the business, and it was still in theprocess of building up a new circle of customers inthe city. Between 1990 and 1992, the businesswas on the brink of ruin, and there were severeproblems with bank loans. The business had to cutback, and mechanics had to be dismissed.However, the worst problems have now beenovercome. FSO sales are once again increasing.FSO cars are better adap:ed to modern WestEuropean requirements in terms of technology,design and comfort, a greater emphasis is nowplaced on the sale, maintenance and repair ofsecond-hand cars, and in addition, the businessrecently became a dealer for a second make, YueLoong, a make of car for which there are goodprospects for the future, despite the disappointingsales in the introductory years. The owner ismoderately optimistic about the future.

This optimism is partly due to the fact that thebusiness was able to become a dealer business.The owner foresees increasing problems forgeneral motor vehicle businesses because of therapid technological developments in the sector:"New cars are increasingly using know-howwhich is specific to the make. This know-how isincreasingly protected by the importers and deal-ers. This is one of the reasons why I have becomea dealer myself". According to the owner, hispresent double dealership is probably a tempo-rary matter: "Usually importers don't allow adouble dealership, but in our case it's possible.These are two small makes. FSO isn't doing verywell, and Yue Loong still has to get started. Thetwo makes are both with the same importer, andthey hardly compete with each other. That's whyit's allowed. But when sales increase, there'llprobably be some pressure to split it up."

2.5 Impact of new technologyDespite the difficult times which the business hashad, investments have not been neglected in thepast few years. New equipment has beenpurchased both for the repair shop and for theoffice, so that a better service can be provided.

This was very necessary in the repair shop. Quitea lot of new motor vehicle technology is used bothin the modernized FSO models and in the new YueLoong models. The new FSO models are carswhich have been adapted to western norms inevery respect. The development of these modelshas been geared to the requirements of thewestern consumer, not only ir. terms of design,performance and comfort, but also as regardstechnology. The new FSO has a completecomputer-monitored injection and ignition system

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which already complies with the American emis-sion requirements that only come into force inthe Netherlands in 1995. This system was firstused in the 1989 models. It is based on a GeneralMotors system which was bought by FSO fromOpel, and was then further developed andadapted to the FSO technology by a Dutchresearch institute (TNO) commissioned by FSO,together with the importer. The TNO also devel-oped special testing equipment for the system, andthe dealers were obliged to purchase this. Theimporter himself developed special trainingcourses for the mechanics of the dealer busi-nesses. Dealers were obliged to send theiremployees to these training courses (see sections3 and 4).

Since the early 1970s the business has had a SUNengine tester. This tester is upgraded every five orsix years, "because you have to keep up to date.Modern cars can only be repaired with modernequipment". The tester currently being used wasbought in 1987 and has a computer and a floppydisk on which the data about various makes ofcars can be entered. A great deal of work is donewith the tester. It is always used for full services,even if the customer himself has no complaintsabout the engine The car is connected to thetester, and while the engine is running, theequipment indicates what is running properlyand what is not. The technical documentation isthen consulted to see exactly what is wrong. Thefloppy disks are not used very much for faultdetection; the written documentation is used muchmore. Different documentation systems are avail-able in the repair shop: various series of technicalcar manuals, detailed repair shop manuals forvirtually all the different makes, and so-called"quick choice cards", cards with a concise, easy-to-use survey of the adjustment data of differentlypes and makes of engines, which often make aquick diagnosis possible. According to the owner,working with the tester has many advantagesover the conventional, more "instinctive' way ofdetecting faults: "In many businesses the testersore carefully kept under wraps, so that they don'tget dirty, but that's not the case here. The testerworks amazingly quickly. You immediately find outwhat's the matter. When detecting faults, youavoid going through all sorts of rituals whichyou've built up from experience, but which may becompletely superfluous for a particular problem ...It's probably this no, it isn't then it's probablythat, in that case. Well then ... etc. This is a thingof the past. Instead, you work in a purposeful way,and you can localize a fault immediately. Thatsaves a great deal of time, and that's why we canmanage very well in the repair shop, even with aminimum of manpower." In fact, it is above all theowner's son who uses the automatic tester. He hasdone various in-service training courses for this,and knows how the equipment works. The ownerhimself hardly uses it.

With the introduction of the FSO engine tuningsystem, the TNO developed special FSO testingequipment, which can be connected to the SUNtester. All FSO dealers were obliged to purchasethis equipment; businesses which could or did notwish o purchase the equipment could not continueas FSO dealers. This business bought the equip-ment in 1989. It came with a manual for lookingup information and possible causes of faults, alsospecially developed for FSC.

Apart from the engine tester, other modernequipment is also used:

two fully automatic balancing machines; thesecalculate the location and extent of imbal-ances;o fully automatic tyre fitting system;modern alignment equipment; this works partlyautomatically, partly mechanically;various micrometers.

In addition, there are all sorts of new, modern toolsin the repair shop (pneumatic hammer, torquewrench). The owner considers that: "If you want todo your work properly, you must use good tools".In 1989 a computer was installed in the office,and the business administration was computer-ized. On the advice of the BOVAG's regionalservice centre, a system was purchased which wasspecially developed for general motor vehiclebusinesses, and which was already being used bymany garages in the area. It is a custom-madesystem designed for the motor vehicle industry,which has specific applications for the differenttypes of motor vehicle businesses, the generalbusiness, dealers, dealers for two makes, and soon. The ...ystem was installed by the supplier,together with the business's accountant. Theintroduction of the system resulted in considerablelabour savings. The owner's daughter, who doesthe business administration, used to work full-timein the office. She can now manage to do theadministration working approximately one day aweek. The delivery of the system did not includeany training for the user (a negative point on thepart of the supplier). For in-service training it wasnecessary to go to local establishments offeringprivate courses (see section 4).

3. The provision of continuingvocational trainingWhat were the implications of the developmentsoutlined above for the troining activities in thebusiness, particularly the in-service training activ-ities? We will try to answer this question in thefollowing paragraphs. We will begin by lookingat the training provisions in the business itself, andat the external provisions which the business canmake use of. This is followed by an examination ofthe business's actual training activities in the past5 years.

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3.1 Structure in the companyIn the first place, it is worth noting that the businessoften provides facilities for pupils at vocationaltraining schools in the area, mainly LTO andKMBO [short intermediate vocational training]pupils, to acquire work experience. This indicatesthat there are reasonable facilities for learning onthe job in the business itself. The work carried outin the repair shop is sufficiently varied to introducepupils to a wide range of aspects of themechanic's job. The repair shop has good, quitenew equipment and tools, so that pupils can alsobecome familiar with modern repair shop technol-ogy. There are good facilities for supervision; theowner himself is qualified as a practical instructor,and often acts as an examiner for the practicalexaminations of INNOVAM's vocational trainingcourses. According to the owner, the business isoften sent the LTO's "rather more difficult cases",pupils who for some reason are less easy to placein other businesses. In addition, the businessparticipates in a Joint Training Activity (GOA), aform of co-operation between motor vehiclebusinesses in the area aimed at providing acombined range of practical places for appren-tices following INNOVAM's Car Mechaniccourse. In this context, apprentice mechanicsfrom other businesses often visit for practicalinstruction which they cannot get in the businesswhere they are apprentices, e.g., working onparticular types of carburettors and ignitionsystems. According to the owner, learningthrough practical tasks and work experience in abusiness are also very important for pupils under-taking initial vocational training. Schools cannotprovide an adequate substitute for this, not eventhrough practical lessons. On-the-job learningneeds to be given more importance during theinitial training.

In fact, the owner is aware of the problem that,with the application of new technology, oppor-tunities for acquiring practical, on-the-job repairshop experience could become more rare. This isalso the case in his own business: "Take theexample of automatic balancing machines. Anapprentice working with these does not reallyknow what he is doing. He no longer has to findout where the problem lies, nor learn to approachthings instinctively; he can only do what themachine tells him. In the end, he'll develop afeeling for it anyway, by doing things oftenenough, but from the point of view of training,it's actually rather a disadvantage". He points outa similar problem with regard to in-servicetraining courses, particularly in-service trainingcourses in electronics. The application of newlyacquired knowledge and skills is difficult inpractice because the new technology is often sogood that it rarely goes wrong, and mechanicshardly get any chance for work experience with it.These sorts of transfer problems frequently arise inmany general businesses which actively engage inin-service training.

3.2 Structure of importer's trainingcentreAs an FSO and Yue Loong dealer, the business canmake use of the training facilities provided by theimporter of these two makes, for technical andcommercial in-service training. This company isone of the larger independent import organiza-tions on the Dutch market, and imports fourmakes: Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Yue Loong andF30. The company consists of a holding com-pany, with separate subsidiary companies for thedifferent makes. In the case of Yue Loong, thecompany is the importer, not only for the Nether-lands, but also for the rest of Europe. Theorganization as a whole is currently doing well,despite the problems with the small makes FSOand Yue Loong. The importer has his own trainingcentre located at the organization's head office inthe west of the country. Training provisions arelaid down in the contracts concluded by theimporter with the dealers. Usually a contractcontains the general provision that the dealer isobliged to participate in the training prescribed bythe importer. This training can cover variousdifferent fields: sales, engine technology, main-tenance and repairs, and electronic applications.

The training for the different makes of cars isprovided within the operating companies. ForFSO, this is ABIMEX. ABIMEX does provide aparticular package of courses for FSO, but thesehave not yet been integrated in a programme ofcourses like those organized for the larger makes.Some time ago, plans were drawn up for a moreintegrated programme with a clear structure andcarefully defined, fixed procedures, but becauseof the problems with FSO sales, very little hascome of these plans up to now. In the past fewyears, the whole FSO organization has been inserious difficulties, and neither the importer nor thedealers were very enthusiastic about putting moreenergy into training. Recently the plans have beenlooked at again, and now that prospects arebetter, more attention can be expected to be paidto in-service training. The owner we interviewedstated: "If it doesn't happen, I'll start pushing for itmyself. In-service training is too important to leaveany longer". He is in a good position to do thisbecause he is also the chairman of the FSO dealerassociation.

The importer's after-sales manager is responsiblefor dealer training. He organizes the training andoften carries it out himself. Sometimes he has itcarried out by the service inspector, a sort ofcontact man between the importer and dealerbusinesses. Dealers can then raise specific ques-tions - if necessary, through contact with theservice inspector so that these can be taken intoconsideration when organizing the training. Theowner we interviewed said: "This works well, andin addition, the man knows the people in thebusinesses; he knows the standard, what differentpeople can and cannot do, and where the

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problems lie, and is able to gear the training tospecific gaps or requirements".

With the introduction of the new modernized FSOmodels in 1989, the importer developed specialin-service training courses in electronics, both forthe new injection engine, and for the new testingequipment that is required. The courses weremade compulsory for all dealers on the basis ofthe training clauses in the dealer contracts. Thecourses were given simultaneously with theintroduction of the new type of engine, and wereorganized to a strict schedule. The dealers wereinformed well in advance of the dates and contentof the courses. The target group for this course wasemployees at chief mechanic level. A distinctionwas made between two categories: employeeswith a recognized diploma for chief mechanic,and employees with broad work experience whodid not have this diploma, but were working at thelevel of chief mechanic in practice. Both groupswere admitted to the in-service training courses.However, the training led to quite a few problems,particularly for the mechanics in the secondcategory. The owner we interviewed stated:"Many of our mechanics did not have sufficienttheoretical knowledge to be able to follow thesecourses properly. The older mechanics fromsmaller businesses in particular have very littleunderstanding of subjects such as electronics. Theyounger mechanics, even those without a diplo-ma, have a greater understanding; they haveoften been introduced to the subject during theirvocational training. However, this area is becom-ing a must. In fact, this is a general problem in thesector, and in the last few years INNOVAM hasalso actively tried to do something about this." Theproblems resulted in the importer withdrawing theFSO dealership from a number of dealers whowere unable to gain sufficient qualifications.In the business we studied, the son, as the chiefmechanic in the repair shop, followed theprescribed FSO training courses.

For Yue Loong, there is no fully-fledged trainingprogramme available as yet, though the importerhas developed a number of separate courses,including some commercial training and shortcourses on the car as such, and the electronicsused in it. However, there is not yet any sort ofcomplete training programme. The make is still toonew on the market, and sales in the Netherlandsare still too low. At the moment, the importer'spriority is sales policy. It can be expected thatincreased sales will mean that more attention willbe devoted to training policy.

3.3 Other institutionsIn the last few years the business has also been incontact with institutions other than the importer inconnection with training activities and in-servicetraining. The owner's son followed INNOVAM'scomplete vocational training course for chiefmechanic; at the moment, he is doing the business

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management programme. For further informationabout INNOVAM, reference is made to the sectorstudy. For in-service training in administration andthe use of the computer, the daughter tookadvantage of courses provided by a number ofprivate training centres in the locality. These arecommercial institutions which offer a permanentrange of paid courses open to anyone. One ofthese institutions is a large institution working atnational and international level, which specializesin basic courses and in-service training courses foradministrative and secretarial jobs. In addition,she made use of the opportunities provided byECABO, the apprenticeship system for economicand administrative jobs. This institution, which iscomparable to INNOVAM, provides the recog-nized vocational training in this sector.

4. Training policy of the company

4.1 Training plans and concepts onrepair shop levelThe training plans and activities of this small familybusiness are strongly coloured by the owner'spersonal views on training, and by his children'sjob and career requirements. The owner is

strongly committed to the idea of training, andsees it as essential, particularly for small, generalmotor vehicle businesses, if they are to keep theirheads above water in the present difficult climatefor the motor vehicle sector. He not onlyencourages training in his own business, but isalso extremely active 111 the area and in the sector.He is the chairman of a local advisory commissionon education in industry, where all sorts of schoolsand companies in the area discuss matters. As anemployer providing work experience facilities, hehas a lot of contact with LBO, KMBO and SBBOschools in the area. He is a member of theBOVAG's educational commission, and a BOVAGexaminer for all categories of motor vehicles. Inhis own business he is responsible for the practicalsupervision of apprentices and other trainees.He participates actively in national and localdiscussion groups on questions of education andtraining.

Given his awareness of the need for training, hehas, in his own business, particularly encouragedhis son to achieve the. highest possible level oftechnical expertise through vocational and in-service training. He gives less priority to his ownin-service training, particularly the in-servicetraining in the latest technology. He states thatthe division between "old style" and "new style"mechanics, which is characteristic of the entiresector, can also be seen in his own business:"There are many older people in the sector wholearned their job through practical experience andwho did not have much schooling in the past, andnow find it difficult to follow the latest develop-ments; everything is becoming more theoretical.You have to know more about systems and so on. Itis all less specific. Then there are the younger

mechanics, who have a much better theoreticalbasis as a result of their vocational training, aswell as much more new knowledge, and who aremuch more able to keep up with the latestdevelopments through in-service training becauseof this basis. This also applies in our own business.My son does the technical work in the repair shop,and he does the in-service training for it. I hardlydo any of that work. In the past you learnedthrough practical experience, and you workedyour way up from assistant mechanic to repairshop manager. Now you need much moretheoretical knowledge, and for many youngpeople, the path to becoming a fully qualifiedmechanic is much shorter because they have agood vocational training." The owner has a clearidea of his son's career, with vocational training asa priority. In addition, he regularly takes part intechnical in-service training courses for speciricmakes, provided by the importer.

4.2 Inter linkage of training conceptsand demandThe training activities in the business are basedboth on career ambitions and on the specificrequirements of the business. No systematicanalyses are drawn up of the specific qualifica-tions which are required. As regards vocationaltraining, the standard training for the sector waschosen. With regard to technical in-servicetraining courses, use is made of the trainingdeveloped and prescribed by the importer. In

both cases the provision on offer is used. Asregards administrative in-service training, suitablecourses were found by the business itself. Thespecific courses were always chosen on an ad hocbasis, based primarily on how far the courseappeared to answer the specific need for trainingarising at a particular point.

4.3 Training activities since 1987In the past few years, it has been particularly theowner's son and daughter who have followedin-service training courses. The owner himselfcompleted only two short training courses in sales,in 1990, with the FSO importer, and in 1992,with the Yue Loong importer. Both courses lastedone day, and consisted of a combination oflectures, a discussion on sales proposals, lookingat model letters, and exercises in introducing,conducting and concluding sales talks. After eachtraining course, the importer gave the dealer acertificate of participation. The owner's wife hasnot taken any courses in the past few years.

In the past few years, the owner's son hascompleted INNOVAM's vocational trainingcourses for second and chief mechanic, whichtook a total of five years. Currently he is taking themotor vehicle business manager training course,which is also run by INNOVAM. This diplomaentitles its holder to establish an independentmotor vehicle business. He is doing only thetheoretical part of this course, viz., the manage-

ment subjects and has been given an exemptionfor the technical subjects. This partial coursecomprises 20 evenings (one evening per week).The course consi .ts of a fixed programme oflessons laid down by INNOVAM. Apart from thevocational training courses, he has also donesome technical in-service training courses over thepast few years, mainly for FSO:

In 1989, a gearbox course with the FSOimporter. The course focused on the technol-ogy: How does it fit together? What can breakdown? How it can break down? How should itbe repaired? The course lasted one day, withtechnical theory in the morning and a practicalcomponent in the afternoon. The participantswere put into groups of four, given a brokengearbox, and told to repair it. They had to takeit apart and then put it back together. At theend, they were awarded a certificate.

In 1990, an engine training course with FSOwhich looked at the technology of the engine,the ignition, the cylinder heads etc., testing andtuning, and at any repairs that might berequired. The course had a strong practicalcontent. The participants were presented with acar which was running badly, and were told tofind out what was wrong and trace the causes.A certificate was also awarded for this course.

In 1990, an injection course by FSO aimed attesting and servicing the new electronic injec-tion and ignition system. The course lasted oneday and included training with the new testingequipment. Programmes were run throughtogether with the instructor, the related manualwas discussed, and exercises were undertakenwith floppy disks on a special PC. There was apractical exercise which consisted of rem-edying faults in the engine. The training lastedone day. In the words of the owner's son: "Afterthat you know how it works, but you need moreto be able to go on further. You have to workwith it to gain experience, and this is theproblem. Since then we have only had 8electronic faults altogether to deal with, oneof which could not be found. That car wentback to the importer, who solved the problem,but then you still don't know what the problemwas. You have too little opportunity for anypractical experience." However, he followedup the course in his father's business in a veryoriginal way: "I made an injection version froma carburettor version, took the new system froma modern, damaged car, and built it into an oldmodel. The importer thought it was an excellentinitiative, and was pleased to supply someparts for it." According to the owner of thebusiness, this method of self-training, i.e.,simple, practical experience, is really the"only good way to learn". For the time being,the owner's son wishes to concentrate on hisdiploma for motor vehicle business manager,

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and the in-service training courses are out ofthe picture for the time being. At the end of thatcourse, he may follow INNOVAM's BTE course,but that will depend on his enthusiasm at thetime, and on whether this will ba practicable inview of the work coming into the business.

Since 1987, the owner's daughter has completedfour computer courses, including a basic computercourse lasting several months aimed at theoperation of computer systems and learning touse computers. When the new system wasinstalled in the office, she followed a short usercourse. The supplier of this system did not provideany training, but did provide a detailed informa-tion and instruction package which she used tolearn the new system as she was working. Shealso compiled a documentation system for herown use containing the information she gatheredfrom consulting the supplier by telephone whenthe system ran into trouble. For a short time shealso joined a user's club in the area, whichpractised using PCs and office software.

In addition, she followed a basic administrativeassistant course under the apprenticeship systemfor economic and administrative jobs.

4.4 Costs of continuing vocationaltrainingThe owner does not know exactly what costs wereinvolved in the in-service training activities. Forhim they are rather difficult to estimate: "In afamily business like ours, we go about this verydifferently from a large business, where everythingis arranged, planned and budgeted. We don'thave a special budget for it. We don't count manhours here, and we don't keep a record of costs assuch. We try to achieve a certain turnover, andthen cost it up later." However, the owner does notconsider that he was sparing with regard to studycosts, even during the years that the business wasin financial difficulties.

According to the owner's estimate, an average ofat least NLG 1,000 has been spent on trainingevery year over the last few years. His son'svocational training courses cost approximatelyNLG 500 a year. His daughter's computer coursesalso came to at least NLG 500 a year. The trainingcourses provided by the importer did not involveany costs, neither did the owner's own commercialcourses, nor his son's technical courses. Obviouslythis sum does not take into account the non-productive hours resulting from absence fortraining. The son was generally absent one ortwo days a week for his vocational training. Thein-service training courses for father and son tookup on average one or two days per year.

On the basis of the day-release arrangement fortraining which has been agreed in the sector, theowner is entitled to a reimbursement of one day'straining per year. Obviously this arrangement

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does apply, but according to the owner, it actuallyhas little effect in a small family business: "Wedon't count man hours. For example, my son is stillowed a large number of days holiday for lastyear." Days spent on importer's courses are noteligible for reimbursement; the costs of thesecourses are included in normal overheads.

5. Evaluation of the training concepts

5.1 Evaluation of the training activitiesThe people concerned - the owner and themechanic consider that in the past few yearsthe business has been able to meet its trainingrequirements in an adequate fashion, and they arereasonably satisfied with the variety of in-servicetraining courses which are currently available.

They expect that the provision of training by theimporter in particular will improve in the next fewyears, now that commercial developments seem tobe moving in the right direction, both for FSO andfor Yue Loong.

As mentioned earlier, they do both point toproblems with regard to the application inpractice of the newly acquired knowledge ofelectronics, though they consider that this is aproblem not only in their own business, butthroughout the sector. The owner states: "Theproblem with electronics courses is that you hardlyever get any faults. The electronics rarely breakdown, so you don't get any work experience. Inmany smaller general motor vehicle businesses,you find that there is always just one man, thechief mechanic, with knowledge of this field, andall the work is concentrated on this man. Thebusiness starts to depend on him too much, andproblems arise when he's no longer there. Ageneral complaint after the BTE course is: youk -low it all, but you don't get the chance to applyit, because nothing ever breaks down.

The BOVAG's regional service centre in the areawhere the business is located had plans to set up acentral repair shop for all electronic faults, butthese plans never got off the ground because of alack of co-operation on the part of the dealerbusinesses. The owner said: "It didn't work,because every make has its own systems, andthe dealers won't always provide the informationabout these makes. In this way the dealers try toprotect their own markets. This problem is gettingwors, all the time."

5.2 Good practice versus normalpracticeAlthough he does not think his business leads thefield, the owner does think he does more abouttraining and in-service training than the average,small motor vehicle business. Most of the smallergeneral motor vehicle businesses in the area areless active. One of the reasons for this is that theyare heavily dependent on INNOVAM training

courses, and the INNOVAM training centre is toofar away. The long travelling time seems to giverise to problems for many mechanics. However,last year INNOVAM decided to decentralize itstraining provisions, and a new Regional PracticeCentre has recently opened in the east of theNetherlands. The owner expects that manybusinesses in the area will start doing more abouttraining in the next few years because they will befaced with more and more problems in connectionwith gaps in knowledge.

5.3 Future demand for continuingvocational trainingAccording to the owner, the next few years willsee a continuing need for regular in-servicetraining in the technical field. The provision ofsuch training by importers can be expected toexpand. In terms of content, th9 emphasis will beon in-service training in electronics. The ownerhas no specific ideas or plans in this area at themoment. It will depend on the courses the importerprovides and on developments as to the workcoming into the repair shop.

6. Conclusions in relation to goodpractice and normal practiceThis first case study concerns a small motor vehiclebusiness that has not had an easy time incommercial and financial terms in the last fewyears. We described the role which training andin-service training have played in the business'sattempts to keep its head above water under the"stormy conditions, worse than gale force 12"described by the owner. The business seems to beaiming primarily at acquiring a broad basicknowledge through the vocational trainingcourses available in the sector. On this basis, itis attempting, by means of in-service trainingcourses, to meet the specific requirements of thebusiness which are the result of new developmentsin product and repair shop technology. Whereverpossible, the courses which are on offer or arecompulsory (importer's technical in-service train-ing) are followed. Where necessary, the ownerlooks, on his own initiative, for a course whichadequately answers the business's specific train-ing requirement (in-service training for officecomputerization). This training strategy, which isby no means unrelated to the owner's own strongpersonal involvement in training matters, is one ofthe factors which has helped the business to keepgoing.

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2. A SMALL CAR REPAIR SHOP, WITHOUTDEALERSHIP

1. General description of the caseThe second case study describes in-servicetraining practice in a small, independent, generalmotor vehicle business located in the centre of theNetherlands. For the in-service training of its

employees, this business particularly relies on thetraining provided by INNOVAM, the nationalvocational training institute for the motor vehiclesector. INNOVAM's courses are given at aneducational establishment in the area, the districtschool for day-release vocational training (SBB0);this district school also provides the theoreticalcomponent of the specialist courses of theapprenticeship system covered by INNOVAM.Therefore the case network comprises threeorganizations:

the motor vehicle business, as the client for thein-service training courses;

the vocational training institute, INNOVAM,which develops the courses;

the district school for day-release vocationaltraining which runs the courses.

The developments in the motor vehicle businessform the centre of the report. In the description ofthe training activities in the business, specialattention is devoted to the training provisions ofINNOVAM and the district school. The businesshas also had occasional contact with othereducational establishments in the area, but thesewere concerned with very specific trainingrequirements. These establishments are not dis-cussed in further detail here. However, a specialsection is devoted to the training possibilities in thebusiness itself.

2. General description of the firm

2.1 Location of the firmAs stated above, this case study concerns a small,independent motor vehicle business in a smallprovincial town in the centre of the Netherlands.The business is located in the town centre near alarge Opel garage, and has its business premiseson a single site. The back of the premises is arepair shop, the front comprises the receptionarea, the stores, and a small shop for motorvehicle accessories, such as cleaning products,lubricants, seat covers, car radios, etc. The surfacearea of the repair shop is approximately 140 rn2,with an additional 100 m2 for the shop, stores andreception area. The repair shop has thre.: inspec-tion ramps, of which one is located in a part of therepair shop organized as a "damage corner".Originally there was a petrol pump in front of thepremises, which was used by the business, but thiswas removed at the beginning of 1992. The spacecreated in this way is now used as a parking area.Next to the repair shop, to the side of thepremises, there is another, larger parking area.

The owner's house is next to this parking area Partof the house is used as an office.

2.2 Forms of repair and distributionThe business is a general motor vehicle businessfor the repair and sales of private cars. It is norlinked to one particular make, like a dealerbusiness, but in principle sells, maintains andrepairs every make of private car. A large port ofthe business turnover consists of the sale of privatecars. About 80% of the sales are for second-handcars bought privately; the other 20% are newcars, which are obtained from dealer businessesin the area. Although all makes are sold in

principle, one make, i.e. Toyota, dominates. Inaddition, a relatively large number of Opels havebeen sold in the pas' few years. Recently there hasbeen a significant increase in the car sales. In

1992, 80 cars were sold, 75 of which were usedcars, which is 20 per cent more than in 1991. In1987, only half the number of cars were sold, viz,40 second-hond cars and 6 new cars.

The repair shop turnover results from the main-tenance and repair of all the makes of cars whichare brought in. The ordinary servicing of (second-hand) cars bought from the business form animportant source of income; about 70% of all thecustomers are permanent customers whose carsare maintained by the business. In addition, arelatively large amount of time is devol d topreparing second-hand cars for sale. Quit( a lotof the repair work involves older cars,which are five years and older. This is also relah Ito the type of customers, and the busine,: s

approach to its customers. The manager Jtea."We do a lot of work for the rather older customersin the area. What we do is to sell these people agood second-hand car, and then try to help themdrive the car as long as F lssible, to keep the caron the road as long as possible." This approachmeans that a relatively large number of repairshop hours are spent on bodywork maintenance,a type of maintenance work which arises particu-larly for older cars. In recent years, the repair shophas also dealt with an increasing amount of repairwork for damages, often as additional work to fillany "empty hours". Damaged cars are bought inand repaired, and then sold on to the customer.The Toyota make also dominates this sort of repairwork, partly because a relatively large number ofdamaged Toyotas are bought in. Calculated interms of hourly wages, the repair shop turnover asa proportion of the total annual business turnoveris slightly less than 10%.

The total business turnover is fairly stable, and hasbeen fluctuating between 1.3 and 1.6 millionguilders for about ten years. Until this year abouthalf of this turnover came from the exploitation ofthe petrol pump. However, the pump was removedat the beginning of 1992. Therefore the turnoverfor this year will be lower than usual, but not thatmuch lower, because the loss of income from

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petrol had already been compensated to a largeextent by increased car sales, even in 1992. Withthe sale of even more cars in the next few years, itis expected that the turnover will soon regain itsformer level.

2.3 Human resourcesAt the time of the case study, the businessemployed six persons:

the owner (49 years of age); being himself acar mechanic, he started the business in 1972;previously he worked as a mechanic andassistant-manager in a Mercedes-repair shop;

the owners' wife (44 years); she worked in thefirm from the beginning; she assists in sales anddoes the administration of the business; shegraduated from a laboratory-school;

one older first mechanic (49 years), already 12years in service of the company; he followedthe training programmes of the apprenticeshipsystem for first mechanic and also took courseson repair shop organization and management;he is the informal head of the repair shop;

one younger mechanic (20 years); he gradu-ated on the LTO and is following the apprentice-ship training for first car mechanic at themoment;

two apprentices (17 and 19 years), both lessthan 2 years in service; one has an LTOcertificate, the other has 3 years furthergeneral education; both have a work-trainingcontraci with the company.

From 1976 to 1990 another mechanic wasworking in the company, a very experiencedman who recently specialized in car electronics.Some years ago he left the firm for another one.

2.4 Structure of the firmIn legal terms, the firm has the status of a one-person business. It is owned by the manager andhis wife, who are both active in the business. Themanager/owner is responsible for sales, recep-tion, the co-ordination of the work, the supervisionof the repair shop, and some of the repair shopadministration. His wife does the general admin-istration work and occasionally helps with sales. Inaddition, she maintains the contacts with theemployers' organization (BOVAG), and is amember of the management of the sector'straining and development fund (00MT).

The business currently employs 4 mechanics forthe maintenance and rair work: a veryexperienced, rather older c.i.ief mechanic, whohas been working for the business for more than12 years; a younger, slightly less experiencedsecond mechanic, who has been employed forover 4 years, and two apprentice mechanics, who

were only recently employed and have a tempor-ary contract in the form of an apprenticeshipagreement for the period of their training, in thiscase for 2 years. For a long time a third mechanichad been employed, also an experienced manwho had specialized in electrical and electronicwork. However, he left for another business twoyears ago, and the two apprentices were recruitedin his place. There is a certain division of tasksbetween the mechanics. The chief mechanic isalso the repair shop manager, and as such, hesupervises the work together with the owner. Inaddition, he is an instructor and supervises the twoapprentices with regard to the practical compo-nents of their vocational training. As an experi-enced expert, he also does the more specializedwork on damages and any electrical and electron-ic repairs which come up. The second mechanic,who is currently training to become a chiefmechanic, does the more difficult repairs and themeasurement and adjustment work involved inservices and engine repairs. In addition, he doeselectrical and electronic repairs, together with thechief mechanic. He has also applied himself toworking with the computer-monitored testingequipment, which has been used for a number ofyears (see section 2.2). The other employeesusually leave this to him, although the chiefmechanic does know how the equipment worksand how it can be used. Finally, the twoapprentices do the normal services, assist thetwo mechanics, occasionally do some of thesmaller repairs under supervision, and work onpreparing cars so that they are ready to be sold.Until recently, the business also had a mechanicwho had become more specialized in the electron-ic work involved in cars. When this employee left,this area of specialization was lost. The loss hasbeen partly compensated because one of the othermechanics has started a training course in thisfield, but up to now, this training has not reachedthe level that was lost (also see section 4). Asregards particular makes or models of cars, thereis no specialization in the repair shop. In thisrespect, the mechanics are employed in an "all-round" capacity.

The owner does little or no work in the repair shophimself, though he does meet the customers, seeswhat has to be done, schedules the work, anddivides the jobs amongst the mechanics. He alsomakes the appointments. Every morning he goesthrough the day's schedule with the mechanics,and gives everyone their jobs for the day. Individing up the work he takes into account as faras possible everyone's strengths and weaknesses;when allocating work to the apprentice mechan-ics, he also sees what they have to do in thecontext of their training. In addition, he keeps aneye on the progress of work, and checks the carswhich are ready to be delivered. It is only in theowner's absence that the mechanics accept workthemselves, plan appointments and divide up thejobs amongst themselves. All the mechanics are

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employed full time, i.e., 5 days a week, 8 hours aday. The two apprentices go to the district schoolone day a week for the theoretical component oftheir vocational training.

According to the owner, the capacity of the repairshop is currently slightly too large with twoapprentices, and it is by no means certainwhether it will be possible to employ bothapprentices permanently when they have com-pleted their training. The two apprentices havedifferent educational backgrounds. One of themhas a technical basic training, viz., LTO (lowertechnical education), specialized in motor vehicletechnology. He also followed several months of anMTO (intermediate technical education) bridgingclass, but gave up because he found it "tootheoretical". Nevertheless, he wanted to work withcars and already had a Saturday job in thebusiness. Then he asked if he could become anapprentice in the business to follow the vocationaltraining under the apprenticeship system. Theowner agreed to this. The second apprenticewas an early school leaver from the generaleducational system. He had three years ofsecondary education (HAVO), did not wish tostay at school, and wanted to become a carmechanic. He managed to get some workexperience in the business through an advisor inthe apprenticeship system. Following this workexperience, he wished to do the vocationaltraining, and also applied to be taken on as anapprentice in the business. The owner alsoaccepted his application, partly because therewas an undercapacity in the repair shop becauseat the same time that one of the mechanicsresigned, one left temporarily to do his militaryservice.

The owner feels it is not very clear which of theiwo basic types of education, the technicaleducation or the (unfinished) general education,forms the best background for working with cars:"Of course, for someone without a basic technicalit's not easy at first, because they know hardlyanything about technology, have very little knowl-edge of tools, equipment and materials, and thisis a big disadvantage. But in practice, the twoapprentices are progressing at the same rate.Moreover, the LTO also provides only a limitedknowledge of materials and equipment. Theremay be some wonderful testing equipment at those

schools, but too little attention is devoted to whichmaterials and tools should be used."

2.5 Brief history and recent strategydevelopmentThe business has been operating as an independ-ent company for a fairly long time. It wasestablished in 1972 by the present owner, whowas previously employed as a repair shopmanager for a Mercedes garage in the west ofthe country. For the first five years he was tied bya petrol company from whiCh he rented the

premises, but in 1977 he purchased the premisesand severed the ties with the petrol company to"have more freedom in his work". In the first fiveyears there was a significant growth in the repairshop's number of customers. In 1972, he

employed the first mechanic, and after fouryears, this number had increased to 3 mechan-ics. In addition, the owner still worked in the repairshop himself. Since 1985, there has been arelatively stable level of 4 mechanics, of whom 3are currently involved in training.

The business has always been an independent,general motor vehicle business. In the past, thebusiness was approached several times with therequest to become o (sub) dealer business, but ithas always chosen to remain independent.Business is going reasonably well, the firm hasbuilt up a good position in the region and has alarge circle of permanent customers. The ownerdoes not wish his activities to be unnecessarilyrestricted by a dealership contract. He attachesgreat importance to his independent position: "Adealership restricts you as regards your ownexploitation and expansion." One of the busi-ness's strong points at the moment is the possibilityof providing extra quality by putting more hoursinto certain activities and building up goodpersonal relationships of trust with customers, sothat these customers continue to return. In

addition, as an independent business, it is

possible to be slightly selective with regard to thecustomers, and this is not so easy for a businessspecializing in a particular make. The businessparticularly wants to work for customers who likecertainty and durability, who "give us the space todo serious work", and who are prepared to payslightly more for this. These are usually ratherolder customers, The business is clearly less

interested in "the bravado attitude" sometimesfound amongst younger people.

According to the owner, this approach to keepinga constant circle of permanent, trusted customerswho appreciate high quality work, provides thebusiness with an adequate basis for not having tofear the compr:tition of the larger dealer busi-nesses in the future. Nor is he really afraid of anyattempts of dealer businesses to corner the marketas a result of all sorts of new electronic applica-tions in cars used in specific makes: "This riskcertainly exists, but you hope that you can keep upas far as possible with training. However, as ageneral motor vehicle business, you will neverhave access to the very latest information."

2.6 Impact of new technologyIn recent years, micro-electronics have also beenintroduced into the business. More and more carswhich are equipped with electronic systems comeinto the repair shop. The business has purchasednew, computer-monitored measurement and test-ing equipment, and recently most of the businessadministration was computerized.

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Although the business is increasingly concernedwith motor vehicle electronics, the proportion ofelectronic work in the repair shop turnover is stillrelatively small, because it deals with a relativelylarge number of older cars in which electronicshave not been used so much. On average, 1-2per cent of the repair shop hours are devoted toelectronic repairs per month, and according to theowner, the developments in this field can bereasonably" followed with the expertise avail-

able in the business. In the context of their trainingor in-service training, both mechanics haveacquired the knowledge required in this field(also see section 4). However, the owner does saythat it is a problem that it is not possible to acquiresufficient experience in practice because thebusiness works a great deal with Toyotas, andToyota electronics seldom break down. In princi-ple, electronic repairs ore carried out by the repairshop itself as far as possible. This applies not onlyto routine jobs, but more complex repairs are alsocarried out in-house as far as possible, and even"unique" cases, for example, specific modifica-tions to an alarm system, are not turned down. Theowner stated: "This often requires a degree ofinventiveness, sorting things out yourselves, tryingthings out, and so on. We are almost always ableto do something. It often takes more hours, whichyou cannot always charge to the customer, but onthe other hand, you also learn something from it."It is only when the mechanics really cannot solve aproblem that the work is sub-contracted to aspecialist firm. There are several electronicsspecialists operating in the area, in many caseslinked to Bosch sales and service points which arealso regularly consulted in the electrical field, forexampIe, for the rewinding of starter motors anddynamos. According to the owner, these specialistbusinesses have more experience, better testingequipment, and more parts available for "ex-changing components occasionally, as electronicrepairs are often a matter of finding approximatelywhere the problem lies, replacing components inthat area, and then trying out how it works."However, as stated above, work is seldom sub-contracted at most two or three times a year. Theelectronic repoirs are usually carried out by thechief mechanic.

In 1990, the business purchased new computer-monitored testing equipment, a universal enginetester (Crypton Cudos) which can measure engineperformance for all the different makes of cars. Itcomprises a diskette station, and is provided withdiskettes containing the tuning data of the differentmakes and types of engine. The data ore regularlyupdated and entered on new diskettes, which canbe purchased. When the business bought thetester, it ordered only the diskettes for those makeswhich it works on regularly. In addition, it has asubscription to a microfiche system with engineand tuning data of all the makes, and to a series oftechnical manuals which are also regularlyupdated and supplemented. With the tester, a

number of test programmes can be run automati-cally. For example, there is a diagnostic pro-gramme in which the tester makes a number ofstandard measurements on the engine system(battery, ignition coil, spark plugs, cylinders,injection, ignition, emissions etc.). The results arecompared with the indicated tolerance limits (min-max), and an error message is given if these limitsare exceeded. There is a component programmewhich works through standard test programmesfor the various parts of the engine system. There isalso a diagnostic programme for which themechanic enters (a combination of) complaints,and for which the tester then indicates which testprogrammes must be run; in addition, it indicateswhich checks the mechanic must carry out inadvance so that the tests can be carried out, andwhich steps he should not carry out to make surethat the tests are not disrupted. The system also hasa help programme which the mechanic canconsult if he does not find what he wants in thestandard menu. The test results are printed out in acustomer report, which can also include the resultsof a number of manual and visual inspections ofthe car. If a customer wishes, the mechanic canalso give him an additional explanation. The testeris used regularly. A car is connected up to it,usually by the second mechanic, who hasmastered the operation of the equipment. Accord-ing to the owner, the return on the equipment israther disappointing: sorting out which data haveto be used is very time consuming, finding theproblem often takes a great deal of time, andrunning the test programmes also takes up a lot oftime. Another problem is that sometimes the dataare not available on the latest types of engines oron less common makes and types of engine. Forthis information, one is dependent on the dealersconcerned. In most cases this information can beobtained because good contacts have been builtup wIth the dealer businet,ses in the area.

The administration of the business was computer-ized at the end of 1991. Following someinvestigation of what was available, a PC systemwas purchased which was specifically designedfor general motor vehicle businesses. The systemincludes the repair shop administration, the salesadministration and the financial administration.The stores administration was left out because it istoo small. The new system has hardly had anyimpact for the mechanics in the repair shop,though it has for the manager and his wife, who isresponsible for the administration. They work withthe system most, and have had to learn to use it.For this purpose they have followed various in-service training courses with the system supplier(also see section 4).

3. The provision of continuingvocational trainingWhat response has there been in the business tothese new developments? To what extent havethey led to a need for training, and have steps

been taken to meet these needs? What role has in-service training played in this context? These arethe questions which are dealt with in the followingsections. We begin by describing the trainingprovisions in and around the business. The

subsequent sections then explore the specific

training activities.

3.1 Structure in the firmAlthough the business does not have its owntraining department or "training corner" it is too

small for this this does not mean that there are noprovisions for training. There are good provisionsfor the vocational training of the apprenticeemployees, cnd there are very good possibilitiesfor learning in the repair shop.

The business is an apprentice business recognizedby 1NNOVAM, i.e., it is competent to conclude onapprenticeship agreement with (new) employeesfor vocational training in the context of theapprenticeship system, and is responsible for thepractical part of the training, while allowing theapprentice to go to school one day a week for thetheoretical component. It was given this recogni-tion because it provides adequate varied work ofa sufficient level, and because it has adequatefacilities for the practical supervision of appren-tices. Both the owner himself and the chiefmechanic are qualified practical instructors, andas such they are qualified to train and superviseapprentices. In practice, the chief mechanic isusually responsible for the day-to-day supervisionof the apprentices, while the owner keeps an eyeon the overall progress of their training and

maintains contacts with the school and the

apprenticeship advisor. In allocating tasks to theapprentices, he takes into account as far aspossible the progress of their training. ("This startswith polishing cars, then small servicing jobs, fullservices, getting cars ready for the road, smallrepairs, assisting with large repairs, etc.") In

addition, the two apprentices who are employednow sometimes go to other motor vehicle busi-nesses in the area to gain experience of workwhich is not carried out in this business, and "tosee how things are done elsewhere". These

businesses are members of a GOA, a regionalform of co-operation which exchanges appren-tices on a regular basis, and to which this businessis also affiliated. Moreover, the apprenticesregularly go to a Regional Practical Centrerecently opened by INNOVAM, where they cancarry out more specialized practical tasks. How-ever, the most important part of their training is onthe job in their own repair shop.

In fact, according to the owner, the possibilities oftraining or in-service training in the repair shopare very good, and much better than in mostdealer businesses. The business is a general motorvehicle business with every make c. f car, where allsorts of repairs are car ried out, so that knowledgeand experience can be acquired with many

different types and systems. The business alsohas fewer overheads than dealer businesses, sothat more production hours can be provided forthe same price. This makes it possible to take moretime for certain less frequent types of work, and touse this space for "sorting things out" and learningsomething from it; this regularly happens withmore difficult repairs to electrical and electronicsystems. In addition, extensive technical documen-tation is available in the repair shop on virtually allmakes of cars (repair shop manuals, microfichesystem, database, testing equipment), and themechanics can use these to sort things outthemselves. They can also update their own levelof knowledge by consulting dealers and special-ists about new or less common types of cars,engines or parts. Finally, it is very important thatthe mechanics work together a lot as a smallgroup, and that they can easily consult each otherwhen they cannot solve a problem themselves.One should not underestimate the importance ofall these forms of training at work for maintainingand increasing the mechanic's level of knowledge.

3.2 Structure of trade associationcentreFor official off-the-job training, the business isnecessarily dependent on the training and in-service training provisicris of INNOVAM, theinnovation and training centre of the Dutch motorvehicle sector. As a general motor vehiclebusiness, it does not have access to the trainingprovided by importers. In addition to vocationaltraining courses for car mechanics in the context ofthe apprenticeship system, INNOVAM also organ-izes a large number of in-service training coursesfor all types of jobs in the motor vehicle sector:courses for people establishing a business,management courses, technical courses, commer-cial courses and courses on specific subjects, suchas, for example, APK [MOT] inspections andindustrial environmental management. The

courses are given annually on several differentdates. New courses and the dates of courses arepublished for the sector in good time in the tradejournals and targeted mail shots. Employees inmotor vehicle businesses are free to sign up forand participate in these courses on the dateswhich suit them best. Most of the courses are keptshort, lasting one or at most two days to preventemployees fmm being absent from the business fortoo long. The vocational training courses of theapprenticeship system conclude with a nationalexamination which awards the apprentice anationally recognized diploma. Most in-servicetraining courses lead to a certificate. Thesecertificates are also generally recognized in thesector. The courses put on by INNOVAM arecovered by the sector's system of day releuse fortraining, which means that for these courses theemployer can receive a subsidy from the sector'straining fund of one day's production loss peremployee per year. For further background

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information about INNOVAM, reference is madeto the sector study.

Recently INNOVAM developed a provision forin-service training in the field of electronics forgeneral motor vehicle businesses. This was a BasicCourse in Applied Electronics (BTE), consisting ofthree short courses at three levels, which teachexperienced mechanics the basic principles ofmodern car electronics in a short time. Thisprovision was specially developed to do some-thing about the gups in knowledge in this fieldamongst many older mechanics in general motorvehicle businesses. With these BTE courses theycan at least master the basic principles. Formecivinics who wish to go further with regard toelectrical and electronic technology, there aresome specialized and longer courses in this field.In addition, a number of short courses have beendeveloped on special subjects such as electronicignition systems, brake systems etc. Most of theelectronics courses included in in-service trainingare also included as standard courses in thecurrent vocational training programmes for sec-ond and/or chief mechanic. Thus younger orapprenticed mechanics receive training in thisfield from the very beginning. INNOVAM con-sciously chose to integrate the electronics coursesin the regular vocational training for mechanics. Itis felt that electronics should not become aspecialist area in the motor vehicle business.Work on electronics should (continue to) form anintegral part of the range of tasks carried out by acar specialist with a broad range of qualifications.

3.3 Structure of the public centreINNOVAM's training centre is located in theextreme mid-west of the Netherlands, and this isa problem for many motor vehicle businessesbecause of the geographical distance involved(lengthy travelling time, problems with traffic jams,etc.). INNOVAM is trying to deal with theseobjections by means of co-operation with theregular system of vocational education. Whereverpossible, schools in the area which are muchcloser to the businesses are contracted to run thetraining and courses. In many cases these aresecondary or further technical schools which alsohave their own programmes for motor vehicletechnology and have good practical facilities andspecialist teachers, but the courses are alsocontracted out to district schools for day-releasevocational education (SBBO schools). For theapprentices in a particular area, these schoolsrun the theoretical programme of the variousvocational training courses of the apprenticeshipsystem, including the vocational training for carmechanic. In-service training courses are run bythese schools for INNOVAM on a contractualbasis. By contracting out courses using thisnational network of local educational establish-ments, INNOVAM hos considerably improved theaccessibility to training provisions. The business

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that was studied also made use of this possibility oflocal training.

4. The firm's training policy

4.1 Training plans and concepts at therepair shop levelit will be clear that as a small business, it does nothave detailed policy plans, aims, regulations,procedures and facilities as regards training.There is no separate training budget. Theparticipation in courses or training is a matterwhich is arranged directly in consultation betweenthe employer and the employees on the basis of aspecific need or a specific request on the part ofan employee. When such a need or requestarises, the employer and employee discuss whatsort of course is suitable, where it can be followed,and what organizational and financial arrange-ments must be made. As stated above, theprovisions of INNOVAM are usually looked atfirst and information is sent regularly about thesecourses in mail shots. The owner says that he doesnot wish to oblige his employees to follow certaincourses, but does wish to stimulate and facilitatethe participation in in-service training as much aspossible. Employees are virtually always comple-tely reimbursed for the costs of in-service trainingcourses, and are given sufficient time off to studyand for tests and exams.

The fact that there are no specific plans does notmean that there is no "overall concept" behind theactivities which take place in the business. Such aconcept does exist, but it is in the owner's head. Inthis, there are two central features:

an increase in the level of qualifications bygiving newcomers the possibility to train to anadequate level of expertise in the motor vehiclesector through vocational training;

an expansion in the qualification potential bystimulating permanent, experienced employeesto follow in-service training courses in the latesttechnology; this is mainly achieved by meansof the in-service training courses in electricsand electronics.

The owner himself states that, partly on account ofhis age, he does not feel any need for special in-service training for himself in car technology, ("t'smore for younger people"). Nor does he see anyneed for it. If one of the employees is trained inelectronics, this is adequate for the business,considering the work available, "and fortunatelythat's how it is in our case".

4.2 Inter linkage of training conceptsand demandAlthough no systematic inventories of requirementsare drawn uo in the business - this is not necessarybecause the owner is directly aware of any gapsin knowledge, and employees can directly inform

him of their training requirements the need fortraining is closely related to current developmentsconfronting the business. This applies particularlyto the technical in-servic, training courses.Although not much work has been done in

electronics up to now, the owner has for sometime recognized the need to have some "in-house"knowledge in this field, and in the past he alsoencouraged various employees to follow in-service training courses in electronics: "You cansee it coming, and obviously you have to dosomething about it. Admittedly we have manyolder cars, but even cars which are 4-5 years oldhave quite a few electronic systems. You hope tokeep abreast of things as much as possible bymeans of training." The mechanics have alsorecognized this need for in-service training andhave also taken steps on their own initiative toacquire a greater understanding of modernelectronics, either officially or unofficially. Thereis not so much a need for specialist knowledge inthis field, for this is not necessary, but it is felt that abasic level of knowledge is important. The ownersays: "Electronics has clearly expanded the fieldof knowledge. Nowadays mechanics have toknow much more than they used to. I think it is

particularly important that they really know whatthey can do as welt as what they can't do, thatthey know what they can do without breakingthings. For example, how do you find an electricalcurrent? You don't simply grab hold of a wire orstart drilling somewhere. First you see where thewires go, and so on. This requires a certain basicknowledge and experience." There is no need forspecialist knowledge. As stated above, whenthere are more difficult electronic repairs, theseare contracted out to specialist firms in the area.

4.3 Training activitiesMany of the in-service training activities under-taken by the business in the last few years havetaken place in the context of an acquisition ofknowledge in the latest motor vehicle technology.To some extent this knowledge is acquired throughthe vocational training for car mechanics currentlyfollowed by the two apprentices. This trainingcomprises a number of standard INNOVAMcourses in the field of electronics. In addition,some mechanics have followed specific in-servicetraining courses.

The in-service training of the mechanic who left togo to another employer in 1991 was veryimportant for the business. This was an experi-enced employee who had been employed foralmost 15 years, and had a stro.ig personalinterest in electronics. In 1988 he started an in-service training course for chief motor vehicleelectrician, a two-year INNOVAM course whichalso is offered as part of the apprenticeshipsystem. For this course he went to the districtschool two evenings a week. The course wascompletely paid for by the business. However,

shortly after the end of the course, he left his job,partly because he was insufficiently able to use hisnew knowledge and skills in his work. Obviouslythe owner felt this to be a considerable loss,particularly as he himself had greatly encouragedthe employee concerned: "That boy was the realtechnician in the business. He was clearlyinterested in it. We expected that there would bean increase in the work on electronics, and weshould know what we're talking about, so I

thought I should let one of my people do it. It

was a very broad course, perhaps slightly toobroad for our business. There isn't enough realelectronics work, and with all his knowledge, theboy was often doing ordinary services. He left togo to a VW business which does more in that field.We did lose quite a bit of investment in know-how."

Once again the business faced a gap in expertise.However, this time the owner took a more cautiousapproach: "The lesson I learned is that you have tolook more closely at what suits your business interms of training, and the motor vehicle electriciancourse is out of proportion to the work available inour business. Meanwhile INNOVAM had devel-oped the BTE courses. These were shorter, lessspecialized courses which we opted for." Thepresent chief mechanic did two STE courses in1990: BTE-0, which is an introduction to thebasic principles of electro-technology and faultsdetection, and BTE-1, an introduction to the

principles of electronics. Each course lasted atotal of 5 afternoons and 10 evenings. The costs ofthe course were paid by the employer. The freeafternoons were divided: half were paid, and theother half were taken out of the mechanic'sholidays. The courses consisted of a combinationof theory lessons and practical assignments inwhich electrical and electronic components werebuilt up or repaired in groups. The BTE-1 courseconcluded with a final test and a certificate.According to the mechanic, the course wasrelevant to the business, and was worth it: "Youcan use what you learned straightaway at work,and some things seemed a lot easier. Theadvantage of the course is also that you learn touse a (multi) meter better. This is not so easy in therepair shop." The employee was asked to do asecond follow-up course, the BTE-2, but he turnedit down because the course was run only in theevenings in a place rather further away. Thiswould have involved too much travelling time andwould have taken up too much of his free time,and the owner understood this objection: "We'lljust wait until this course is run somewhere nearerhome."

Since 1987, the firm has been involved in othertraining apart from in-service training in electricsand electronics. In 1991, the chief mechanicfollowed an APK inspection course, a two-daycourse run by INNOVAM, which leads to adiploma entitling the employee to carry out APK 55

2.

56

tests on cars. The owner himself has this diploma,but in practice he rarely carries out the testshimself. With the APK diploma, the chief mechaniccan now carry out these tests completely on hisown. The owner and the chief mechanic alsoregularly do a one-day APK application coursewith INNOVAM, where they are kept up to datewith the latest test regulations. Last year the ownerand the chief mechanic also attended a shortcourse run by INNOVAM on environmentalproblems in connection with APK tests.

In 1989, the owner and his wife attended a three-day course to learn to use the new computersystem in the office. The course was given onlocation by the supplier, and was specificallyaimed at the system concerned. At the end of thecourse, the instructor was consulted twice forsupport in the business itself.

4.4 Costs of continuing vocationaltrainingThe costs of external training and in-servicetraining are not budgeted for in advance, thoughobviously they are included in the administration.The owner is well aware of these costs. No explicitcost/benefit analyses are drawn up. The costsincurred up to now are considered justified,although the benefit of the investment in the ex-employee was felt for only a very short time.

The following survey of costs for in-service trainingsince 1987 was provided on request:

the costs of the motor vehicle electriciantraining for the ex-employee amounted toNLG 4,000-5,000, including the costs of thecourse and the working hours lost;

the costs of the shorter BTE courses amounted toa total of NLG 2,000-3,000, including lostproduction hours;

the APK training and application courses costapproximately NLG 1,500 in total;

there were no costs involved in the computercourse for the owner and his wife; the costswere included in the purchase price of the newsystem; in this case, the costs of non-productivehours are not applicable as neither the ownernor his wife are salaried.

In total since 1 98 7, NLG 7,500-9,500 has beenspent on in-service training. This does not take intoaccount the costs incurred in connection with thevocational training of the two apprentices.

On the basis of the day-release arrangement fortraining, concluded under the Collective LabourAgreement for the sector, the business can claimas many paid days of day release for training asthere are employees every year; i.e., in this case,two. These two days are reimbursed by the

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sector's training fund. It is clear that in recentyears the business training effort has exceeded thisnorm.

S. Evaluation of the training concepts

5.1 Evaluation of/the training activitiesAll in all, it may be said that the business isreasonably successful in keeping up with currenttechnological developments and keeping a bal-ance between its personnel's qualifications andthe work requirements. It is clear that a lack oftraining is unsatisfactory, but that a "surfeit" oftraining is not so good either (viz., the departureof the over-qualified employee). The ownerhimself seems reasonably satisfied with thecurrent in-service training provisions in the busi-ness: "Obviously there could always be more, butas the owner, I am dependent on my employeesand what they want. Up to now, they have beenquite willing to follow in-service training. And theapprentices are undergoing vocational training atthe moment that's one day a week as it is theycan't do all sorts of other courses." The need forin-service training is expected to continue in thefuture, which means that the apprentices willactually have to go on doing courses as soon asthey finish their vocational training. Certainly theemployer will encourage them to do so: "We putpressure on those boys when they have finishedtheir training. We'll certainly encourage them tocontinue their training. Follow-up courses arepaid, they're given study leave, etc. On the otherhand, we'll also ask for results ... otherwise, wecould, for example, reimburse only part of thecosts."

5.2 Good practice versus normalpracticeWhen he was asked, the owner said that he foundit difficult to assess whether or not his business wasa leader in training, but one does get the idea thathe puts more into training than other genetalmotor vehicle businesses: "In many generalbusinesses, training is considered to be a minoritem, and that certainly doesn't apply to us." Thebusiness clearly recognizes the need for in-servicetraining, as do the employees. In-service trainingis specifically encouraged, the employer does notstint on facilities, the employees themselves areprepared to invest in in-service training, and thebusiness offers good opportunities for learningnew things on the job in the repair shop.

5.3 Future demand for continuingvocational trainingThe owner has apparently modified his initialideas on in-service training from "thorough in-service training in electronics" to a more limitedidea of "in-service training in the basic princi-ples", following the experience with his ex-mechanic. This is more suitable in view of thepresent limited amount of electronic work whichcomes into the repair shop. The business's needs

11,

are adequately met by the provision of basiccourses currently available by INNOVAM, and itis estimated that this provision will continue to besufficient for the next few years: "INNOVAM'sprovisions satisfactorily meet the training needs ofa general motor vehicle business like ours." Theowner sees no need to add to these provisions,either in terms of content or methodology.

However, the follow-up to training in the businessis a problem. In particular, there are problems withthe application of newly acquired knowledge andskills in electronics because there is still too littlework involving electronics. Therefore the mechan-ics do not have enough opportunity to gainpractical experience of what they learned on thecourse. However, it is expected that this problemwill be partly resolved in the next few years, asnewer types of cars containing more electronicscome into the repair shop ("also other makeswhich break down more often"). However, for thetime being, this remains a problem area.

6. Conclusions in relation to goodpractice and normal practiceThis case study describes the training practice in asmall general motor vehicle business which servesas a model for the situation in this branch ofindustry in two ways. Many of the developmentsand problems which were described are typical ofwhat happens in smaller motor vehicle businesseswhich operate independently of a particular makeand wish to continue operating independently. Onthe other hand, it also serves as a model for othergeneral motor vehicle businesses. The case studyshows that these businesses still have goodprospects in the motor vehicle sector, despite therapid technological developments and increasingcompetition from dealer businesses. In making useof these opportunities, it was shown that in-servicetraining played an important role, though it is notthe only key to success. A keen business sense andgood and trusting relationships with customersand fellow entrepreneurs are clearly importantpreconditions.

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3. A MEDIUM-SIZED FORD DEALER

1. General introductionThis third case study looks at the training practiceof a Ford main dealer company. This companyemploys about 30 people. Examining trainingpolicy and training practice for all the employeesor all the departments would have taken up toomuch of the company's time, and therefore it wasagreed with the company to focus this case studyon the repair shop. In the past few years, trainingactivities have been aimed particularly at thisdepartment.

For the in-service training of its personnel, thisdealer business is involved with several otherorganizations, in particular, with:

Ford Nederland BV, the importer's organiza-tion, which is responsible for the provision ofin-service training for Ford. This organizationprovides not only courses, but also all sorts ofinstruction material, such as manuals, servicedocuments etc. which are made available tothe dealer businesses.

INNOVAM, the national vocational traininginstitute for the motor vehicle sector. The dealerbusiness in this study has a variety of links withINNOVAM:

There are contacts with INNOVAM in connec-tion with the vocational training followed bysome of the employees as part of their

apprenticeship.

In addition, the dealer business in this studymakes use of INNOVAM's own in-servicetraining provision.

Furthermore, Ford Nederland BV has subcon-tracted its technical in-service training coursesto INNOVAM.

Finally, the organization and execution of so-called in-dealer training courses are now alsocarried out by INNOVAM.

The sector study states that nowadays INNO-VAM's main function is the preparation andexecution of policy. This means, amongst otherthings, that the institute has above all a co-ordinating task in the training programmes,and often contracts out these programmes toother institutes. For this reason, the dealerbusiness in the study also has links with variousschools/vocational training institutes which ituses for in-service training. These include, inparticular, a regional practical centre (RPC)and a district school for in-service vocationaltraining (BBO), where, for example, the theo-retical component of the training courses istaught as part of the apprenticeship system. Inaddition, the Pedagogisch Technische Hoge-school (Technical Teacher Training College -PTH) has an important role to play. Until

recently planning, organizing and carryingout in-dealer training was one of the contractactivities provided by this school. The PTHprovides full-time training for teachers intechnical subjects at LBO (lower vocational)and MBO (intermediate vocational) schools,including motor vehicle technology. As asubcontractor, the PTH runs courses for INNO-VAM, including in-dealer training courses.

In addition, the company in this study also hascontacts with other training institutes. However,these contacts are either unrelated to the in-servicetraining of the repair shop personnel, the categoryon which this case study is focused, or they arenon-recurrent contacts relating to very specifictraining requirements.

2. General description of the company

2.1 Type of businessThe dealer business in this study is one of Ford'sapproximately 135 official main dealers in theNetherlands.

The company sells Ford cars and light vans. Forthis purpose it has a showroom where both newand second-hand Fords are displayed.

In addition, the company does maintenance andrepair work on a variety of Ford vehicles. Thecompany carries out virtually all the repair workitself, and only a limited number of jobs aresubcontracted. These are specialist activities, suchas reboring cylinders, regrinding crankshafts, andrepairing cylinder heads, which require fairlylarge investments in equipment and/or whichoccur fairly rarely, so that the personnel getsinsufficient routine/practical experience of thesetasks. The maintenance and repairs largely takeplace in the company's repair shop. This repairshop has seven inspection ramps. For bodyworkmaintenance and spraying, the company has asub-branch elsewhere in the city.

In addition, the company has a parts department.This facility is also used by some of the Fordservice dealers in the area.

All the most important categories of the company'sturnover are mentioned above. In addition, thereare a number of other sources of income, such asthe sale of motor vehicle accessories and petrol.These activities are confined to the main facility.

The company is situated on the edge of a medium-sized city (population approx. 150,000) in theeast of the Netherlands. Other motor vehiclebusinesses are also located in the vicinity.

The company employs approximately 30 persons,27 of whom work in the main facility.

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2.

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2.2 Development of the companyThe company was established about 60 yearsago. During the early years, the Model-T Fordswere still imported in crates and assembled on thebusiness premises.

The company was taken over by the presentdirector in 1965. At that time it employed about90 employees distributed over a number offacilities in and around the city. Most of thesewere petrol stations with small repair shopsemploying 2-5 people. In addition to cars, thecompany also sold and repaired Ford trucks.

Since 1965, the company has shrunk consider-ably. At the moment it still employs about 30people. This number has been fairly stable forseveral years. There are several reasons for thisfairly marked reduction in size.

Over the years the petrol stations closed down.Petrol is now sold only at the main facility.

The truck department has disappeared. In theearly 1970s this category still accounted forapproximately one-third of the turnover. In fact,the truck department was very important for thecompany during the years of the oil crisis, asthero were restrictions imposed on driving carsdunng that period. The turnover was virtuallycorr pletely lost when clients, i.e., transportcompanies, changed to other more competitivemakes of trucks. Nowadays, the trucks accountfor less than one per cent of the turnover.

The sale of new cars has fallen significantly,particularly in recent years. Annual sales havefallen from approximately 500 to 300, with theresult that the repair shop has become moreimportant for the business turnover. The ,duc-tion in the company's car sales is largel) due tothe fact that Ford has lost a share of the marketto competitors. This is attributable both to therather problematic character of some modelsand to the fact that important Ford models suchas the Sierra are currently being phased out.However, the consumer too plays a role in thedeclining turnover in new cars. In the past,many clients bought a new car every twoyears; nowadays the trend is towards acquir-ing a new car every four years. This trend isfurther increased for Ford drivers by the factthat Ford is launching a new model on themarket: the Mondeo. High expectations havebeen placed on this new Ford model, which isfitted with a four cylinder Zeta engine.According to insiders, this will help Fordrecover its market position which Ford hadlost to Japanese car manufacturers. Onaccount of confusion over environmentalrequirements, Ford assumed for (too long) atime that there was a future for an enginewhich runs on a lean mixture. This engineneeded only an unregulated oxidation catalytic

59

convertor to comply with the environmentalrequirements, and in addition, it was economi-cal. However, things took a different course. Itwas many years before Ford respondedappropriately to technological developmentsand environmental requirements. All thatended in 1992. The expectation is that withthe new Zeta four cylinder engine, Ford is onceagain prepared to enter into the competitivearena with the most modern technology. Inengine efficiency, the Mondeo is also expectedto measure up to the competition. Finally, Fordhas made a start on chassis innovation in theMondeo by fitting the four shock absoiberswith electronically operated magnetic valves,so that the system adapts constantly to drivingconditions and driving behaviour.

At the moment, 10-15 per cent of the repairshop turnover still comes from the sale of newcars. Previously this percentage was higher.Another change in the repair shop is thathardly any trucks come in for maintenance/repairs any more. Moreover, there has alsobeen a change in the maintenance of cars. Thenew models are actually less demanding asregards maintenance, and electronics arestarting to play a larger role in this. At themoment the ratio of work in the repair shopinvolving mechanical and electronic tasks isapproximately 80:20, but the proportion ofelectronics work is rising in relation to themechanical work. In fact, the amount of work isnot only declining because the new modelsrequire less maintenance (product technology),but also as a result of developments in repairshop technology. For example, at Ford theintroduction of the new Mondeo model isaccompanied by a new generation of diag-nostic equipment. A single piece of equipmentis now used for measuring and storing servicedata: the Ford Diagnostic System 2000. Thismeans that all the information on all theelectronic systems is now stored on a CD andread by means of a CD ROM. The greatadvantage of this system is that the servicedata are and continue to be - readilyavailable and accurate. The FDS 2000 takesonly a fraction of the time needed for readingout error codes using the STAR tester and aBOB tester. The more "traditional" testingequipment is ulso available in the company,alongside the latest diagnostic equipment (theFDS 2000).

As stated above, the repair shop has becomemore important in relative terms for total businessturnover. There is a problem with regard towarranty work. At the moment, this constitutesalmost one-third of all the work in the repair shop.For this work, the Ford organization reimbursesonly the costs actually incurred. No profit is madeon this work.

Despite the problems which have arisen in the pastfew years, the company is still succeeding in

making a modest profit. This is quite an achieve-ment in itself, as the company claims that manyFord dealers are in debt.

Some of the trends outlined above will continue toaffect the company's turnover in the new few.years. For example, the amount of work in the

company is expected to decrease by a further 15per cent as a result of cars requiring even lessmaintenance. The company hopes that it will bepossible to reverse the trend in falling car salesand, as stated above, there are high expectationsof the new Ford model, the Mondeo.

There is an awareness that it will be important toact in order to maintain turnover at least at thecurrent level, and if possible, to increase it. For thisreason the company is actively searching for newclients, including clients with large fleets of cars,such as leasing companies. In the currentcompetitive climate, a client-oriented approachis becoming increasingly important. This appliesto both large and small clients. For large clientsnot only leasing companies, but also insurancecompanies it is very important that the companyhas a recognized standard of quality. This is whythe company is in the process of obtaining ISO-9002 recognition. The company personnel arediscussing how this should be achieved, and oneof the employees has been appointed qualitycontroller. The starting point is that responsibilityshould start at the lowest level of the organization

everyone is individually responsible for the carwhich he or she has worked on and that thepersonnel must be qualified or obtain qualifica-tions in order to achieve this.

2.3 Structure of the companyThe company has the legal status of a privatecompany (besloten vennootschap), with the pres-ent director as the main shareholder. He spendsmost of his time on policy and financial/adminis-trative matters. He is supported in this by an"office" department, consisting of one chiefadministrator, one administrator and two adminis-trative assistants.

A business manager, reporting to the director, isresponsible for the "repair shop", "sales", "ware-house" and "bodywork" departments. Each ofthese departments consists of a manager and oneor more employees. The number of employees inthese departments is nine, four, three and tworespectively. In addition, there are two employeesresponsible for the petrol station, and also twopeople who work in reception.

The repair shop is obviously the largest depart-ment. In addition to the manager, there are fourchief mechanics, two second mechanics, twoapprentice mechanics, and one person for avariety of support activities.

The clients present themselves at reception, eitherby telephone or in person. The reception is

centrally situated in the premises, with directaccess to the sales, stores and repair shopdepartments. The receptionist is an employeewho has been working for the business for morethan 25 years. Before taking up this post, heworked as a mechanic for many years.

He has the knowledge and experience to assesswhat is involved, both in terms of time and contentin the customer's requests. If necessary, he calls onthe assistance of the repair shop manager or oneof the mechanics for a better assessment of thenature of the problems, or in the case of smallproblems, so that they can be remedied immedi-ately. The receptionist has a planning schedule onwhich he can plan the supply of work for eachmechanic on a daily basis. For the provisionalplanning of tasks, the receptionist takes theindividual mechanics' knowledge and skills intoaccount as far as possible. However, the definitiveassignment of tasks takes place at the start of eachworking day, usually after consultation betweenthe business manager and the repair shopmanager, who generally arrive at the companybefore the others.

Towards the end of the working day, the out-standing work may be redistributed so that all thetasks planned for that day are finished in time.The planning and, where this is necessary, theredistribution of tasks hardly ever give rise to anyproblems. The reason is that although there is

some specialization amongst the mechanics, thishas deliberately not been carried too far. Of the 6permanent mechanics, 4 can be used on a verybroad range of tasks. They are able to deal withall the problems which arise, including those inelectronics. The other 2 mechanics are assignedparticularly to mechanical tasks. One of thepermanent mechanics is a woman. There arephysical limitations on the tasks which can beassigned to her. One of the other permanentmechanics is an immigrant. He cannot always beassigned to all the work that comes in, particularlybecause of his incomplete knowledge of the Dutchlanguage. The fact that every mechanic cannotalways be assigned to every task occasionallyleads to minor friction in the group. However, themanagement feels that the present constellation ofpermanent mechanics offers sufficient quality andflexibility to cope with the work coming in withoutany problems.

As mentioned above, the company deliberatelydoes not pursue a far-reaching degree ofspecialization amongst the mechanics. Onereason for this is that it reduces the flexibility ofthe repair shop. Another reason, which is at leastas important, is that there are reservations aboutthe reverse side of the specialization of employ-ees, viz., the company's dependence on individ-ual mechanics. In the case of very far-reaching 61

specialization, this often leads to acute problemswhen mechanics leave. In addition, mechanics inthis situation are in a position of power, which theycan exploit at any time.

2.4 Characteristics of the humanresourcesDuring the years 1965-1992, the number ofemployees working in this company fell from 90 to30. The reasons for this have been examinedabove. In recent years the number of personnelhas been fairly stable and the company expectsthat this will continue to be the case for some timeto come.

Of the 30 employees, eight are under 35 yearsold. Slightly more than half are between 35 and50. Those who are over 50 are, above all, inmanagement (director, business manager, repairshop manager, head of administration).

More than half of the employees have beenworking for the company for over 10 years. Inthe repair shop, there is roughly an equal numberof employees who have worked there for only ashort time (less than 5 years) and of those whohave worked there for over 20 years.

With one exception, a mechanic of Indonesianorigin, who has been working in the company forapproximately 7 years, everyone in the companyhas Dutch nationality. Of the 30 people working inthe company, 5 are women. 4 have an adminis-trative function, and the fifth woman has beenemployed as a mechanic for about 2 years.

Everyone is employed full-time. "Full-time" means38 hours per week. The company works 6 days aweek. From Monday to Friday, it is open from8.00 in the morning to 17.45. On these daysthere are two breaks, from 10 10.15, and from12.30 13.00. On Saturday, the company is

open from 8.00 in the morning until noon. Thusthe company is open about 50 hours per week.Every employee has one weekday (Monday toFriday) free.

Holiday provisions are covered by the CollectiveLabour Aareement (CIA). Usually this amounts to24 days per year, but employees over 50 have anextra three days' holiday.

The salaries are also set by the CAO. There is abasic salary which may be increased by supple-mentary payments, for example, for diplomaswhich have been gained.

In our discussions within the company, attentionfocused on job requirements and the way inwhich these affect company recruitment andtraining policy. The findings are incorporated insection 3.0.

3. Those involved in the in-servicetraining networkThe remainder of this Ford dealer report focuseson the in-service training, policy and practicesince 1987. However, for a proper understandingof this fairly recent period, it is necessary to beginby looking slightly further back.

3.1 From training strategy tocontinuing training strategy viarecruitment strategyTraining strategy up to approximately 1970.Up to about 1970, this dealer business had itsown school, where 4 or 5 apprentices werealways being trained as car mechanics by an in-company instructor. This school was situated in therepair shop around one of the inspection ramps.This strategy permitted the company to meet itsneed for new personnel with specifically trainedemployees, in terms of both technical, and social

Table 1 - Number of employees by department, age and years of service las of 31-12-1992)

Repair shop Reception Sales Spare parts Office mgmt. Bodywork Petrol station Total

Age

35 yrs 2 1 3 1 1 a35 - 50 yrs 6 1 2 3 2 2 17

50 yrs 1 1 3

Total 9 2 5 4 2 2 30

Years of service

5 yeors 3 3 1

6 - 10 years 1 1 511- 20 years 1 2 3 8

20 years 4 1 2 1 9

Total 9 2 5 4 4 2 2 30

. 6 1

skills. At that time, it was mainly a matter oftraining apprentices to become qualified mechan-ics. After this, training or in-service training nolonger played a major role.

Transition to recruitment strategy after 1970.It was mentioned afi6ve that the number ofpersonnel in the company has fallen dramaticallysince the mid-1960s. This has meant a sharpdecline in the need for new personnel, so that thetraining strategy in the company's own schoolwhich had been used up to that time actuallybecame a rather expensive investment. When thecompany's instructor left, the school was run byone of the other employees for a while, on asmaller scale. When this employee was promotedto the position of receptionist, this meant the end ofthe school.

In so far as new employees are still needed, theyare now recruited from the labour market.

The transition from the training strategy to therecruitment strategy did not give rise to any realproblems for the company. Not only was there afairly small demand for new personnel, but inaddition, the requirements for any newcomerswere at a fairly low level for a long time - certainlyin comparison with the present situation. For along time, the most important requirement was thatthe employee was prepared to work. It was amatter of attracting people "who were happy toget their hands dirty and liked mechanical tasks".There was no strict need for a mechanic'sdiploma, and certainly not for a chief mechanic'sdiploma.

The importer also points to the fact that from the1970s to the mid-1980s, there were no greatchanges in the mechanics' work. "The really goodmechanics left the sector. This was not a problemat the time, because they were actually tooexpensive for the work in dealer businesses ...Moreover, they were usually in small businesseswith very limited career prospects ... They couldearn more elsewhere."

The in-service training provided by the importer atthat time was particularly concerned with newmodels and a few component courses. The dealerbusinesses could enrol their employees fcr thesecourses which were announced by generalmailings from Ford-Nederland to all 135 dealerbusinesses. The only criterion for registration wasthat the person doing the course was employed inone of the dealer businesses. This meant that thepeople on the courses often had very divergentlevels of skill and knowledge. This was not to theadvantage of the quality of the courses. Noteveryone found this a problem. Going on a courseoften also had a greater or lesser social andrecreational aspect. No diplomas or certificateswere awarded. At the time, the importer was stillresponsible himself for the organization and

execution of the course. 'n most cases, no morethan one trainer was needed for this. This appliedto both technical and corr mercial training courses.

At the end of the 1980s: the need for a continuingvocational training strategy.However, at the end of the 1980s, things werechanging rapidly in the dealer businesses, espe-cially as a result of the above-mentioned changesin product and repair shop technology. A knowl-edge of electronics has now become an importantrequirement for mechanics: "Now, they first haveto think, measure and analyze, and they certainlyshould not get down to the mechanical workstraightaway." This implies that a different attitudeis needed to the work. In the dealer business whichwas studied, a professional diploma is now arequirement, and this must be at least a mechan-ic's diploma. A mere certificate of attendance fromsecondary vocational training college is no longersufficient. In addition, a different and more client-oriented approach is needed. This involves notonly a polite attitude to the client, but also a client-oriented way of working even when the client isnot present. "The mechanics must do their workwell, they don't have to tell the client, but the clientshould notice it." Obviously, faults and otherproblems with the car have to be remediedadequately and satisfactorily, but there is more."The car should also be delivered back in a client-friendly condition ... neatly, and with the seatsand mirrors back in the client's own position ...that sort of thing."

The dealer business mentioned that at the momentthe labour market is larger than it has been forseveral years. However, this only partly solves theproblems which have arisen, i. e. the discrepan-cies between the required qualifications and thosewhich are available. In the repair shop, there havebeen very few vacancies in the past few years. Inthese cases the company did succeed in recruitingmechanics who met the increased requirements.

For example, a few years ago an employee wastaken on who was already following the trainingfor chief mechanic. However, it remains a problemthat the new requirements, such as those irelectronics, are still insufficiently incorporated inthe training programmes of regular vocationaleducation. This means that school-leavers areentering the labour market with insufficientqualifications in this field. Finally, there are quitea lot of employees with long years of serviceworking in the repair shop, who still have to gainthe qualifications for the new requirements, andtherefore need in-service training.

As stated above, the discrepancy between thequalifications available and tho.,e required aroseparticularly in the second ha/f of the 1980s.Particularly in the years 1987-1988, there arosean increasing awareness of this discrepancy, andof the need to take action.

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2.

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According to representatives of both INNOVAMand Ford Nederland, this situation is certainly notunique for the dealer business studied here. Theybelieve that all motor vehicle businesses, includingthose of other makes of cars even outside theNetherlands, have been confronted with thisproblem in the course of the last decade.

3.2 The training structure within thecompanyAs stated above, the company's own schooldisappeared quite some time ago. However, thisdoes not mean that nothing is done nowadays forin-service training. In fact, there are severaldifferent kinds of in-service training available tothe repair shop employees. The responsibility lieswith the repair shop manager and the businessmanager.

Training courses in the context of the apprentice-ship system.The company is recognized by INNOVAM as anapprenticeship company, which entitles it toconclude an apprenticeship employment agree-ment with (new) employees for vocational trainingwithin the framework of the apprenticeship system,so that the company itself is responsible for thepractical part of the training. The repair shopmanager is qualified to instruct and superviseapprentices.

On-the-job training.In fact, this supervision is not restricted to thepeople who are being trained under the appren-ticeship system. At present, more or less continu-ous on-the-job in-service training is available toeveryone in the repair shop. When the employeescome across problems that they are unable todeal with, there are different ways of tacklingthese. The repair shop manager, or one of hisother colleagues, can explain the problem to theemployee concerned, and teach him to deal withit, and/or the employee can study the instructionmaterial available in the repair shop, which maybe referred to by the manager or a colleague.This is the instruction material made available byFord Nederland BV in the fo;m of manuals andtechnical service documents. They are stored in aneasily accessible way in two cupboards in therepair shop, and are available at any time to allemployees.

Off-the-job training.However, in the period since 1987, the above-mentioned on-the-job in-service training oppor-tunities have obviously been inadequate toachieve and maintain a good balance betweenthe qualifications available and those required.Off-the-job in-service training is also provided,particularly in the form of training courses.

To a large extent, these are courses madeavailable by Ford Nederland By, held outsidethe company. The courses are run during working

63

hours. Employees are paid for the time they are onthe course, and their expenses are also reim-bursed. In addition, they also follow other trainingcourses, particularly courses provided by INNO-VAM itself. For these courses, the dealer businessmakes the same facilities avci:kible as it does forthe specific Ford in-service training courses. Therepair shop manager and the business managerconsult to decide who is eligible for the variouscourses. Depending on the course, this can varyfrom almost everyone to just one employee.

In addition, another form of training also takesplace off the job, though in the company itself. It

consists of 10 sessions a year, held once a month.The training starts at the end of the working day,and lasts to approximately 10 o'clock in theevening. The time spent on the course is unpaid,but the company does pay for all the otherexpenses (materials, costs of the course, cateringetc.). This in-dealer training is open to all the maindealer's repair shop employees and to the repairshop technicians of some of the sub-dealers in thesame area. This means that approximately 15people attend the course, a group size for whichthe training can still be very effective, while thecosts are relatively low per person.

Half of the ten training sessions are provided byan external trainer. The other sessions arepreparatory and are run by the repair shopmanager.

Finally, there is also off-the-job in-service trainingwhich is not given as a course. A good example ofthis in the dealer business under review is themagazine "Autoteam, the magazine for the Forddealer service team". The dealer businesses cansubscribe to this quarterly magazine, whichcontains information on all sorts of new develop-ments in Ford models and their components, aswell as on new developments in repair shoptechnology.

For the last 3 years there has been an "Autoteamcompetition". Depending on the content of themagazine, each issue contains a number ofquestions, subdivided into the following subjects:the general section (to be answered by all partici-pants), a repair shop section (for the mechanics), abodywork and spray section (for bodyworkers andsprayers) and a reception section (for reception-ists). By giving quarterly and annual prizes for thiscompetition, Ford Nederland BV tries to stimulatethe different categories of employees in the dealerbusinesses to become thoroughly acquainted withrelevant information.

3.3 The training structure of FordNederland By'sThe responsibility for in-service training lies withthe dealer businesses.The Ford organization has traditionally givenpriority to independent entrepreneurship in the

dealer businesses. Staff policy is viewed as amatter for the dealer businesses themselves. Noagreements about the (in-service) training of thepersonnel are incorporated in the contractbetween Ford Nederland BV and the dealerbusiness (which was studied here).

There is a trend towards less informality.This section has already referred to the ratherlimited provision of courses, as well as the limitedcapacity for technical training courses (usuallywith one trainer) at Ford Nederland BV during thesecoild half of the 1980s.

It became clear to Ford Nederland BV at that time,that more needed to be done with regard to the in-service training of repair shop employees, both ina qualitative and a quantitative sense, particularlybecause the dealer businesses were increasinglyvoicing their dissatisfaction vis-a-vis the importer'sorganization. Ford Nederland BV acted on this.However, according to a number of dealerbusinesses, including the one which is the subjectof this study, action was not taken quickly enough.(For this reason they took initiatives themselvesincluding the in-dealer training course.)

However, not all the dealer businesses are equallyaware of, or convinced of the need for in-servicetraining for their employees. As soon as low in-service training efforts are noted concurrently withlower profits, the importer links one to the other inthe quarterly reports and/or via the externaldepartment, and sends the dealer business con-cerned a clear message that more attention shouldbe devoted to the in-service training of its

employees.

Measurement is knowledge.Ford Nederland BV is able to adopt this approachbecause various trends in the dealer businessesare carefully monitored. One of these is the sale ofnew cars. Another aspect which is carefullyrecorded is what the customers think of the newcari and of the purchasing process, as well aswhat they think of the after-sales service of thedealer concerned. Every purchaser receives afairly detailed evaluation form approximately twomonths after the purchase. The results of thisClient Satisfaction Measurement (CSM) are notonly evaluated for every company but are alsocompared with the average results in the sub-group of dealer businesses of a comparable size.Obviously Ford Nederland BV attaches a greatdeal of importance to these clients' remarks. Theyare clearly becoming very important in the presentcompetitive climate in which Ford's market share isobviously under pressure. In fact this also forms thebackground to Ford Nederland BV's taking on astimulating and supportive role towards the dealerbusinesses for the implementation of the ISO-9002 directives and measures. Finally, a preciserecord is kept of which employees from whichdealer businesses participate in which courses.

This computerized data file is known as the FordTraining Passport.

The in-service training needs are also measured.In 1991, INNOVAM was commissioned by FordNederland's importer to draw up and carry out anenquiry into the training levels and training needsof the repair shop personnel of Ford Nederland'sapproximately 220 dealer businesses (135 maindealers and 85 service dealers). The dealerbusinesses were requested, where necessary withthe support of INNOVAM'S external service, to fillin for each repair shop employee:

a. What school education/vocational educationhe had followed.

b. Which were the last 4 Ford courses he hadtaken.

c. Which in-service training need could beidentified for this employee.

In total, this information was obtained for over1,800 repair shop employees. Table 2 gives theresults of this study.

Table 2 The courses followed by and needed for the repairshop employees of Ford dealer businesses 11991 survey)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11111111111111.1111111.111111111111_593

1134

252971

NM 161947

1111111111198J941

42511099

26411223

6811052

L171215

5566

11136

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Courses followed Courses required

1 Special topics2 Brakes, steering and suspension3 Manual transmission and final drive4 Automatic transmission5 Petrol engines/diesel engines6 Engine management (petrol/diesel)7 Electrical systems8 Body and paint9 PD1 and routine maintenance10: Client contact, etc

In fact, the results are a clear illustration of thediscrepancies which are found in the dealerbusinesses between the qualifications which the

2.

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66

repair shop personnel have and the qualificationsrequired for the work.

The in-service training provision consisting of 40courses.At the moment, the in-service training provision forthe repair shop employees consists of about 40different courses. A small number of these coursesare still being developed. Appendix 1 provides apicture of the 40 Ford in-service training coursesfor repair shop employees, broken down into 9different categories in Table 2. In fact, as part ofthe above-mentioned needs evaluation, each ofthese 40 courses was assessed to see to whatextent there was a need for it in the dealerbusinesses.

End of 1991: Organization and execution ofcourses contracted out to INNOVAM.The great need for in-service training among therepair shop personnel could not by any means beadequately met by Ford Nederland BV's existingtraining capacity. This was one of the argumentsfor contracting out the in-service training coursesto INNOVAM. The choice of INNOVAM is anobvious one, in view of this institute's centralposition in the motor vehicle sector in the Nether-lands. In addition, one of the advantages ofINNOVAM is that it has a number of differenttraining locations, so that the in-service trainingcould take place closer to the dealer businesses.Ford Nederland BV itself has only one trainer andone training location, in Amsterdam.

The powers of decision and pc.licy developmentremain with Ford itself.However, the responsibility for in-service trainingremains in the hands of the Ford organizationitself, which determines which courses are placedon the in-service training agenda at which time.Ford also decides on the content of the coursesand the development of the course material. Thecourse development in particular is increasinglycontracted out to specialists. Ford Nederland BV isusually supplied with ready-made courses by FordGermany. Ford Nederland BV simply has toensure that adequate Dutch language versions ofthese courses are produced. In addition, the in-service training participation of the dealer busi-nesses is analyzed agairo the background of theirsales performance and the client evaluations(Client Satisfaction Measurement). The resultscan be linked back to the dealer businesses viathe external department of Ford Nederland BVand/or via the quarterly reports. The tasksdescribed here, at least in so far as they arecarried out at Ford Nederland BV, form part of thepackage of tasks of the head of technical serviceand training. This person is also responsible forthe organization and administration of the above-mentioned Autoteam competition.

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3.4 INNOVAM'S training structureSection 1 stated that the dealer business studiedhere has various contacts with INNOVAM for thein-service training of its employees. We will notdiscuss INNOVAM's role in the apprenticeshipsystem in greater detail here. Adequate informa-tion on this can be found in the sectoral report. Wewill also give only a brief outline of INNOVAM'sown in-service training provision. Every sixmonths, the dealer business receives a brochurefrom INNOVAM containing available in-trainingservice courses. The dealer business also makesuse of this provision (also see Section 4). In thissub-section, we will describe in particular the rolewhich INNOVAM plays as the main contractualprovider of Ford's in-service training courses.

The advantages of INNOVAM's co-operation withFord.Under the terms of an agreement contract signedbetween Ford Nederland BV and INNOVAM,INNOVAM has contracted to provide Ford Neder-land's complete technical in-service training. Oneof the important advantages of this five-yearcontract, is that it provides INNIOVAM withemployment/continuity. However, an equallyimportant advantage for INNOVAM is that itenables it to keep up with the most moderndevelopments, allowing it to continue to stayahead in training for this sector. It is expectedthat this co-operation will provide opportunities forquickly incorporating general technological devel-opments, i.e., technological developments whichare not related to specific makes of cars, in thetraining system for the sector obviously inconsultation with Ford, and probably also withother importers in the future.

Regional training centres and 4 permanent Fordtrainers.INNOVAM has 3 training centres for the Fordcourses, in Eindhoven (PTH location), Zwolle (RPClocation) and Voorschoten. The last of these is inthe INNOVAM premises itself. However, the lordtraining centres can be clearly identified as suchbecause Ford's blue colour dominates, rather thanINNOVAM's yellow.

Currently, INNOVAM employs four trainers whowork exclusively full time on the Ford trainingcourses. This means that right now sufficienttechnical training capacity is available to providethree or four days of in-service training permechanic per year. Previously approximatelyone day per year was available. Moreover, thesefour trainers are trained on courses in Germany,England, or wherever they need to go in order toacquire the requisite know-how. This gives them agenuinely up-to-date knowledge of new develop-ments.

There is also an increase in quality.Thus the Ford dealer business's capacity for in-service training has significantly increased as aresult of its collaboration with INNOVAM. Inaddition, the quality has also improved in variousways.

INNOVAM classifies repair shop employeesinto three levels, the maintenance level, therepair level and the diagnostic level. This

classification fits in well with the three levelswhich are distinguished in the Ford in-servicetraining programme (see Appendix 1). In

practice, not everyone can enrol for everycourse. It is only for the basic courses that thereis no entry requirement. In this way the coursegroups have acquired a much more evencharacter as regards their level of priorknowledge and/or experience.

Every course day finishes with a test. This

means that the people on the course becomeaware that the course is actually aimed atlearning and not, or at least not primarily, at thesocial and recreational aspects.

The people on the course who successfullycomplete the tests receive a certificate. This isaimed in particular at stimulating them toparticipate in the course in a motivated way.

Every person on the course is asked to evaluateit at the end by filling in a short questionnaire.This is not a specific feature of Ford courses, butis a general INNOVAM practice. The forms oreprocessed by an independent market researchbureau, and the results are reported to FordNederland B.V. once a month.

The systematic inventory of in-service trainingneeds.1NNOVAM's external deportment comprisesabout 80 consultants who actually put on thecomplete INNOVAM package. They visit thecompanies every day to talk about both theapprenticeship courses and about the commercialpackage. Nowadays, INNOVAM prefers to usethe term "training advisor" rather than "consult-ant". The contract with Ford Nederland B.V.includes the specification that one of the trainingadvisors visit each dealer business every year. Atthis meeting, both sides systematically review thepast year's training activities and examine anddefine the company's additional in-service train-ing needs.

The current position.The four trainers started on the Ford in-servicetraining courses in April 1992. In the dealerbusinesses there appeared to be a very great needfor in-service training in electronics (also seeTable 2). Knowledge of this is in fact an entryrequirement for a large proportion of the Ford in-service training provision (see Appendix 1). This is

why two of the four trainers have been exclusivelyoccupied with the Basic Course in AppliedElectronics (course 30/11 in Appendix 1) sincethe beginning (April 1992). This course is actuallya combination of the former Ford course in BasicElectronics, and the INNOVAM Basic Course inApplied Electronics. The INNOVAM course con-sists of three levels. In consultation with FordNederland, it was decided to opt for a new coursestructure consisting of the first two levels, whichare well adapted to the Ford situation. This newcourse lasts 6 days. According to the planningschedule, all the mechanics who have applied willhave completed the Basic Course in AppliedElectronics by mid-1993. The other 2 trainershave up to now been almost entirely concernedwith the courses from the category "Specialtopics" (see Appendix 1), viz., particularly thecourses for new or redesigned models (Scorpio,Mondeo etc.), and the new Zeta engine.

Advantages for employees.The new form of cooperation is to the advantageof both Ford Nederland B. V. and INNOVAM. Theemployees from the dealer businesses also benefit.It is clear that there are more in-service trainingpossibilities for them now than there werepreviously. In addition, their increasing level ofqualifications is illustrated by certificates in theFord Training Passport. Furthermore, it is importantthat they receive not only the Ford certificate whenthey successfully conclude the basic course inapplied electronics, but also two INNOVAMcertificates (for the first two levels of the INNO-VAM Applied Electronics course), which aregenerally recognized in the sector. Moreover, thismeans that Ford Nederland B.V. is eligible for afinancial subsidy for this course from the OOMT(the tasks and position of this body are describedin the sectoral report).

4. Training policy and training practicein this company

4.1 The training plan for the repairshopThe dealer business in this study is actually one ofthe larger businesses in the sector. But never-theless, with 30 employees, it can be classified asa fairly small company. In general, this sort ofcompany tends to work in a rather informal way.There is very little management, and certainlythere are no managers with the specific task ofpolicy development and of formulating policymemoranda.

A carefully considered approach.However, it was indicated in previous sections thatthe management of this dealer business is wellaware of the importance of having adequatelyqualified mechanics, and this is certainly part ofthe business policy, "even though little is put down

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on paper in this respect". We will begin with anillustration, and then try to elucidate the essentialelements of the in-service training plan adopted inthis company.

Normally, a staff meeting is held once a month,attended not only by the director and manage-ment. The company has a small company'sflexibility to increase the frequency of thesemeetings whenever this is considered necessary.For example, at the moment, there are meetingsevery two weeks because the company is workingon developing the most appropriate way ofapplying Client Satisfaction Measurement, forexample, on the basis of ISO-9002. Meanwhile,a quality controller has been appointed within thecompany. In addition, two people, including thequality controller, will follow a new INNOVAMcourse relating to ISO-9002, so that there will bemore expertise in this field available in thecompany and in the internal dialogue on ClientSatisfaction Measurement. The starting point for asatisfactory approach to this is that everyone, fromthe top to the bottom of the company, isresponsible for their own work. However, thisimplies that everyone must be qualified for this.One of the important points of discussion in thecompany is what is needed to achieve this.

Section 3.1 described how the developmentswhich have taken place in this dealer business inthe past few decades can be characterized as adevelopment from a training strategy to an in -

service training strategy, via a recruitment strat-egy. In the various discussions with the businessmanager, the repair shop manager and amechanic, we have tried to outline this in-servicetraining strategy.

The plan is broader than merely catching up onlost ground.Section 3.1 also described how a number ofchanges in product and repair shop technology,as well as the changing requirements and wishesof clients with regard to quality and service, haveled to a shortage of qualifications in the repairshop personnel, in terms of knowledge, attitudeand skills. The company concerned here becameaware at an early stage that it was necessary tomake up this lost ground. It was one of the firstdealer businesses to appeal to the importer tomake greater provision for in-service training. Asthese businesses, which meet fairly regularly at theregional dealer meetings, considered that FordNederland BV was not responding quickly oradequately enough, they decided to take theinitiative themselves. The in-dealer training devel-oped from this initiative. However, for thecompany studied here, there are indications thatother arguments also played a role in its decisionto support this initiative apart from Ford Neder-land BV's response (which was consideredinadequate).

Ford Nederland's approach is not suitable foreveryone.The in-service training provided by Ford Neder-land BV takes place during the day. This impliesthat the dealer business studied here can, at most,send only one or a few employees to the Ford in-service training courses. Not all the mecht5nicsrespond equally well to this system. Some do notfeel sufficiently at home in such an "unfamiliar"training situation, and consequently learn verylittle from the course. "This is certainly the case forcourses which include articulate participants fromthe really large dealer businesses in the big cities.Some of our mechanics don't get a look in at all,and hardly get anything out of the course." Thisactually implies that not all the mechanics in thecompany that was studied are equally suitable forthe importer's in-service training provision.

Individual in-service training is only one aspect ofthe desired solution.The in-service training provision of Ford and otherinstitutes such as INNOVAM are used, but this isby no means all. If these were all that were used,the difference in the levels of qualification of therepair shop personnel would constantly increase.This does not fit in with the way in which the workis organized in this company. The aim is for all themechanics to be used on a broad range of tasks.Some degree of specialization is not considered aproblem, and may even be considered desirable.For example, it is not necessary for all themechanics to have qualifications in the field ofLPG systems, or air-conditioning and/or coolingsystems. A knowledge of and skills in these fields isnot needed very often, though it may be desirableor even necessary for one of the mechanics tohave a diploma in them. Furthermore, it isconsidered desirable rather than problematic thatthere be some differences in expertise amongst themechanics for tasks which occur frequently, as thepresence of troubleshooters in the various differentareas has clear advantages. Nevertheless, it is

assumed that the mechanics should be able todeal with a wide range of tasks. In order toachieve this wide range of skills, in-servicetraining is necessary nowadays. This takesplace, and to some extent it can be achieved inthe form of individual in-service training, asprovided, for example, by Ford Nederland BVand INNOVAM. For every in-service trainingprovision made available to the company, thebusiness manager and the repair shop managerconsult to decide whether anyone, and if so, who,will be eligible for the course concerned.

In- service training in a team context is alsoessential.One of the reasons that the dealer business studiedhere started with in-dealer training, and hascontinued with it, is that in this way, everyone inthe repair shop is provided with a certain amountof in-service training, including the people forwhom external courses are not a solution. It is

precisely for these people that in-service trainingis most necessary. Without the in-dealer training,the differences in the mechanics' qualificationswould constantly increase and, in the company'sview, become unacceptably large. This brings usto another argument put forward by the company.In the organization of the work, the principle of awide range of skills is adopted, but it is actuallyimpossible to ignore the differences in qualifica-tions which exist. However, as stated in section2.3, the current team of mechanics should besufficiently skilled and flexible to cope with theincoming work without any problems. There is adetermined intention to maintain this state ofaffairs. Therefore the mechanics should haveand should continue to have an awareness ofteam responsibility, in addition to individualresponsibility for their own work. Thus animportant element of the in-dealer training is toensure that the repair shop mechanics continue towork as a team, while their qualifications arechanging to a greater or lesser extent at anindividual level. Thus, in the in-dealer trainingcourses, it is a question of mechanics learning toaccept each other's strong and weak points, aswell as learning to interact adequately as a team.The management emphasizes that this sort of thingcan be taught better by an external trainer than bythe company itself.

4.2 The relationship between the train-ing plan and the training requirementsA combination of 4 elements.Thus the content and the structure of the in-servicetraining in this company are clearly related to:

1. Changes in product and repair shop technol-ogy

2. Changes in the Client Satisfaction Measure-ment process and the implementation in thiscontext of ISO-9002

3. The principles adopted by the company for theorganization of labour

4. The mechanics' individual learning capacities.

With regard to point 3, the company has made aclear choice: it has opted for mechanics who areversatile, and who carry out the work as a team,making adequate use of each other's strong andweak points. These, i.e. the mechanic's qualifica-tions, change to a greater or lesser extent, on theone hand, under the influence of the changesmentioned in points 1 and 2, and on the otherhand, as a result of individual learning capacities.The variation which exists in in-service trainingactivities is the result, amongst other things, of thecompany's attempt to take into account thesedivergent learning capacities. In addition, it is theresult of the company's attempt to balanceindividual in-service training with working as ateam.

The evident need for catching up in the technicalfield.Right now no systematic listing exists of the resultswhich the changes in product and repair shoptechnology (should) have for mechanics. Evenwithout such an inventory, it became quite clearduring the second half of the 1980s that there wasa growing shortage of qualified mechanics,especially in the field of electronics. Individualand collective warnings were sent to the importerregarding this problem, via the regional dealermeetings. As, according to a number of dealerbusinesses, Ford Nederland BV did not respond tothese warnings quickly enough, they took theinitiative themselves. This initiative, which wassupported by the importer, both financially and asregards content, resulted in 1990 in in-dealertraining courses at approximately 70 dealerbusinesses, including the company under review.The businesses which took the initiative also madetheir own clear contribution to the content andstructure of the in-dealer training.

By 1992, Ford Nederland BV had subcontractedthe execution of technical in-service training toINNOVAM, creating a significantly larger in-service training capacity. The company studiedhere made full use of the provision developed bythe importer. This means that the technical in-service training activities increased considerablyin the early 1990s. The company itself sees this asa way of catching up.

At the moment Client Satisfaction Measurementand in this context, the ISO-9002 are prioritymatters. The company is in the process ofassessing what this involves with regard to newor additional requirements for personnel, and howthese requirements can be met.

4.3 The target group for trainingSection 1 of this report stated that this case studyfocused on the repair shop personnel, inter alia,because in-service training activities have beenaimed especially at this group of employeesduring recent years.

During the 1970s and to a large extent, even inthe 1980s there was actually no great need forin-service training activities for mechanics. In sofar as in-service training was necessary, this wasrelated in particular to the introduction of newmodels. However, during the second half of the1980s, product and repair shop technology werechanging at an ever-faster rate, especially onaccount of the increasing application of electron.ics. Although the need for in-service training hadalready been very clearly indicated in 1988 and1989, it was not until 1990 that in-servicetraining activities were actually carried out. Thereason for this was that the in-service trainingcapacity for special Ford products and Fordtechnology was not adequately available.

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70

In principle, all the mechanics can and may followin-service training cou-ses. However, this does notmean that every mechanic can go on everycourse. In a number of fields it is enough for thecompany to have one or a few mechanics whokeep up to date by means of in-service trainingcourses. This applies, for example, for in-servicetraining in the field of STEK qualifications (airconditioning and cooling) and the course fordetecting defects in LPG systems. Other courses,such as those for the new model, the Mondeo (atwo-day course), the course on the new fourcylinder Zeta engine (a one-day course) and theBasic Course in Applied Electronics, are open toall mechanics. As a number of courses in the Fordin-service training programme (see Appendix 1)only admit mechanics who have completed theBasic Course in Applied Electronics, the companystudied here encourages its mechanics to take thiscourse, even though it lasts no fewer than 6 days.Most of the mechanics are following it at themoment.

The compony does not consider that these externalcourses are a suitable in-service training provisionfor all mechanics. The company therefore alsoparticipates in the in-dealer training courses. In1990, there were 10 sessions, which each lastedapproximately 4 hours. All the repair shoppersonnel participate in these sessions, eventhough the meetings virtually always take placein their own time. A new series of in-dealersessions is starting shortly.

All in all, intensive efforts have been made withregard to the in-service training of mechanicssince 1990. For this year it is estimated that themechanics will spend approximately 10 days onin-service training. The term "catching up" iscertainly appropriate.

4.4 The structure and purpose of thetrainingThe aim of catching up by means of in-servicetraining is related particularly to the acquisition ofknowledge about the latest motor vehicle technol-ogy and the new diagnostic technology. Thisapplies both to external in-service trainingcourses for mechanics and to in-dealer training.In addition, in-dealer training is expresslyintended to bring individual qualifications intoline with those for the group as a whole, i.e. toenable the mechanics to function as a team.Table 2 shows that the Ford dealer businesseshave also discovered a great need for in-servicetraining courses in client-oriented behaviourdirected at mechonics. Up to now, Ford has notprovided this sort of course for mechanics. Thiswas a reason for dealers to devote attention toClient Satisfaction Measurement, as well as totechnology, in their in-dealer training.As stated above, this move to catch up by meansof in-service training is a fairly recent phenom-

69

enon and the objectives have not yet changedmuch.

This small company has fairly few people inmanagement positions. Therefore, in-service train-ing activities for the mechanics do not usually leadto promotion in the company, although this doeshappen occasionally. For example, the currentreceptionist started work in the company as amechanic. However, it is possible to rea _n 'helevel of chief mechanic, which commands a highersalary thon the level of mechanic, under the termsof the collective labour agreement arrangements(CAO) for the sector.

In principle, newcomers start on the minimumsalary. Depending on the mechanic's perfor-mance, the company adapts the salary. In thisrespect, the CAO agreements are sometimes seenrather as a straightjacket. In-service training canremedy the problem to some extent, because theCAO does provide for additional payment fordiplomas. A recent example is the increasedsalary of one of the chief mechanics after hegained the "Chief Motor Vehicle Electrician"diploma (an 1NNOVAM course which is part ofthe apprenticeship system, but which can also befollowed as in this case as an in-servicetraining course).

Section 3.2 described how the in-service trainingin this company is available in two forms both onand off the job, in addition to the in-servicetraining which is part of the apprenticeshipsystem. It also described the different versions ofthese types of training which are found in thiscompany.

Appendix 1 contains a survey of the technical in-service training provided by Ford for dealerbusinesses. This provision consists of approxi-mately 40 courses divided into nine categories(mainly corresponding to the different productlines) and 3 levels (basic, intermediate andadvanced).

A similar distinction of (three) levels of (in-service)training is made in the training provision of mostmanufacturers/importers. Some manufacturers/importers go a long way in prescribing how themechanics should be classified in these levels intheir dealer businesses. However, Ford works onthe principle that the dealers are independententrepreneurs and are responsible for their ownbusiness and personnel.

The educational structure of these courses is moreor less identical, comprising a theoretical andpractical component. Written materials are avail-able for all courses, usually in the form of coursebooks. A number of courses also use videos.

These courses have been organized and run byINNUVAM since 1992. The institute employs four

trainers who work exclusively on providing in-service training courses for Ford.

Up to now, virtually the whole training capacityhas been taken up by the Basic Course in AppliedElectronics (course 30/11 in Appendix 1), andcourses in the "special topics" category. It is

expected that, from mid-1993, the four trainerswill be able to find time for the other courses in theprogramme. It is expected that the capacity whichwill become available will be used initially forfollow-up courses with clear electronics elements.These would be in-service training courses onengine management (courses 29/21-23 in

Appendix 1) and certain component courses(courses 10/21-23, 17/21 and 17/13 in

Appendix 1).

In addition, in-dealer training plays an essentialrole in the development of qualifications for thisFord (and other) dealer businesses.

In-dealer training started in a limited number ofbusinesses in 1989. In the course of that year, itbecame clear that there was a great deal ofinterest in the course on the part of dealers. Morethan 70 dealer businesses subscribed to the in-dealer training in 1990.

The in-dealer training was specially developed forFord cars, and is aimed at increasing the under-standing of various electronic regulating systems -for example, in the field of motor management -and in this way making sure that defects can betraced more quickly and efficiently.

The in-dealer training was carried out by the PTH.The content of the training was established inconsultation with a number of dealer businessesand with Ford Nederland By. The latter also madea great deal of training materials available. Thecontent of the in-dealer training consists of variouselements of Ford's technical in-service trainingprovision (cf. Appendix 1 and Appendix 2). Everytraining session consists of a theoretical c )mpo-nent, followed by a practical session (particularlymeasurements) with the car.

No in-dealer training was provided in 1992. Oneof the reasons for this is that during this periodFord Nederland BV was contracting out theorganization and execution of the technical in-service training provision to INNOVAM. In

addition, Ford Nederland BV considers that thereore no real arguments for continuing the in-dealertraining because:

The catching up needed was achieved with the1990/91 in-dealer training.

Since 1992, there has been sufficient provisionof Ford in-service training courses (see Appen-dix 1) and a sufficient in-service training

capacity (four trainers) to carry out thesecourses.

Ford Nederland BV considers that good in-service training requires a great deal of energyon the part of the participants, and for thisreason it does not encourage the in-servicetraining taking place outside working hours,i.e., after work.

However, as we have seen, the dealer businesseshave other arguments for wanting to continuerunning this form of in-service training.

Eventually Ford Nederland BV agreed. However,the new in-dealer training has also been con-tracted out to INNOVAM. This organization hasconcluded an agreement with the PTH, theeducational establishment which organized andcarried out the in-dealer training in 1990/1991.

The content of the new in-dealer training wase3tablished on the basis of:

a directive fro,-. ',.ord Nederland BV that thereshould be no overlapping with the courseswhich take place in the context of FordTechnical Service Training;

consultation with the Ford trainers of INNO-VAM;

consultation by INNOVAM with a number ofbusinesses which can be seen as leading thefield in this form of in-service training; and

consultation with the PTH.

This results in an in-dealer training packageconsisting of 5 courses, viz.

1. ABS, old and new.2. Reading tables, new.3. Reading error codes.4. Diesel (turbo-diesel; catalytic converter

diesel).5. Centrnl injection and DIS ignition.

The in-dealer training will continue to be run bythe PTH. The s!ructwe is the same as it was in1990/1991, though the training sessions willnow take place once every two months.More than 30 dealer businesses hove applied forthis in-dealer training, including the companystudied here. The participating businesses candetermine themselves whether they wish to carryout the training sessions in working hours orafterwards. The dealer business studied hereopted for the latter. In 1990, the costs of thecourse amounted to approximately 650 guildersper evening. Meanwh:le, this cost has doubled, inparticular because Ford Nederland BV hassignificantly reduced its financial contribution.

71

2.

72

INNOVAM's four Ford trainers have up to nowconcentrated particularly on filling the gaps in theknowledge of electronics (course 30/11 inAppendix 1) and on familiarizing the mechanicswith new models and their parts. For example, inrecent years a great deal of attention has beendevoted to the new four cylinder Zeta engine. Thiscourse, which focuses on the engine's constructionand operation, was followed by most of themechanics in the dealer business studied here.At the moment, a significant part of the availablecourse capacity is being used for the introductionof the latest Ford model: the Mondeo. Two coursesexist to inform the technical personnel of the insand outs of this model, a one-day course formanagement, and a iwo-day course for servicepersonnel. The management course focuses onthe delivery of the car. Two employees of thedealer business studied here participated. Theservice personnel course is focused on the runningand maintenance of the Mondeo. Most of themechanics in the dealer business studied hereapplied to do this course.

The development of new product and repair shoptechnology has various consequences for in-service training.

There has been a clear increase in the needand necessity for in-service training. Until a fewyears ago, mechanics at Ford dealer business-es spent an average of one day a year on in-service training. This figure is now approxi-mately 3.5 - 4 days a year.

The in-service training provision is morestructured now. In the past, dealer businessescould enrol their mechanics for every course.Now an attempt is made to put together coursegroups of approximately the same level, forexample, by dividing the courses into threelevels (see Appendix 1), so that there arecourses for beginners and for more advancedmechanics. In addition, the Basic Course inApplied Electronics (course 30/11 in Appen-dix 1) is now an entry requirement for asignificant number of the courses on offer.

A new element is the clear interrelationshipbetween the purchase of the latest Forddiagnostic technology and in-service training.Ford dealers may or may not purchase theFDS-2000 diagnostic system. However, if hepurchases this system, the dealer is obliged tohave the users of the system specifically trainedfor it. The company studied here purchased theFDS 2000, and several mechanics have nowfollowed the obligatory in-service training.

This latest diagnostic equipment is programmedin such a way that it accurately records theactivities carried out so that nothing canactually go wrong with the connection andread-out or measurement. Although error

71

codes can still be read out using the Star testerand measurements made using a calibrationcable and a BOB tester, according to outsiders,the Ford Diagnostic System 2000 is theequipment of the future, and not just becauseit is possible to save a great deal of time with it.The qualifications of mechanics also play arole. The read-out for Zeta engines using anEEC IV computer requires a thorough expertiseand a high degree of experience. Anyone whohas this will not gain better results with the FDS2000, but less experienced mechanics will. Atpresent, the FDS 2000 can be used only for thediagnosis of faults in engine management.However, at a later stage the FDS 2000 systemwill also be applied for the diagnosis of faults inthe ABS, the central locking system and alarmsystems.

Thus, in the design of product and repair shoptechnology, the Ford group has had a greatinfluence on the level and nature of the qualifica-tions needed by mechanics in dealer businesses.Furthermore, with the in-service training provision,the Technical Service Training Curriculum (seeAppendix 1), the Ford organization also has agreat influence on the development of thequalifications of mechanics in dealer businesses.These matters are entirely beyond the influence ofthe trade unions and employers' organizations inthe Netherlands. Ford Nederland BV has hardlyany influence on this either, though the organiza-tion is very influential with regard to making thein-service training provision available to thedealer businesses. A clear illustration of this is

the decision to contract out in-service training toINNOVAM. This decision not only resulted in anincrease in the course capacity, but in addition,the courses were also brought closer to thebusinesses as INNOVAM has several courselocations.

However, in this sector there are also trainingactivities other than those of the manufacturers/importers. Unions and management in the Nether-lands do exert an influence on those activities, asindicated in the sectoral report, which alsodescribes how their influence has increased inthe past few years.

The dealer businesses do not actually have aninfluence on the content of the importer's in-service training provision. However, at theirinsistence, the capacity for in-service traininghas increased and been brought closer to thebusinesses. On the other hand, the dealerbusinesses cert,:,liy do have a clear influence onthe conte- of the in-dealer training. Theyproposed the subjects for this training themselves.

The decisions on the participation in the course byrepair shop personnel in the dealer businessstudied here was made in particular by thebusiness manager and the repair shop managel.

The employees can voice their wishes, but thedecision is made at a higher level: The companydoes not have a works council, and is not obligedto have one. Consultation between the manage-ment and the personnel is informal. There is

absolutely no trace of any trade union influenceat company level. Obviously the agreementswhich have been reached at sectoral levelbetween management and unions also apply inthis company. Thus the company can claim for asmany days of paid leave for training as there areemployees.

4.5 The costs and benefits of in-servicetrainingA few years ago the dealer businesses clearlymade less use of Ford Nederland BV's in-servicetraining provision than they do now. In a relativelyshort period of a few years, participation in thecourses rose from an average of 1 day per yearper mechanic to 3.5-4 days. This resulted in asharp rise in in-service training costs for FordNederland BV in a short time. The dealerbusinesses pay the sum of 50 guilders per personper day for the in-service training coursesprovided (see Appendix 1), which includes thecosts of providing lunch etc. The other costs areborne by Ford Nederland By.

Despite the relatively low contribution to thecourse of 50 guilders per person per day, the in-service training costs for dealer businesses havealso increased dramatically in the past few years.In 1987, in the dealer business studied here, thein-service training costs amounted to 3,500guilders. Since then, the sum has clearly in-

creased. For 1993, the budget amounts to over30,000 guilders. This sum excludes the costs oflost working hours. The training days reimbursedby the training fund are clearly no longer sufficientat the moment. This is one of the reasons why thecompany wishes to continue with the in-dealertraining. It is true that the importer's contribution tothis sort of training is greatly reduced, but this is setagainst the fact that about 90% of this in-servicetraining takes place outside working hours, i.e., inthe employees' own free time.

For the company studied here, it was quite evidentthat employees had fallen behind in their training.Considerable investments have been made in thepast few years to remedy this. The sums involvedhave clearly increased in recent years to such anextent that a budget expressly for in-servicetraining is now allocated at the beginning of theyear.

For the company itself, the need for investment inin-service training is self-evident. Therefore, asystematic analysis of costs and benefits is notconsidered essential. The knowledge and skillswhich are taught in the importer's in-servicetraining cour!-ns are needed in the company. Thecertificates p n -.asonable guarantee that

the participants have acquired the knowledgeand/or skills. Nor is there any systematic analysisof costs and benefits for the in-dealer training. Thebusiness manager and/or repair shop managertake part in this training themselves, and theirreason for wishing to continue with it is based ontheir experience. It was pointed out above that thein-dealer training is aimed not only at increasingthe mechanic's technical knowledge and/or skills,but also at achieving a (re)distribution of tasks andteamwork in such a way that both the strong andweak points of repair shop staff are used to thebest advantage. Because of the differences inlearning capacities, the rate and extent of thedevelopment of qualifications varies from mechan-ic to mechanic. In order to achieve the bestpossible return, the company will have to take thisinto account from time to time in the organizationof the work in the repair shop. The in-dealertraining is very important for the involvement ofindividual team members in this process of workstructuring. The commitment and motivation ob-tained in this way are undoubtedly essential forthe repair shop to operate smoothly, but it isdifficult, if not impossible, to evaluate theseadvantages in terms of guilders.

5. Fvaluation of the training plan

5.1 The employee questionnaireFour of the employees in the repair shop filled inthe questionnaire (see Appendix 3).

The information given by these four peopleconfirms that during the 1990-1992 period,there was much more in-service training than inthe preceding years. During these years, all fourpeople followed in-service training, while onlytwo out of the four had followed any in 1987 and1988. For one of these iwo, the training actuallytook place in the context of the apprenticeshipsystem. This mechanic concluded his LTS educa-tion (technical school) in 1973, and then immedi-ately began working full-time in a garage. After afew years he realized that he had few opportu-nities in the labour market compared with youngermechanics who did have a professional diploma.For this reason he started on the training in 1985within the apprenticeship system. In 1988, whenhe was training for chief mechanic, he entered theemployment of the company, and he concludedthis training in 1989. Since then, he has alsofollowed the training for chief motor vehicleelectrician. He followed the whole trainingcourse, or at least the theoretical part, outsideworking hours.This means that only one of the four peoplefollowed in-service training during working hoursin the period 1987-1988. This took the formmainly of one-day courses in the importer's in-service training provision.

In 1988-1990 Ford's provision for in-servicetraining was used only to a limited extent. As 73

Table 3 Participation in the importer's technical in-servicetraining provision, MayNovember 1992

No. ofpersonswPo tookport

Total no.of coursedays

1. Launch training Ford Scorpiomodel 1992 (one-day course)

2. Zeta engine

3. Ford Basic Course in AppliedElectronics (6.day course('

4. FDS-2000 (2-day course)

Total

3 3

5 5

5 15

2 4

16 persons 37 days

This course is divided up into blocks of 2, 1, 2 and 1day(s). 5 people took the first two blocks in 1992.

described above, it was during this period that thegreat need for in-service training became appar-ent in dealer businesses. However, the importer'sin-service training capacity was not (yet) preparedfor this. For this reason, in-dealer training startedin 1990 and continued for part of 1991. Duringthis period Ford Nederland BV was contractingout the in-service courses to INNOVAM.

The process of contracting out the courses wascompleted by the beginning of 1992. One of theeffects was that there was now a larger coursecapacity available. The company made use ofthis, as can be seen from the questionnaires thatwere filled in. However, we also have a completesurvey of the extent to which the company madeuse of the importer's technical in-service trainingprovision during the period May-November 1992(see Table 3).

These figures, as well as those in Appendix 3,confirm that in recent years there has been agreat increase in in-service training and, on theother hand, that this in-service training has up tonow been virtually exclusively related to teachingthe basic principles in the field of electronics andto the familiarization with new products (newmodels, new components arid new repair shoptechnology).

5.2 An exampleThe average number of days of in-service trainingin Ford dealer businesses has increased in the pastfew years from an average of one day per year to3.5-4 days. The average for the company underreview is clearly above this figure. However, itprobably serves as an example more because ofthe fact that this case study shows that even fairlysmall businesses, if "they put their headstogether", are able to find solutions and imple-ment them when there is a knowledge cr skillsdeficit among staff. In addition, this company is agood illustrat:on of the fact that even a relatively

small company can develop an in-service trainingplan which does justice both to the principles ofthe organization (employees who can be used ona wide range of tasks) and to the learningcapacities of individual employees.

5.3 Future training requirementsThe dealer business studied here wishes tocontinue working in future with employees whocan be used on a wide range of tasks. At themoment, mechanics can only be used in this way ifthey have sufficient knowledge of electronics.Most of the mechanics have been working forthe company for many years. When they enteredemployment, this requirement did not apply.Therefore the company accepts that it will haveto teach the mechanics itself (or have them taught).However, it definitely views this as a one-offexercise to catch up on training, which should nottake too long. In fact, it believes that it is really upto the normal education system to train newcomersfor the labour market adequately, and nowadaysthis includes a sufficient knowledge of electronics.However, the company does not feel confidentthat the normal education system will meet thisrequirement. This probably also plays a role in thecompany's continued positive attitude to in-dealertraining. In addition to the advantages describedabove relating to the principles of organizationwhich are adopted, and the diverse learningcapacities of the employees, this form of in-servicetraining also has a financial advantage. The in-dealer training takes place virtually entirely in theemployee's own time. The company's approach isthat it is quite prepared to invest in the develop-ment of the employees' qualifications, as long asthey are prepared themselves to invest in this bymaking their own time available for this purpose.In this context, the business manager also tries tofind ways of stimulating the errployees to read themagazine "Autoteam", and to participate in therrogazine's competition. At the company staffmeeting he intends to propose encouraging thisform of self-study with financial incentives.

To summarize, the company considers that in thepast few years it has made big investments in in-service training and that this was actuallynecessary. However, it has now reached a pointwhere there is a good qualifications base. It is

now mainly a matter of keeping up to date, andthat is partly the responsibility of the employeesthemselves.

The importer also recoynizes that the presentwave of in-service training is temporary. This isone of the arguments for contracting out the in-service training activities to INNOVAM, ratherthan developing greater ,:apacity and infrastruc-ture for the training in the company itself. Thisstrategy makes it easier to reduce the scope ofactivities, in particular if the subject areas involvedare covered by the normal educational system. In

73

addition, the importer expects that the continueddevelopment of advanced repair shop technologywill be accompanied by lower requirements und areduced need for in-service training for themechanics.

However, this point has not yet been reached. Upto now, the in-service training capacity has beenused particularly for filling the gaps in knowledgein electronics. Only in 1993, is sufficient capacitylikely to be available to offer intermediate andadvanced level courses (see Appendix 1).

6. General conclusions which can bedrawn from the companyIn a variety of ways, the in-service trainingpractice examined in this case study serves as ageneral example for the industry.

From training courses aimed at specific makes togeneral training courses in the sector.The sectoral report stated that INNOVAM hasdeveloped a system defining the positions andtasks of the various training establishments(importers, INNOVAM, LTO schools) in relationto innovation in the sector. With the aim ofmaintaining a broadly qualified expertise for thesector, agreements have been formulated to adaptthe in-service training provision of the importer'straining centres, INNOVAM, the apprenticeshipsystem, and standard LTO (lower technical) andMTO (intermediate technical) education. Trainingcourses on the new technology of particular makes

is obviously the responsibility of the importersthemselves during the introductory stage of suchinnovations. However, when an innovation is

introduced at a wider level, it should graduallybe incorporated in the vocational training provi-sion of the sector, starting with the (in-service)training provided by INNOVAM, and shouldeventually be included in standard technicaleducation when the new technology has becomepart of basic motor vehicle technology.

Forms of cooperation such as those described inthis caso study between INNOVAM and Ford

Nederland BV undoubtedly increase the likelihoodof innovations in specific makes being eventuallyincorporated in the vocational training provisionof the sector. This is in the interests of both parties,i.e. also the importer, as training aimed at specificmakes is not eligible for subsidies from the 00MTfund.

A united front is a strong front.When a much larger need for in-service trainingarose fairly rapidly in the dealer businesses duringthe second half of the 1980s, particularly due tothe increasing application of electronics, FordNederland BV was not able to provide immediateand adequate in-service training nor had it

sufficient capacity for in-service training. How-ever, this case study illustrates how relatively smallcompanies are quite able - if they are aware oftheir common problems and interests to seek andfind solutions for the gaps in employees' knowl-edge and/or skills.

Learning to cope with differences in learningcapacity.Most companies have to cope to a greater orlesser extent with what they have inherited fromthe past. Ten years ago, the requirements fornewcomers to motor vehicle businesses were verydifferent from what they are now. Some mechanicsare better able to adapt to today's requirementsthan others. This company is well aware of thesedifferences and this is taken into account in the in-service training plan. In this way the company is agood illustration of the fact that even a relativelysmall company can consciously develop an in -service training plan which does justice both to theprinciples of its organization (employees can beused on a wide range of tasks), and to theindividual employees' learning capacities. Thismeans that it does use the importer's external in-service training provision, but only for suitableemployees. However, by organizing in-dealertraining in the company itself, everyone getssome in-service training in the latest technologyand also in the familiar setting of working(together).

7 4

75

76

APPENDIX 1

Technical service training curriculum Ford

Special topics Brakes, steering Manual Automatic Petrol Dieseland suspension transmission and transmission engines engines

final drive00 10 16 17 21

co

00/32 12

Diagnosis andtesting update

00/31 51

Diagnosis andtesting

10/21

SCS/ABS

Course group i Course

Course level and number ir cc'de

Course duration (days)

Course title

Prerequisite: Course 30/11

Training entrance point

17/31

10/23

Future

suspension

00/270 10/22 16/22 17/22 131

Modelspecificcourses

[_ 00/201 1.2

New productintroduction

10/21

SCS/ABS

CTX

16/21 7 I 17/21

MT 75 andMT 75 4

21/21 21/22

MLD/MLDE Petrol engine_44 Diesel engine

00/101 1 10/ 1 13 16/11 _13 17/ 1 121Market specific Basic brakes, Brake - manual Basictopics (R3 fleet steering and transmission automatic

carriers etc.) suspension and final chive transmission

t t 4I

I

21/11 13

Basic enginesPetiol/diesel

5

Engine management Electr ical Body and paint PDI and

Petrol Diesel systems routinemaintenance

29 30 40 54

29/32 2

Weber/Marsh(Cosworth 2.0)

29/31 5

EECNEFI + CR

44/31

Repair of moderateand severe

occident damage

29/22 13

K/KE Jetronicand electronic

ignition

30/23 11

In-car enter-tainment andcommunication

30/22 12

Airconditioning

29/21Webei and Pierburg

W and 2V carburettor s. electronic

ignition system

29/23 13 30/21

Diesel enginemanage-

ment A

Instrumentationand comfort/

afety electronics

44/21 2

Sectionalrepairs

29711 12 29/12 1-3

Ford IV and WBasic dieselarburettoi Lint

and tionsistor iniectionqnita,n

Bask alskirksand siockonks

Bodymechanics

and trim

44/11 r1

Panel repairs

44/14 1

Repoir ofplastic

componenis

44/12 -13

Panel lamingtechniques

45/21 j5Finish paintapplication

li techniques

I- 54/12 _13

Routinemaintenance

45/11 1 54/11 12

Pleporohi.n liithe appluationif fnislola ;stint

Pre-deliverypreparation

77

78

APPENDIX 2

in-dealer training Ford/PTHOverview courses:1990/1991

Course 1Exhaust emission in KE-Jetronic

Theory: various systems for exhaust emissionknowledge of KE-Jetronic system

Practice: measurements using lambda-sensor andcircuit pressure regulator

Course 2KE-Jetronic

Theory: knowledge of KE-Jetronic systemPractice: measurements using "LED-tester"

measurements using "BOB-kast"

Course 32.0 EFI OHC engine (with catalytic convertor)

Theory: knowledge of the EFI system and the EECIV computer

Practice: measurements using the "STAR-tester"measurements using "BOB-kast"

Course 42.0 EFI DOHC engine (with catalytic convertor)

Theory: mect:anical knowledge of the DOHCengknowlodge of the EFI system (with EECIV-computer)

Practice: measurements using the "STAR-tester"measurements using the "BOB-kast" withY cable(dynamic measurements)

Course 5Reading charts of the 2.0 OHC engine withcarburettor and hydraulic stepping motor

Theory: knowledge of the carburettor systemknowledge of the ESC II ignition com-puterreading electrical wiring charts(sed;on 36)

Practice: measurements using "BOB-kast"

Course 6Anti Blocking System ABS

Practice: measurements using "BOB-kast" withintegrated fault diagnosis

Course 7Reading charts on the central locking systems

Theory: knowledge of Sierra/Scorpio centrallocking systemsreading electrical wiring charts

Practice: identifying faults using electrical charts

Course 8Central injection system

Theory: knowledge of the CFI system using theEEC IV computer

Practice: measurements using "BOB-kast" with thehelp of dynamic cable

Course 9Car electronics

Theory: knowledge of basic electricsknowledge of the CFI system using theEEC IV computer

Practice: making measurements in the ignitionsystem, engine and dynamo

Course 102.9 EFI _engine (with catalytic convertor and 2xlambda sensor)

Theory: knowledge of the EFI systemPractice: measurements using the "START-tester"

measurements using the "BOB-kast"

4. A LARGE GM-OPEL, BMW ANDMITSUBISHI DEALER

1. General description of the caseThe fourth case study focuses on the in-servicetraining practice of a large motor vehicle businesswhich is a dealer for three different makes of car:Opel, BMW and Mitsubishi. The business has itsown training school where new employees aretrained, and where in-service training is alsoprovided for other employees. For the training ofits apprentices, it works in close collaboration withINNOVAM, the vocational training institute for thesector. For the in-service training of personnelalready employed by the business, considerableuse is made of the facilities made available byimporters for their dealers. In particular, thebusiness has worked closely with GM-Opel andBMW for many years. As regards in-servicetraining, contacts with Mitsubishi have not crystal-lized to the same extent. This case study focuses onthree organizations:

the company itself, as the user of importerscourses and as an independent traininginstitute;

the GM-Opel importer's organization, and inparticular the GM training institute whichdevelops and provides GM in-service trainingcourses;

the BMW importer's organization, and in

particular the BMW training centre whichdevelops and pr.ivides the BMW in-servicetraining courses.

The developments in the company itself form thestarting point for this report. In the description ofthe training activities in the company, particularattention will be devoted to the provision of thetwo above-mentioned importers. From time to timethe company is also in contact with other traininginstitutes, but this is usually in connection with veryspecific one-off training requirements. These

institutes will not be discussed in detail. How-ever, a separate section examines the in-companytraining opportunities

2. General description of the business

2.1 Information on Ale businessAs stated above, the business is a large dealerbusiness which specializes in the distribution andrepair of three different makes of car, Opel (GM),BMW and Mitsubishi. The business deals in everymodel of car made by Opel and BMW, while forMitsubishi, it mainly sells and repairs lightcommercial vehicles. For Opel, the company akoruns a car rental service. Probably a fourthcategory will be added to the range in the nearfuture (spring 1993), as the company has beenapproached by GM to become a dealer for someof its American models (Chevrolet, Pontiac, Olds-mobile, Buick. Cadillac). The company is considering accepting this offer.

The business's activities ore structured in the form ofa management company. with an administrativeoffice and six operating companies: 2 Opelgarages, the Opel rental service, 2 BMWgarages and 1 Mitsubishi garage. All thesecompanies are established in the northwest ofthe Netherlands in a small urban conglomeration,fairly close to each other, within a radius ofapproximately 20 kilometres. The managementcompany is located in the largest branch, one ofthe Opel garages; Opel is actually the "mothercompany" from which the concern developed. Thebusiness is one of the largest motor vehiclebusinesses in the Netherlands. At the time of thisstudy it employed approximately 180 people,including apprentices.

2.2 Brief history and recent strategydevelopment

2.2.1 A brief historyThe business is not only one of the larger, but alsoone of the older motor vehicle businesses in theNetherlands, and certainly one of the older dealercompanies. Originally it was a family businessand even in the present company structure the tiesbetween the business and the family are still fairlystrong. The company was established before thewar by the grandfather of the present managingdirector. After working for a time as a privatechauffeur, he started the first so-called "motorvehicle centre" in the region in 1922, with his owncar. This was a private transportation company.He was soon able to buy a second car, and rentpremises for garaging buses and the maintenanceof other people's cars. In 1925, he moved intonew premises, which were expanded with a largegarage, and in that same year he employed hisfirst mechanic. In 1932, he acquired the GeneralMrtors dealership. This proved to be a goodcnoice. In the years leading up to the SecondWorld War car sales increased sharply and thecompany expanded to become a well-knowndealer company, selling 70 to 80 cars a yeartowards the end of the 1930s. The company alsoengaged in other activities (petrol sales, a travelagency, a coach business, group transportation, ataxi service, and an ambulance service). Thenumber of personnel gradually increased, and in1933 the former one-man business became alimited company. The members of the familyremained the most important shareholders.

After the Second World War the companyexpanded rapidly. Growth during the 1960s and1970s was particularly pronounced. In 1964, asecond Opel branch opened in a neighbouringtown. For a long time the company continued tobe active in other sectors (coach tours, petrolstations, a driving school), but with the growth incar sales it increasingly focused on its coreactivities: the sale, maintenance and repair ofcars. The touring coach business was sold in the

2.

79

80

early 1960s. Following the 1974 oil crisis, most ofthe petrol stations were also sold off. However, in1975, a separate business activity was set up forleasing activities, particularly for the long-termcommercial leasing of cars.

Car saies gradually increased. In the mid-1970sbetween 600 and 700 cars were sold every year.In 1987, L160 were sold, and in 1992, thenumber was about 1,100.

2.2.2 Recent strategyAs regards the core activities the sale, main-tenance and repair of cars - since the beginningof the 1980s, the business has adopted a strategyof expanding the range and of spreading risks.The Opel activities remain the core of the business,but at the same time the group has expanded intoother market sectors.

In 1980, new premises were bought with theintention of marketing American cars through asub-dealership of GM. However, these plans didnot come to fruition because of the unfavourabledevelopments in the dollar exchange rate. Bvchance, a BMW dealer in the area went bankruptat the same time, and the company was offeredthe BMW dealership. It decided to accept thisoffer and organize the new premises as the BMWbranch. As this new agency was not compatiblewith the Opel dealership, it was necessary toincorporate the BMW activities in a separate(private) company. This expansion of activities intoa new market sector, a sector covering moreexpensive business cars, proved to be veryprofitable in retrospect: BMW's market share hasincreased in the last 10 years and the company'sturnover has grown correspondingly. In 1987,235 BMWs were sold, 250 in 1992.

There was also expansion in the light commercialvehicles sector. Since 1984, the company hasbeen a dealer for the Japanese make, Mitsubishi.For a long time the Mitsubishi section was housedin one of the Opel facilities, but recently theactivities were separated because GM c'sobecame more active in the commercial vehiclemarket (exisuzu) and no longer considered itacceptable for its Opel dealers to have acompetitive make in-house. For this reason theMitsubishi activities were transerred to a separatecompany. In 1987, 72 commercial vehicles weresold, in 1992 the number was 148.

Recently plans to expand into yet another, thirdnew market sector were implemented. At the endof 1992, GM again approached the companywith the request to start marketing American GMmodels, and recently it was decided to accept thisdealership. A separate location was bought forthe new GM activities and the new companystarted to operate as of 1 January 1993.

2.2.3 Impact of new technologyA great deal has changed in the business in thelast 10 years, not only commercially, but also asregards technology and infrastructure. It hasobviously felt the consequences of the electronicsboom in the motor vehicle industry. Asa result, thenature of the work has changed both in the Opeland the BMW companies.

Since 1985/1986, there has been a constantincrease in the application of electronics systemsin new Opel models. Opel had already startedwith engine management systems in the early1980s, but until 1985 these were incorporatedmainly in the top models. Since then all sorts ofnew systems have been added, and these systemsare also increasingly being used in the cheapermodels. In the latest models (Astra, Corsa), manyfunctions are electronically operated (injection,suspension, shock absorbers etc.). Electronicinjection systems were found only in the largemodels in 1986, but they are now standard inevery model as a result of the more stringentenvironmental requirements. This has had signifi-cant consequences for the repair shop. While theratio of mechanical to electronic work in 1985was still 60-70% to 30%, this figure has sincebeen reversed; only 30-40% of the work ismechanical work, while 60-70% involves elec-tronics. In order to work with this new technology,the company also purchased the repair shopequipment specially developed for Opel.

BMW has been using all sorts of electronicsystems in its models for far longer. The firstengine management systems date back to theearly 1980s. More than any other make, BMWhas assimilated the new electronic technology. Themore expensive models in particular have a largenumber of built-in electronic devices for a varietyof functions: injection, ignition, suspension,brakes, steering, rear axle regulation, lighting,locking, alarm systems, parking indicators, airconditioning, car audio systems, telephone, videoetc. However, new systems are also increasinglybeing used in the cheaper models. Most modelsare now equipped with dashboard computerswhich constantly monitor driving performance andregister deviations while the car is in motion.During servicing they are linked up to the testingequipment and immediately provide an indicationof irregularities and faults. Parallel to the cartechnology, over the years BMW has alsoconstantly deueloped new repair shop technology(measurement and testing equipment). No dealercan do without this, and this company also hasvarious types of testing eqi,ipment in-house.

Obviously these developments are reflected in thework that comes in. 50-60 per cent of the workcurrently carried out in the BMW repair shopsconsists of electronic work The rest is mechanicalrepair work and maintenance.

According to the BMW importer, the newtechnology clearly implies an upgrading of themechanic's job, particularly because of the shiftfrom mechanical to electronic tasks: "The increas-ingly advanced testing equipment does not affectthis in any way. Admittedly, detecting the faults isincreasingly computerized and taken over bytechnology to a greater extent, but there is

enough left to be done on the basis of themechanic's own intuition and experience. In

addition, the number of systems in the car hasincreased to such an extent that the work remainscomplicated. It is so complicated that you can nolonger work in the old way. Mechanics nowreceive a print-out of the fault and no longer haveto find it themselves, but in fact they would nolonger even be able to do so. The electronics havesimply become so extensive and complicated. Allthese regulation systems make much higherdemands on the mechanic's knowledge. Anyonewithout a feeling for electronics and computerscan forget trying to work in our organization. Theyare no longer any use to us."

2.3 Structure of the company

2.3.1 Company organizationOver the years the company has expanded from asimple motor vehicle business to a holdingcompany with six operating companies. Thebusiness currently has the following overallstructure:

All these companies have the legal status of aprivate company (B.y.). The management com-pany is run by a board of directors and also has asupervisory board. The members of the familyhave an important share of the votes on bothboards. At present, a grandson of the founder isthe director of the management company, and assuch he is managing director of the company. Theadministrative office, the larger BMW garage (1)and the Mitsubishi garage have their owndirectors. The Opel garages and the smallerBMW garage (2) are run by a businessmanager. The Opel leasing company falls directlyunder the management of the administrativeoffice. The directors and business managers ofthe branches are accountable for their ownbudgets and profits. They draw up their own

Organizational Chart

annual budgets, submit these to the board ofdirectors for its approval, and justify the results tothe directors and supervisors at the end of thebudget period. In order to balance the running ofthe business properly within the holding company,every week at a set time there is a managementmeeting of branch directors and business man-agers, chaired by the managing director. Thismeeting deals, inter alia, with major investmentdecisions and personnel matters are coordinated,for example, in recruiting and moving employees.Decisions on apprenticeship recruitmen; can bemade by the branch managers themselves.

2.3.2 Job structureDepending on their size, and the supply of work,the various branches have different job structures:

The Opel garage (1), the largest branch, hasapproximately 75 employees. The branch runsa large petrol station and comprises a largerepair shop for damaged vehicles, which alsotakes on the repair work for other branches.The business employs 7 sales persons, 7employees in the stores, 16 petrol pumpattendants, 15 mechaPics for damaged vehi-cles, and approximately 30 repair shop mechan-ics. The other employees work in personnel andadministration.

The second Opel branch has some 45employees: 8 in soles, 7 in stores, and 3035 in the repair shop.

The larger of the two BMW branches containsa large parts store. This branch employs 15people, including 2 employees in stores. In

addition, there are 2 sales persons and ap-proximately 6 mechanics. The training school isalso located in this business.

The smaller BMW branch, an independentdealer, has 9 employees, including 2 salespersonnel and 5 mechanics.

The Mitsubishi business employs 6 employees,including 2 mechanics and 2 sales personnel.

The Opel leasing company also employs 3employees, who all work in administration.

Opelgarage 1

Opelgarage 2

Management company

Administrative office

BMWgarage I

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1

BMWgaiege 2

Mitsubishigaiage

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The administrative office is staffed mainly byadministrative employees, staff personnel, anda number of managers.

Looking at the business as a whole, the ratiobetween the different types of employment isapproximately as follows:

sales personnel (including leasingpersonnel) 1.5 %

technical personnel (including agroup working on damaged vehicles) 54%stores personnel 11%administrative personnel 15%(higher) management personnel 50/0

At the time of this study the business employed 21apprentices who were following the vocationaltraining for car mechanics. They are included inthe above-mentioned figures.

2.3.3 Work organizationIn order to give an impression of the way in whichthe work in the garages is organized, we will takea closer look at the organization of work in thelarge Opel branch (Opel 1) and the large BMWBranch (BMW 1). The work in the other Opel andBMW garages respectively is organized along thesame lines, although certain differences existbecause of the differences in the work comingin. We will focus primarily on the organization ofwork in the repair shop.

The repair shop in the large Opel business ismanaged by a repair shop manager. The work isdistributed between four work units, each with itsown manager/foreman:

the group for the repair of commercial vehicles(manager + 3 mechanics); this group carriesout repairs on commercial vehicles; all com-mercial vehicle repairs, including those forother branches, are done here;

the inspection group (foreman + permanentmechanic + 4 apprentices); this group carriesout all the maintenance work, mainly thearnual services as prescribed in the Opelmaintenance programme; the apprentices inthe group mainly work as assistants;

the delivery group (foreman + mechanic 4 3assistant mechanics); this group works onpreparing new and second-hand cars so thatthey are ready to drive away; the assistantmechanics mainly carry out basic work, such asassembling simple accessories;

the car repair group (manager + 12-15mechanics); this group carries out repairs,both those arismg from service inspectionsand those coming in directly from the customer.

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In addition to these groups, another separatemechanic works on checking cars, carrying outtest drives etc. Apart from the repair shop, there isalso a separate repair shop for damaged vehicles,as stated above, where the work on damagedvehicles from all the branches is concentrated.There is also a separate store for parts.

New work comes in at reception (by appointmentor directly from off-the-street customers) and isplanned using a planning board. The mechanicsare timetabled using cards indicating the standardperiod of time for repairs and services. Theplanning always allows some space for clientswho come into the business with smaller prob-lems; for larger problems an appointment mayhave to be made. Contacts with clients always gothrough reception, which is staffed by a recep-tionist who is qualified as a chief mechanic, andtwo assistants, a tekhonist and an administrativeemployee.

In the repair group any mechanic can be assignedto any type of work that comes in. Somemechanics ore specialized in particular types ofwork. Recently the business gave two mechanicsthe opportunity to specialize in American cars inconnection with the new GM-USA dealership. Inaddition, one man is specialized in all theelectronic work ("He knows all there is to knowabout it.") Another employee is currently acquiringspecialist knowledge in this field, encouraged bythe business because it does not wish to be toodependent on one person. The business does notconsider it necessary to have more than these twospecialists. The other employees receive enoughin-service training from the importers' courses tobe able to deal with electronics jobs (60-70 percent of the work coming in).

The work is organized slightly differently in theBMW garage. There the work is distributed to alesser extent than in the Opel business. In theBMW repair shop there are no individual workgroups, and in principle all mechanics carry outall the work that comes in. i.e. both repairs andservices and maintenance. However, one personis specially employed to prepare cars for delivery,because this often involves a lot of extra work forthe more expensive BMW models which have alarge number of accessories; this employee is alsospecialized in air-conditioning systems. In addi-tion one mechanic is trained as a motor vehicleelectrician and is able to do more difficultelectronic repairs, but in practice this actuallyhas little influence on the distribution of theelectronics work. All the mechanics haveachieved virtually the same level of knowledgeof electronics through the importer's training, andin principle they all carry out the electronic workthat comes in (50-60 per cent of the incomingwork).

In the BMW business the clients also go throughreception, where the work is accepted andscheduled. In this business the repair shopmanager is also the receptionist. He receives theclients, sees what needs to be done, arrangeswhen it has to be finished, plans the work on theplanning board, and distributes it amongst themechanics. In the mechanics' daily schedules themore difficult repairs are usually scheduled for thebeginning of the day, while the more routine jobsare left to the end of the day. In this way the risk ofovertime as the result of repairs which take longerthan expected is restricted as far as possible.

2.4 Human resourcesAs stated above, the number of personnel in thebusiness increased significantly in the 1960s and1970s. At the end of the 1970s, the businessemployed more than 200 people. This wasreduced to approximately 180 at the beginningof the 1980s, mainly because of the sale of thepetrol stations. Since 1985, the size of thebusiness has remained stable and the number ofpersonnel fluctuates between 160 and 180,depending on the number of apprentices. Therehas been a slight decline in the number of jobstaken on, mainly because of the trend for theintervals between services to become longer.

For a number of years the business has adopted aspecific recruitment policy. New employees arenot recruited directly from the external employ-ment market, but are recruited from the appren-tices who are following their vocational training ascar mechanics in the business. On average,approximately 20 apprentices are employed atany one time under an apprenticeship contract.They follow INNOVAM's basic vocational trainingunder the apprenticeship system. This figure of 20is higher than is actually needed to meet thedemand for personnel in the long term. However,extra apprentices are deliberately taken on sothat, as the trainer says: "The best apprentices canbe selected from this group." Thus the apprenticesare clearly informed that there will not be a job inthe business for every one of them at the end of thetraining. After the training there is an assessment,and where there are vacancies, the most suitableapprentices are selected for these. The trainer andthe repair shop manager jointly carry out assess-ment and selection. The most important selectioncriteria for a vacancy are:

progress during training;successfully passing the examination in the twoyears allotted for this; an extension to thieeyears is not possible;the quality of work in the repair shop;the apprentice's technical insight; particularlythe insight which is revealed by the way inwhich he approaches problems, i.e. his

problemsolving skills;his initiative; he must be able to work wellindependently;

his potential; he must be capable of furtherdevelopment.

According to the trainer, aspects of behaviouroften play an impcdant role. Also, an insight intoand a feeling for electronics plays a particular rolein selecting who is and who is not suitable for theBMW businesses. These businesses make higherdemands in this field than the Opel garages.Sometimes there are apprentices who successfullycomplete their training and whom the businesswould like to employ, but for whom there is novacancy at that time. In this case there is

possibility of taking them on temporarily in a sortof rotation system until a vacancy arises in one ofthe branches.

Obviously, new apprentices are recruited from theexternal labour market. The initial qualificationrequirements are high: MAVO (secondary educa-tion) with a final certificate, or HAVO/MTO(higher education/intermediate technical educa-tion) without a certificate. No apprentices, or veryfew, are taken from the LBO (lower vocationaltraining) level; this level is considered too low forthe business. Of the present 21 apprentices, onlytwo come from LBO, where they took motorvehicle technology. The others come fromMAYO, HAVO and a few from other LBOcourses, including LBO electro-technology.

3. The provision of continuingvocational trainingThe business attempts to keep its personnel up todate as regards qualifications, not only by a policyof recruitment at a fairly high level, and theinterncl training of new employees, but alsothrough providing in-service training for employ-ees. Part of the in-service training takes placeinternally in the business's own training school, butmost of it is carried out externally at the GM-Opeland BMW importers' facilities. Below, we willbriefly discuss the structural aspects of theseinternal and external provisions for in-servicetraining. We will then go on to explore the in-service training policy, the content of the in-servicetraining provision, and its use by the personnel ofthe various branches of the business.

3.1 Structure within the businessFor a long time the business has had its owntraining school, a classroom in one of the BMWpremises. The school is mainly used for trainingapprentices, but it is also used for all sorts of in-service training activities. For many years, internalelectronics courses were given there which weredeveloped by the business itself for its mechanics(see section 4), and even now the classroom is stillfrequently used for in-service training, for exam-ple, for video training sessions for BMW mechan-ics (see section 4). The school has all sorts ofmodern measurement and testing equipment, andin the classroom there are practice engines andvarious component systems (carburettor, ignition)

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A variety of equipment and tools is available forpractice, along with workbenches, electricalboards etc., as well as modern video equipment.Obviously there is also a large selection ofdocumentation and car manuals available. Thetraining school is also used for lessons for peopleon work placements and for apprentice mechanicsfrom other businesses who are temporarilyseconded to one of the branches on the basis ofthe GOA, in which the business participates.

The classroom also contains the office of thebusiness's training coordinator, an ex-mechanicemployed since 1985, who followed INNOVAM's(long) train;ng course for instructors, and is nowspending all his time on training. In recent yearshis job has gradually expanded from the job of atraditional instructor to a job as head of +hebusiness's training courses. This job contains twocentrei task areas:

coordinating the supervision of INNOVAM'sapprentices; the actual supervision on the shopfloor is carried out by experienced mechanics/instructors in the different garages;

the coordination of external training with theimporters (GM-Opel, BMW and Mitsubishi),and any other external institutes; in thiscapacity he is responsible for activities suchas arrang g employees' course schedules,enroling employees for, or withdrawing themfrom importers' courses, consulting with repairshop managers and mechanics about whocould/should do which course, maintainingcontacts with the importers, informing peopleabout new provisions, administering who hastaken which courses, managing teachingmaterials, resources, etc.

As regards in-service training, the role of thetraining coordinator can therefore be primarilycharacterized as that of a training agent; hecoordinates the demand (from the business) andthe provision of training (with the importers), andin so doing he keeps up to date with developmentsin the business's requirements on the one hand,and with the provisions of importers and othertraining institutes, on the other. In r...:1dition, heoften teaches and supervises those tak'ng courses.

3.2 Structure of the GM-Opel trainingcentreMany employees in the business have followed orare following extra training courses at the GM-Opel trainiag centre. Until 1987, the whole of thistraining centre was part of GM-Nederland, theimporter of GM-Opel and GM-USA, and as suchpart of the GM group. At the time, the centre hadthree instructors, all employed by the importer. Thecentre had a number of classrooms of its ownwhich were equipped with modern trainingequipment and modern teaching resources.

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In 1987, the training centre was completelyreorganized. GM Nederland started to contractout its training, and concluded contracts with twoprivate agencies for this purpose; one agency fortechnical training (the TTA), and one for commer-cial training (the DOOR). Both agencies were setup on GM Nederland's premises, recruited aprofessional staff and concluded a rental contractwith GM for the training rooms and the trainingequipment. Both agencies have a permanentclient/supplier relationship with GM and not onlyoffer training courses, but also develop new ones.

The technical training centre (the TTA) hasexpanded particularly strongly since 1987, as aresult of the marked increase in the demand fortraining. From a one-man business it rapidlyexpanded into a company with almost 30 employ-ees, including a large number of highly qualifiedtrainers with HBO (higher vocational training),HIS (higher technical school) or technical teachertraining backgrounds. TTA works not only for GM-Nederland, but also carries out training missionsfor GM branches in other European countries(Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg). It not only runsthe training courses, but also develops newcourses and provides "training for trainers"courses for the whole of the Benelux. It producesits own teaching resources specifically for GM,which are also used outside the NetherlandsCurrently the company has the following depart-ments:

training in the Netherlands;

training in Belgium/Luxembourg;

a desktop publishing group; this groupproduces written teaching materials for trainersand course participants (course books, manu-als, trainer guides, repair shop manuals etc.);

a depot tment for producing mechanical teach-ing materials, such as practice engines, lessonboards, dismantlable gearboxes etc.;

a service feedback group; this group functionsas a sort of "help-desk", a support group whichthe mechanics from dealer businesses canconsult when they are faced with problemsthey cannot solve themselves; this group alsoproduces specific sei vice bulletins on questionsand problems which arise frequently (e.g., fornew models and systems), and these servicebulletins are distributed to dealer businessesthroughout Europe.

The TTA is concerned with technical training, qndtherefore mainly trcins dealers' technical person-nel. However, it also provides training courses forsales personnel when new models art, introduced.Admittedly the DOOR is the leading agency forcommercial training courses, but the DOOR andthe TTA cooperate closely on new models. In this

respect, the TTA is responsible for the technicalpart of the introductory training.

3.3 Structure of the BMW trainingcentreThe employees of the business's two BMWbranches frequently follow external trainingcourses at the training centre of the Dutch BMWimporter, BMW Nederland BV, a full subsidiarycompany of the German BMW group. This

training centre, which is part of BMW Neder-land's Technical Service and Marketing Depart-ment, maintains two training institutes: one forcommercial training courses and one for trainingin technology and repair shop organization. Thecentre has four qualified trainers, two for thecommercial and two for the technical trainingcourses, and is run by the head of training. Thisdepartmental head coordinates all internal mattersand maintains contacts with other departments ofthe organization (including the technical externalservice). In addition, he himself provides thetraining in the field of management and organiza-tion. The four trainers and the departmental headare all employed by BMW Nederland on a full-time basis.

For the technical training there are two trainingunits available to the centre. Both consist of anormal classroom and an adjoining practicalroom, so that two course groups can always betrained at the same time. Modern trainingequipment is set up in the practical rooms: engineblocks of various models with the related injectionand engine management systems, gearboxes andelectroboxes which can be dismantled, differentsorts of testing and measuring equipment, andcomplete demonstration cars and two-wheelerengines. Each classroom also has interactiveddeo equipment and simulation panels forcourses in various electrical and electronicsystems (lighting systems, bodywork electronics).The operation of the systems can be explained,various faults can be simulated, and the way inwhich these faults should be dealt with can bedemonstrated on the panels. The written materialsused for this training, particularly fae coursebooks, are produced by the centre itself basedon the manufacturer's manuals and instructionmaterials. The video material is not made by thecentre, bri comes directly fro .1 the manufacturer;the tapes are simply translated into Dutch anddubbed at the centre.

Virtually all the BMW courses are given at thetraining centre itself. Courses at oiher locations,e.g., dealer training courses, are given only inhighly exceptional cases, and these are mainlyrelated to sales training. Recently the centre hasstarted to cooperate with INNOVAM, and theelementary electronics course, one of the basiccourses provided by BMW, has been contractedout to INNOVAM instructors. Currently this coursecan be followed in twc of INNOVAM's regional

practical centres. This course was contracted outpartly because of capacity problems, but partlyalso because it is felt that this sort of basicprovision should be provided not by the import-er, but should be part of the general vocationaltrainkz The importer should use his capacitymore particularly for technical training related tospecific makes. Moreover, it is not completelyclear how long this arrangement will continue.This depends partly on the demand for basiccourses in the dealer businesses, and this demandis currently no longer so great. Most BMWmechanics are already working at a higher level.

3.4 Other institutionsThe GM-Opel and BMW importers' organizationsare the business's most important training part-ners. There are fewer contacts with the Mitsubishiimporter. This import, -Ioes not have its owntraining centre, and Mitsubishi's training provisionhas not developed to the same extent. The

importer has appointed one permanent trainer,who is working on developing a training sched-ule, but up to now courses are mainly organizeddepending on the demand from dealer businesses,and as yet there is no programme of courses forwhich employees can enrol, though the importer isworking on this. In fact, it is customary in theMitsubishi organization for new dealers to placemechanics temporarily with existing dealer busi-nesses, so that they can learn there; this was alsothe case in the business concerned here. Further-more, the Mitsi bishi branch is currently in theprocess cf recruiting a new, experienced Mitsu-bishi mechanic from another business as anotherway of acquiring the necessary knowledge.

Apart from contacts with importers, there are alsooccasional contacts with suppliers of specificequipment or specific components for trainingrelated to these. For example, a training coursewas recently organized for a number of mechan-ics responsible for fitting LPG systems. This coursewas commissioned by BMW to be developed bythe supplier of the systems, and was held in thebusiness concerned.

4. The business's training policy

4.1 Training concepts at the repair shoplevelAlthough no official policy plans or plans of actionhave been developed yet, for many years thebusiness has adopted a very clear strategy withregard to the pre.,ision of qualffications. Thisstrategy can be described as a combination of abasic training strategy and on in-service trainingstrategy. It was mentioned above that the businessdoes not recruit ready-qualified new employeesfrom the external labour mai (.t, but recruitsschool-leavers and then trains them as mechanicsusing INNOVAM's vocational training provisionand its own training in the business. After passingtheir mechanic's examination, some of these

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apprentices are given a job in one of the branchesof the business. On average, aL out 12 newapprentices are given jobs every year (generallyaround 20 are employed at any one time) so thatthe business car; always rely on a sufficientnumber of qualified new personnel coming in.

Howevel, this training strategy for new employeesis merely one element of the qualification policy.Another element is the in-service training ofqualified employees by means of the trainingprogrammes for specific makes; these pro-grammes are provided by the importers. TheGM-Opel and BMW importers provide a differ-entiated selection of in-service training courses fortheir dealers' employees. Within this, employeescan obtain specific training for specific needs, butcan also follow programmes to qualify themselvesfor -.igher or more specialized jobs in the dealerorganization. Both GM-Opel and BMW providesuch career programmes for repair sh--) person-nel. GM-Opel also offers a specific programmefor sales personnel.

The business studied here frequently makes use ofthe importers' provision, particularly for in-servicetraining in the technical field. Up to approximately1991, the aim of this was not only to maintainmechanics' qualifications at a certain standard,but also to make up for a def;c;ency in qualifica-tions, particularly in electronics, and particularlyin the GM-Opel branches. After 1991, when thisdeficiency had largely been remedied, in-servicetraining became more a matter of periodicallyupdating knowledge and skills in connection withthe introduction of new models, technologies andsystems. Thus slightly less effort was put intotraining in the Opel branches after 1987-1991,years devoted to overcoming the training deficit,although the amount of training provided stillremains substantial (see sections 4.4, 4.5 and4.6).

The importers' arguments for the need for constantin-service training of repair shop personnel is

based on the concept of quality of service. It isargued that in the current pressurized market,competitive advantages can be obtained primarilythrough good after-sales services and good andrapid service to clients in the repair shop. Repairshop personnel should be trained in the technical,organizational and commercial fields to such anextent that they can provide the best pssibleservice. In the BMW organization, where productimage, product technology and product qualityhave always been important competitive instru-ments, and continue to be so, ari increasinglyimportant role is being assigned to the quality ofservice in Ihe repair shop.

In the following sections, we will examine how in-sel vice training is specifically used for improvingthe quality of service in the Opel and BMWbusinesses. In section 4.4, we will begin by

discussing the types of in-service training pro-vided by the business itself and by the importers. Insection 4.5 and 4.6 we will then go on to examinethe in-service training activitiei of the personneland the costs of in-service training.

4.2 Trail ling plans

4.2.1 Training plans within thebusinessThe business has developed its own trainingprovision both for new apprentice employeesand for employed mechanics who need in-servicetraining. Since !he 1960s, apprentice employeeshave received specific vocational training, supple-mented by extra training in the business's ownschool. Apprentices are taken on part time, andconclude an apprenticeship contract under whichthey attend school two days a week and have twoto three days of practical training, of which oneday is in a GOA. Initially new apprentices spendfour weeks in the business's own schooi, wherethey follow the business's induction course. Afterfour weeks they go into the repair shop. They aresplit up between the two Opel garages, and beginby joining the inspection group, where they assistwith maintenance activities. They are assigned toexperienced apprentices and older, experiencedemployees, and are supervised by the foremanand the instructor. The aim is for them to graduallylearn to work more independently. After a while,when they have sufficiently mastered the main-tenance work, they rotate through the otherdepartments, according to a particular rotationschedule the repair groups then the damagesdepartment and they also spend time working inthe BM\A' branches. Every apprentice spends sixto eight weeks in each department. In addition,apprentices follow practical training at INNO-VAM's regional practical centre, which currentlyaccommodates the GOA arrangement. At the endof their practical tro;ning, they return to thebusiness's own school for another 6-8 weeks,where experiences and problems are discussed,and where they are prepared for the theoreticaland practical examinations. Subsequently, someof those who pass the examination are taken onby the business as mechanics. According to thebusiness, this procedure forms a good basis forfurther qualifications. The knowledge and skillsrequired for specific makes can then be acquiredby means of in-service training courses.

As regards technical in-service training, thebusiness had not always been able to meet, tothe extent which it does today, its in-servicetraining requirements with the help of the externalprovision (from the importers). The business itselfinitially played a large part, particularly asregards the in-service training of Opel mechanicsin electronics. Since 1985/1986, all sorts of newelectrical and electronic systems have beenintroduced in Opel models at a very fao rate,and in the business's view, the Dutch GM-Opel

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training centre responded rather slowly to this atthe time. As the business feared that the deficiencyin knowledge would become too great if it waitedany longer for the importer's initiative, it decidedto set up its own training programme in 1987, sothat the older Opel mechanics in particular couldbecome familiar with the basic principles of thenew motor vehicle electronics. To achieve this, abasic course was developed by a group ofemployees consisting of the instructor, a repairshop manager, and an electronics specialist fromthe Opel business. The group asked the importerfor information about what was expected in thefield of electronics; courses on other makes wereexamined, including those for its own BMWbusinesses, and INNOVAM's teaching materialswere consulted. With the help of this information,the business developed its own programme for thecourse, which could be followed by groups at thebusiness's own school. It also developed its ownteaching materials for the course (sheets, calcula-tion exercises, circuit diagrams, electrical installa-tions box, etc.) and trainees could undertakepractical exercises in the classroom. This mainlytheoretical programme ran fr. i total of 20evenings and had two prima ;: to impart abasic knowledge of electroni .d to introduceGM-Opel's central injection system, which wasnew at the time. The primary target groupconsisted of the older mechanics (who had leftschool around 15 years before) and who lackedany basic knowledge of electronics, and in manycases were also wary of the new technology. Theaim of the course was to overcome the mechanics'fear and to enable them to solve smaller electron-ics problems themselves, so that they would nothave to bother one or two specialists every time.When the mechanics on the course returned to therepair shop, they received extra supervision for awhile, and an attempt was made to give them asmuch practical experience as possible, for exam-ple, by using them for particular faults or bygetting ihem to detect faults which had beenspecifically built in in advance. Between 1987.and 1991, approximately 60 mechanics from thetwo Opel branches received in-service training inthis way, always in groups of 14-15 mechanics ata time. In 1991, the course came to an end,because the mechanics had received sufficienttraining and the importer and INNOVAM haddeveloped good training in this area.

4.2.2 GM-Opel's training plansAt present, GM-Nederland's provision is thereforefrequently used for in-service training. Since1987, GM-Nederland has commissioned theHA and the DOOR to develop extensive trainingprovision for the management and the technical,commercial cnd administrative personnel of deal-er businesses. Appendix 1 of this report contains asurvey of ele courses in the first half of 1992 togive an impression of the training provision ofthese two institutes. When it comes to technical

training, we find a strikingly large number ofelectrical and electronics courses. There has beena great demand for training in this field at GM inrecent years, to the extent that between 1987 and1991 virtually no more mechanical trainingcourses were given. During this period the GMorganization made great progress in catching up,and the mechanics at the dealers were success-fully trained to the required level in electronics.Since 1991, there has been an increase in

mechanical training courses, and the ratiobetween electronics and mechanical courses hasonce again returned to approximately 50%50%. Roughly three sorts of technical trainingcan be distinguished:

The Opel Electronics Cycle, a basic trainingcourse for the Opel MGtor Vehicle ElectronicsSpecialist certificate. Th's cycle is arronged inmodules and comprises a total of six courses,each lasting two days. It begins with a course inbasic electronics. The subsequent co.,rses coverOpel's various ignition, injection and testingsystems (Ecotronic, Motronic, Mu !tech, Tech-1,etc.) In principle, all Opel mechanics can enrolfor this course, including those with noelectronics training. There are no entrancerequirements for the first course in the cycle.However, there is a test at the end of the firstday to eliminate those who really are notsufficiently motivated or qualified to fol'ow thecourse. The other courses of the cycle aretiered. Each module can be followed only whenthe previous modules have been successfullycompleted. GM advises dealers to ensure thatat least 50% of their mechanics follow thecycle.

Electronics follow-up courses and specialistcourses, modules for various systems whichOpel has introduced over the years. Theseinclude cour;.es for specific electronics systems(interior electronics, chassis electronics) or forspecific parts (gearbox, alarm systems, LPGsystem, etc.). These courses, which also lastone or two days, are usually available only tomore experienced mechanics who have at leastcompleted the electronics cycle.

Introductory training courses for new models.These courses are provided by the TTA incooperation with DOOR; the HA provides thetechnical training (including that for the salespersonnel), and DOOR provides the commer-cial training. The courses are usually given forgroups shortly before the introduction of a newmodel, and the technical part is given at threelevds: for managers, for mechanics who havefollowed the electronics cycle, and for mechan-ics who have not followed the cycle. At the firstlevel, additional emphasis is placed on thetesting equipment, at the second level onelectronic...), and at the third level on matterssuch as brake systems, the exhaust etc.

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All the courses are given at the GM trainingcentre, and from the educational point of view,they usually consist of one day of theoretical andone day of practical training. On the first day,theory is taught by an instructor to the wholegroup, usually consisting of 12 people. He goesthrough the contents of the course book, discussesit, and may apply it to situations and problemswhich are raised by the group. On the secondcloy 4.: -:rmtPnt of the les.on is practised in pairsin exercises in the practice room. In general, thispractical port comprises a whole range ofmeasurement, adjustment and tuning tasks.

The GM provision of courses is flexible, veryvariable and can be easily modified, dependingon needs. Out-of-date courses for which there isno longer any demand are withdrawn, and newcourses are included. The business is able toorganize a new course very quickly given its owncapacity for development. For example, oneimportant new project being developed at themoment is a course for diagnostics specialists. Thiswill probably be a longer course of four or fivedays, aimed at mechanics who have followed theelectronics cycle, and who are often involved indiagnostics activities in the business. It trains themin problem-solving strategies. The importer willendeavour to ensure that at least one employee inevery dealer business follows this course. Inaddition, a course is currently being developedfor training mechanics to use the new Opel testingequipment, which is soon coming onto the market.A third project concerns the development of a newcourse on automatic gearboxes.

The training centre uses different methods to keepup to date with new developments in the field andto identify new training requirements. In thiscontext ar important role is played by the TTA'sservice support group, the department whichsupports dealers in handling technical questionsand problems facing their business. The questionsraised by the dealer businesses are carefullyrecorded by this department, stored in thecomputer and regularly analyzed to identifycommon problems. This information showswhether (extra) training might be needed forparticular parts or systems, and a provision canthen rapidly be developed. Another source ofinformation on training requirements consists ofdata on the use of parts. Again an analysis of thiscan show that there may be skill problems at somelevel (e.g. in the ca...e of the excessive use ofparticular parts), for which a new course must bedeveloped. The dealers themselves are obviouslya third source of information. They can contact thetrainers directly to point out problems withparticular areas of knowledge and trainingrequirements in their businesses. The instructorsin the businesses play a very important role in thisrespect. Finally, the fourth form of input isinformation from the manufacturer. Particularlywhen new models are introduced, there is

frequent contact with -the manufacturer to obtaininformation about the new technology which isapplied, and to determine the form of the trainingcourses in the dealer organization. In most casesthe TTA trainers are themselves trained in the firstinstance by the manufacturer, and then make useof the knowledge so that they can run trainingcourses for Dutch dealer businesses. However, italso happens that the manufacturer contracts outall the training, and that the TTA is contracted todevelop a training programme for the whole Opelorganization, not only in the Netherlands, but alsoin other EC countries, obviously after following acourse of instruction in the parent company. Theorganization of the training content can then bepartly determined by the TTA. In doing this the TTAhas a reasonable possibility of adjusting trainingto national and regional situations. GM does notyet have a centralized European training policy,although it is in the process of developing one.

4.2.3 BMW's training plansOver the years the BMW importer, too, hasdeveloped extensive training provision for its deal-er network. Appendix 2 contains an overview ofthe courses available during the first half of 1993.Basically, the provision consists of two main parts:training courses in ',achnology and repair shoporganization, and commercial training courses. Infact, the overview provides only an idea of thecourses on offer at a particular point in time. Thecomposition of the programmes is not fixed, but isvery flexible and changes depending on require-ments. Like GM, BMW can also generate newcourses quickly whenever new developmentsrequire it, and, as with GM, the new technology isusually covered in new courses, which are thenincorporated in the programme as long as there isa demand from dealer businesses. BMW has alongstanding tradition of training in technology,particularly electronics. It has always been aleading company with regard to the application ofnew electronic technology, and the organizationhas assimilated this new technology more than anyother. Many BMW mechanics are now quite highlyqualified in this field and the emphasis in in-servicetraining currently lies more on follow-up trainingand keeping up to date with new applications, thanon basic training. However, when it is needed,attention is also focused on this.

As regards technological training courses, theBMW training provision has a particular structure:

Basic knowledge is acquired in an ElementaryElectric/Electronic Skills course, which dealswith the basic concepts, basic components,electrical switches, the operation of electricalsystems and the systematic detection of faults.The course lasts 4 days and is open to everymechanic. It is aimed particularly at oldermechanics or younger mechanics with lowervocational training (LBO) who have no knowl-edge of electrics/electronics or have "forgotten

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this to some extent". For a long time thebusiness ran the course itself, but recently it

contracted the training out to INNOVAM,where two course groups are currently follow-ing training. Mechanics completing the courseare awarded INNOVAM's BTE-0 certificateInterest in this basic course has declinedbecause most employees have now hadsufficient basic training.

In addition, there are the courses on varioussystems specific to different makes, for exampleengine management, safety systems (ABS,ASC+T, XIC, airbag, etc.), automatic trans-mission, car audio systems and alarm systems.The courses, on specific BMW technology,usually last 2 days and are intended foremployees who have to work on and withthese systems (fitting, detecting faults, doingrepairs).

Two training programmes are offered forspecialized jobs in the BMW repair shop: forthe BMW Diagnostic Technician and BMWService Technician. These two programmes areboth rather longer, and are open to a limitednumber of employees selected by the dealerand the importer. The two programmes arelinked. In order to become a Service Tech-nician, one must first follow the programme forDiagnosis Technician. We will return to thesetwo functions below.

Einally, there are also the introductory trainingcourses for new models.

The courses are virtually always given centrally atthe BMW training centre, and mainly make use ofcourse materials developed at the centre. In

educational terms, most courses adopt a prob-lem-oriented approach ("we do not train in anacademic way, but are strongly geared towardsparticular problem areas ... the academicapproach is impossible and doesn't work"), withan emphasis on practical exercises. In general, theratio of theory to practice in a course is 30 to 70per cent. Practical tasks are carried out in groupsof 2-3 mechanics. A course group comprises amaximum of 10 people, ensuring that as muchattention as possible is devoted to everyone.Courses in new electronic systems are usuallybased on problems which are closely related tothose confronting mechanics in practice:

What is the system and where is it found? Inwhich models? In which cars?

How does the system work? How is itconstructed? What are the underlying princip-les?

How do you test it? How do you arrive at adiagnosis? What equipment do you use? Whatmethod do you use?

How can you take it apart and put it backtogether?

How can you repair it? How do you adjust andtune it?

As a mechanic, what do you have to be carefulwith, or not touch?

The courses are not so much aimed at increasingthe knowledge of or skills in electronics in order torepair electronic devices, but above all at impart-ing knowledge of electronic applications and skillsto enable mechanics to use testing equipment, tolocate faults quickly, establish the causes of faultsand if necessary replace components. Repair shopdiagnosis (technology, methods) is aimed primari-ly at replacement and not at the repair ofcomponents. Mechanics should be taught primari-ly how they can ascertain which components needto be replaced.

This system of external courses is supplemented bya system of se!f-training with the help of interactivevideo in the dealer businesses, the SIP system.When BMW markets a new technological appli-cation, the manufacturer makes a video tape ofthis which dealer businesses can use for instructingtheir personnel. This instruction is always inter-active. Firstly, mechanics are always given anexplanation of how the system works. This is

followed by a series of questions to test whetherthey have understood the explanation. If theyhave, the tape goes on; if not, the theory has to bestudied again. All in all, a collection of about 120video tapes has been produced over the years,and at least 95 of these are actively used in theNetherlands. New tapes are automatically sent toall the dealers with a short explanation, and use ofthe tapes is mandatory. One employee the SIPinformation employee is appointed in everydealership to manage this system and ensure thatthe tapes are actually used. These employees arein turn supported by the training centre, forexample, at regional evening meetings. Thetraining centre has two reasons for working withthis video system. It enables the whole dealernetwork to be familiarized rapidly with the latestsystems (so that the mechanics know how theywork, how to operate them, how to test them, howto tune them), so that the personnel can answer theclient's questions even before they are fullytrained. Secondly, the video tapes are a goodpreparation for mechanics who are going tofollow courses at the training centre. For everytechnological course the training programmeindicates which SIP tapes must be viewed in

advance to prepare for the course. To give anexample, for the course on safety systems, fivevideo tapes should be studied, dealing respec-tively with Airbag, ABS, EM I, ASC+T and EDC. Atthe start of a course the mechanics are tested withquestions to make sure they have actually view,ldthe tapes. If it becomes clear that they have not,

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they are not permitted to follow the course. Thisform of interactive video training has been used byBMW in the dealer network for 10 15 years. Fora long time, BMW was unique in this respect, butnow other manufacturers have also adopted thesystem.

Appendix 2 contains some additional informationon the content and structure of the BMWDiagnosis Technician and BMW Service Techni-cian training courses. These two programmes arepart of a BMW career course which is structuredas follows:

At the bottom of the ladder there is the ordinarymechanic. This mechanic comes straight fromschool and receives in-service training forspecific BMW technology at all sorts ofBMW-specific courses. A new employee canbecome an all-round BMW mechanic in two tothree years.

After three years of BMW experience andtraining, this all-round mechanic can progressto the first rung: the job of Diagnosis Tech-nician. To do this, the mechanic has to followthe 10-day Diagnosis Technician course. Thecourse concludes with an examination, and themechanic receives a certificate recognizedthroughout the BMW organization. The newDiagnoss Technician agrees to tcke follow-oncourses after the basic training.

After working as a Diagnosis Technician for 18months, he can progress to the second rung:the job of BMW Service Technician. For this themechanic follows the 8-day Service Techn'ciantraining courses in which he is initiated into anumber of specific, less common electronicsystems (e.g., bodywork electronics, electron-ics for seats, mirrors, etc). In addition, hecompletes sections on repair shop organ'zationand customer relations. The Service Technicianis the "super mechanic" in the BMW organiza-tion. He is not only a specialist in more difficultrepairs, but can also act as a troubleshooterand as the "super-technical" right hand of therepair shop manager. In many dealerships hereplaces the manager when he is absent. Thistraining also concludes with a certificaterecognised throughout the BMW organization.

The importer advises every dealer to train at leastone Diagnosis and Service Technician. In princi-ple, the courses are open to mechanics with anypreliminary training, and both employees with anintermediate technical school education and thosewith a good lower technical school education canparticipate. The determining factor for admissionto the career programme is not the mechanic'spreliminary training, but the actual capabilitiesthat he has demonstrated in the business ("Whathe can do and what he's like"). The dealer and theimporter's area manager decide in close consulta-

tion who will follow the training courses. Thedealer has the final decision on the matter.Currently most dealer businesses employ one ormore specialized technicians, but they are alsofaced with o high turnover rate in this group.Specialist BMW mechanics are highly valued inthe motor vehicle sector and there is a greatdemand for them in the labour market. TheDiagnosis Technicians in particular often changejobs, whilst the turnover rate is lower amongstService Technicians. The latter often have astronger commitment to the BMW organization,and in many cases also work in management andorganization. As such they often have a higherstatus in the business.

The BMW training provision is also very flexibleand the provision of technical courses for specificmakes is constantly updated and adapted to thedevelopments and requirements of the market. Ingeneral, the provision includes between 12 and20 different sorts of courses. Recently, new courseshave been developed for Modic and the Modicloading station, and for a new type of electron-ically regulated diesel engine. In order to identifythe need for new courses, the tro:ming centre usesinformation from different sources. In the firstplace, it obvionisly consults information from themanufacturer about new models, new types ofengines, new regulating systems and so on, sothat it can respond promptly to the latest develop-ments with new training provision. In addition, thecentre accurately records and analyses actualparticipation in existing courses. This reveals anygaps which may exist between demand andsupply and which require an expansion of theexisting provision or perhaps a new provision.Furthermore, technical information is provided bythe department which records the work carried outunder warranty. An analysis of this work underwarranty can also give indications of possiblegaps in the knowledge of dealer businesses.Finally, it is worth noting the important roleplayed by external technical depar ment areamanagers in in-service training. These areamanagers, who are employed by the importer,form a sort of liaison between the training centreand the dealer businesses in a particular area,and in this capacity they have various usefulfunctions. They can stimulate and 'advise dealersand alert them to the existence of new courses.They can discuss training policy with the dealersand help to decide which employees can followwhich training programmes. They can reprimanddealers for a relatively low participation incourses. They can deal with any questions thedealers may have after the courses and supervisethe follow-up in the business. They can identifygaps in knowledge and training requirements atthe dealers, and pass these on to the trainingcentre. This information can also be used foradapting existing courses or developing newones. The importer is quite satisfied with the wayin which this system functions in practice.

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4.3 The employees' training activities

4.3.1 Training activities in the OpelcompaniesThe actual use which the dealers make of theimporter's training provision is determined in partby the arrangements made on this matter in the

contracts between dealers and importers. In theGM organization the training of dealer personnelis regulated globally. The dealer contract containsa provision on this, but the importer does not makethe training courses compulsory. GM adopts anopen approach and the dealers can enrol

mechanics themselves. Every six months the

training centre sends the dealers a coursecatalogue describing the (new) courses andincluding enrolment forms. In addition, the train-ing centre uses a sort of call-up system. It keeps its

own record of people following courses, cal efullyrecording which employee from which businesshas followed which courses. Every new employeeenrolling for a course is entered in this record andif he is enrolled for a programme, for example theelectronics cycle, he is automatically called upfor follow-up modules and repeat courses aftercompleting the first course. Dealers are expectedto pass on information on new appointments and

on internal transfers, for example from the repairshop to stores, so that the employees concernedcan be called up for a different training cycle. Ifemployees who are enrolled for a course leave thebusiness, or if the dealer does not consider anyfurther training to be necessary, the training centreis informed of this. Following consultation, thoseinvolved may then be removed from the call-upsystem. Every dealer receives a survey every yearof the courses followed by his employees at thetraining centre during that year. The employeesthemselves receive a GM training passport, adocument authorized by the importer whichrecords their whole training career. The passportrecords every new course that is followed giving ashcrt explanation and stamped by the importer.Employees can use this passport to show whichspecific qualifications they have gained in addi-tion to their normal education.

This system enables the importer to put a certainamount of pressure both on the dealer and hisemployees to participate in in-service training ona regular basis. There are no real sanctions onfailing to participate fully, but certain steps aretaken. If a dealer enrols too few people for in-service training, the dealer involved is alerted andhe is advised to show more initiative. Dealers whostill continue to respond inadequately run the riskof losing the benefit of the importer's supportfacilities and being unable to avail themselves ofthe importer's service support group in the cuse ofproblems of a technical nature.

The business that was studied also actively partici-pates in the GM system. On average theemployees

in the Opel garages currently follow 4-6 days of in-

service training per year with the importer. Every

year at least 40 employees participate in the in-service training. Some of this involves trainingcourses from the electronic cycle, but more oftenemployees take courses in special technology and,more recently, courses related to the introduction ofnew models (Opel Corsa). The courses are followedby all sorts of groups of personnel. Three separategroups of employees were sent to a recent Corsa

introductory training course:

a group of mechanics who have followed theelectronics cycle and do a great deal ofelectronics work;

a group of mechanics who are mainly involvedwith mechanical work and are not following theelectronics cycle, but who have still been

enrolled by the business "to try and overcomethe fear of new electronics to some extent" and"to motivate them a little";

the repair shop managers and receptionists forwhom a separate course was developed with agreater emphosis on the testing equipment.

It was stated above that the in-service training forOpel mechanics is currently at a slightly lowerlevel than between 1987 and 1989. At that timethe employees received an average of 11-12days' training per year. However, this was aimedat helping the personnel to catch up on their lackof knowledge in the field of electronics, and to alarge extent the business ran these courses itself.Following this catching-up operation, it waspossible to gradually decrease the number oftraining days.

Every branch decides for itself which employeeswill be enrolled for the electronics cycle, usuallyfollowing mutual consultation between the repairshop manager, instructor/training coo..dinatorand the employee concerned. In most cases theseare new employees who have been working in thebusiness for some time and who are in some casesstill following their training as a mechanic, but at acertain point need a basic knowledge of electron-ics, for example, because they ore going to use aparticular piece of testing equipment. Theseenrolments are always accepted by the trainingcentre. There are no specific preliminary ortraining requirements, though a test is given atthe training centre akar the first day of the courseto determine whether those involved have suffi-

cient aptitude and are adequately motivated tocomplete the course.

4.3.2 Training activities in the BMWcompaniesIn the BMW organization in-service training has amuch more compulsory character than in the GM .organization. The BMW importer requires all itsdealers to ensure that every mechanic attends thetraining centre at least four times a year. Mechan-

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ics have a compulsory minimum of five days in-service training per year. For supervisory pe-son-nel and managers there is a compulsory minimumof 2.5 days per year. In addition, every mechonicmust spend a minimum of 12 hours a yearstudying tapes from the interactive video system.Every new employee in a BMW business mustfollow the 4-day BMW introductory training. Allthese obligations are contained in the dealercontract between the dealer and the importer andfailure to observe the contract provisions can leadto stringent sanctions. The BMW organization hasa sort of bonus arrangement which entails thatdealer businesses who have "done their workwell" can count on a financial incentive. Whetheror not they have achieved the minimum number oftraining days, a fact which is screened by theimporter's service managers, is one of the factorswhich to o large extent helps determine whether ornot the bonus is awarded. The training participa-tion of the various businesses is carefully recordedby the importer. Dealers who have a relatively lowparticipation are immediately cautioned by themanager responsible for their area.

The business receives an updated training catalog-ue from the BMW importer every six months,describing the provision and containing enrolmentforms. The repair shop managers in the BMWgarages then make a selection and, in consulta-tion with the training coordinator, decide whichemployees will attend the various courses duringthe following six months. They review whichcourses employees have already foliowed, wherethe interests of the mechanics lie, and what n aybe necessary in view of developments in the ypeof work coming in. The enrolments are then r ladeon the basis of these considerations. Mechanicscon also state their own preferences, and canenrol for more training days than the compulso:ynumber. However, if a mechanic exceeds his fivedays, the business does ask him to give up someAN days, that is, the extra free days to which he isentitled on the basis of a collective agreement onthe reduction of working hours in the sector. Ingeneral, the two BMW branches of the businessdo use up the number of training days; in recentyears mechanics have followed an overage of 5-6 days of in-service training per year with theBMW importer. Altogether this has involved some20 employees, in addition, several employeeshave followed courses for specific technology,e.g., an LPG system installation course with thesupplier of motor vehicle gas systems.

The business studied here makes frequent use ofthe video training system. It is managed by thetraining coordinator, and new tapes can beviewed at the business's own school. In the pastthe training coordinator used to draw up atimetable for this video training, but this did notwork in practice, and now it is left to themechanics themselves - at least in the largeBMW branch - when they wish to watch

particular tapes. The training coordinator tellseveryone who has enrolled for a course whichtapes he must study to prepare for the course. Adifferent system is used for the mechanics in thesmaller BMW branch. For these employees thereare weekly group meetings (5-6 employees)during the winter months. These are held in theclassroom and are led by the training coordinator.New videotapes are watched, and any questionsor problems which arise are discussed. Accordingto the training coordinator, these meetings, whichtake place in the evering on a voluntary basis, arewell attended.

At present there are one diagnosis and oneservice technician employed in the large BMWbranch. In addition, one other employee wasrecently enrolled for the diagnosis techniciantraining because the business did not want to beentirely dependent on one employee. The repairshop manager decided who should be chosen forthis. Recently the two longest-serving mechanicsfrom the smaller BMW branch were also enrolled,at their own initiative, following consultation withBMW's service manager. In the businesses thesespecialized technicians are used more often thanother employees tor fault detection. This forms thecore of the training. These technicians' productknowledge is greater than that of the othermechanics. In addition, they more often workdirectly with the customer,

4.3.3 Evaluation of the employeequestionnaireIn order to gain greater insight into training, andthe participation of personnel in the last 5-6years, a random sample of employees in the Opeland BMW businesses was given a writtenquestionnaire which asked them to indicate whichin-service training courses they had taken be-tween 1987 and 1992, which subjects had been,:Lealt with, how long the courses had lasted,whether they had taken place in or outsideworking hours, where they had taken place, andwhether they had concluded with a certificate. Thequestionnaire also included a certain number ofpersonal questions and questions relating to thejob (age, preliminary training, duration of employ-ment, position in the business).

Altogether 19 employees completed the question-naire, 9 from the large Opel business, 8 from thesmaller Opel business, and 2 from the large BMWbusiness They were all technical personnel.

A few other facts about the group are givenbelow:

3 employees were under 20, 5 between 20and 30, 6 between 30 and 40, 5 between 40and 50; there was no one over 50;

15 out of the 19 had followed an apprentice-ship training for mechanic or chief mechanic,

two employees who were still apprentices had

a lower vocational education (LBO), whilst Iwoother apprentices had a lower general second-ary education (MAVO);

most had been employed for a long time: 7

between 10 and 20 years; 4 even longer than20 years; 8 employees had been employedless than 10 years, 2 of these less than 1 year;

the group reflected a variety of fobs; 3 wereapprentice mechanics, 4 were mechanics and5 were chief mechanics. There was also 1

commercial vehicle mechanic and 1 LPG

techniciun. There were 5 people in manage-ment positions: 1 receptionist, 1 service tech-nician from the BMW business, 1 foreman froman Opel business, and 2 repair shop man-agers.

Without claiming that it is representative, it is

possible to state that the composition of the groupis a reasonable reflection of all the personnel inthe business.

A study of the courses followed shows that thelarge majority of these were technical in-servicetraining courses, mainly in the field of motorvehicle electronics. Altogether the 17 mechanicswho completed the questionnaire (not counting therepair shop managers) had followed 114 in-service training courses, of which only 5 wereconcerned purely with mechanical activities. Theother courses manly dealt with electronics, or hada significant electronics component. Most employ-ees followed a similar programme, though thechief mechanics in general followed more courses,as well as a greater variety, than the ordinarymechanics. The most common courses in the postfew years include: Opel Basic Electronics, DigitalInjection Systems, Electronic Measurement Tech-nology, Motronic Repetition, Ecotronic Petrol

Injection Systems, and various introductory train.ing courses, e.g., for the Opel Astra and the OpelVectra. Most courses were 2-day courses put onby the GM training institute, which could virtuallyall be followed in working hours. With oneexception, the apprentice mechanics did not

mention any in-service training courses. In thepast few years they have concentrated on theirvocational training. Altogether the 19 employeeswho participated in the qoestionnaire spent 283days training between 1987 and 1992; thisworks out at an average of slightly more than 15days per person. This does not actually include thetime which some employees have spent on thetraining provided by the business itself (40evenings spread over 2 years) and the time whichthe apprentices and some of the managementemployees have spent on their vocational trainingover several years.

Some employees, mainly management personnel,reported higher than average training activity. We

studied these employees separately to give anindication of the training efforts required forpursuing a career programme:

Following his lower technical education (LTS) inmotor vehicle technology, the service tech-nician, who is also the foreman in the BMWbusiness (aged 33), first followed INNOVAM'straining for chief mechanic after enteringemployment in the business. Between 1986and 1988, he took a number of in-servicetraining courses in BMW technology. In 1990/1991 he followed BMW's Service Techniciantraining, as well as several ,-.oppiementarycourses in repair shop management. In

1992/1993 he took part in BMW's trainingfcr engine management and electrical systems;

After leaving school, the repair shop managerin the smaller Opel business (aged 35) firstfollowed INNOVAM's training for chief me-chanic. Between 1985 and 1988 he followedvarious vocational training courses in the

electrical area: a written basic electrotechnicalcourse at a private training institute andINNOVAM's two-year vocational trainingcourse for Chief Motor Vehicle Electrician. Inaddition, he was awarded INNOVAM's LPGtechnician diploma in 1990 and the MotorVehicle Business diploma in 199' . Further-

more, during the years 1990-1992 hefrequently took part in the GM traininginstitute's in-service training courses, totallingapproximately 20 days.

The repair shop manager of the larger Opelbranch (aged 29) has also had a considerableamount of training. After lower general second-ary school (MAVO) he took INNOVAM'svocational training course for chief mechanicfrom 1980 to 1985. In 1987 he followed aone-year written course in electronics at aprivate institute. Between 1990 and 1992 hefollowed INNOVAM's three-year TechnicalManagement training course, and was award-ed the diploma. He has also taken 17 in-service training courses at the GM institutesince 1987, mostly 2-day courses in electron-ics. Apart from his vocational training he alsohad 31 days of in-service training during thisperiod.

This information shows that a great deal of in-service training has been undertaken nt everylevel of the business, and that the management inparticular has achieved a broad range ofqualifications in the past few years.

4.4 Costs of continuing vocationaltrainingFor both GM-Opel and BMW the in-servicetraining courses at the importer's training centreare at the importer's expense: Any travelling andaccommodat:on expenses must be paid by the

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dealer business. In addition, the dealers obviouslyface costs resulting from loss of working hours. Inthe business studied here, fo; the Opel garagesthese costs have amounted over the past few yearsto an average of: 40 employees with an averageof 6 days' training at NLG 85 per day = NLG20,400, and for the BMW garages: 20 employ-ees with an average of 5 days' training at NLG 85per day = NLG 8,500. In addition, there areusually also the costs of renting a car because oneof the business's cars is used for travelling to thecourse, i.e. 340 x NLG 40 per day = NLGI 3,600.

The business receives a reimbursement from thesector's training fund for one day of trainingleave per year for every employee. In total thisinvolves approximately 180 employees. There-fore in principle every employee can claim onetraining day, but not all the employees takeadvantage of this right every year. Mechanicstake on overage more than one day's training ayear and require significantly more days oftraining than, for example, administrative person-nel. Thus in fact they use up part of the rights ofother employees. In order to prevent the ratiofrom becoming too disproportionate, the businesshas therefore determined that mechanics whowish to follow more than 5 days' training peryear must make their own contribution to thecosts in the form of using ATV days for thetraining. The number of extra days (over 5) thatthey follow training is deducted from the numberof their AD/ days. The business has hod thisarrangement for a long time and it has rarely ledto any problems in practice.

4.5 Participation of social partners andtrade unionsAs a company with more than 100 employees, thebusiness has a legal obligation to establish aworks council (which is co-responsible for promot-ing the personnel's interests). The works councilfunctions as a sort of "social partner" for theemployer at company level. (For more informationon the works council and Dutch participationlegislation, the reader is referred to the SectoralStudy.) The business concerned here has compliedwith the obligation by establishing a central workscouncil at the level of the management company.This central works council comprises 8 people,and is composed in such a way that every branchhas at least one representative, and that the rest ofthe members are distributed according to the sizeof the branch: the largest branch therefore has themost members. The training coordinator is at thesame time the administrative secretary of theworks council.

The central works council has discussions with theboard of directors of the management company,aLcording to a fixed schedule, once every twomonths All sorts of subjects relating to personnel

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matters can come up in these discussions. This is afield in which the central works council has a rightof participation. Up to now, the subject of in-service training has hardly come up in the centralworks council and its discussions because therehas been very little reason for this, according tothe council's secretary: "It is not a point which thecentral works council has to consider. There isenough training available. There is good provi-sion, there are good facilities, there are noproblems, and you don't hear any complaintsfrom employees. There has never been any reasonfor bringing it up in the discussions." A subject thatdoes come up in the discussions of the centralworks council is policy with regard to therecruitment and training of apprentices. Thecentral works council is vigilant, particularly withregard to items such as the supervision ofapprentices and the selection of apprentices iorvacancies after their training. The central workscouncil has not proposed a training policy plan ora specific training agreement, both matters inwhich it would have a right to participate. It hasnever asked for these, though it is currentlyworking on describing the training function inmore detail (structure, tasks, training coordinator),and probably a sort of training plan will bedeveloped eventually. This will also be discussedby the central works council. At the moment thetraining coordinator has too little time to study thissystematically.

The business has no official trade union represen-tative. Several employees are trade union mem-bers - the training coordinator himself is amember of the FNV industrial union but on thewhole, the degree of organization is very low.Insofar as the trade union organizations areinvolved in the training policy, this is not so muchat company level, but rather at sectoral level. It isespecially through their representatives in thesector's training foundation, the OOMT, that thetrade unions organizations can exert an influenceon training policy and training practice in thesector. (For more information on this, see theSectoral Study.)

5. Evaluation of the training concepts

5.1 Good practice versus normalpracticeTo summarize, it may be said that the businessstudied here can certainly be described as a goodexample of a company that is active in the field oftraining It has a clear policy on training and inservice training, there is a specially appointedtraining manager, there are good internal provi-sions and facilities for training and in-servicetraining (the business's own school), the annualnumber of days' training of most employees is, onaverage, fairly high, all categories of personnelreceive a reasonable amount of in-service train-inq, the business has access to good externol

provisions for in-service training in the form of theimporters' training programmes, and it can offeremployees reasonable career prospects, forexample, via the career-oriented training pro-grammes within the GM-Opel and BMW importerorganizations.

Various matters examined above are relevant fromthe point of view of the possibility of transfers toother businesses, including busInesses abroad:

the business's training strategy and the pro-gramme it has developed for providing newemployees with good basic qualifications;

the structure, equipment and organization ofthe business's own school and, closely relatedto this, the organisation of training within thebusiness;

the in-service training programmes developedby the business to provide mechanicsparticularly older mechanics with fewer quali-fications in modern technology with a basicknowledge of electronics;

the importers' in-service training programmesto which the business has access, particularlytheir structure and organization, and theeducational methods and materials which areused;

the way in which an attempt is made,particularly in the BMW programmes, to relateexternal training to internal training and formsof self-training;

the procedures and programmes developed,particularly in the BMW organization, to give aselected group of mechanics the possibility ofpromotion to specialist jobs at r level betweenmanagement and regular shop floor personnel;

the procedures used by importers to identifynew training requirements and deficiencies inthe existing training provision,

the support which the importers offer for thepersonnel of their dealer businesses, and towhich, once they are back in their businesses,they can always turn when they have questionsor problems;

the way in which relations between importersand dealers are organized, and in which therole of the importers' service managers deserves particular attention.

All this emanates from the basic idea on which thetraining efforts of both the dealer and the importerare based, the idea that in a saturated motorvehicle market the quality of repair shop servicewill become an increasingly important instrumentfor gaining competitive advantage.

5.2 Future requirements of continuingvocation& trainingThe concept of the quality of service is currentlygaining ground in the business, and in the nextfew years the in-service training of personnel willcontinue to be an important focus of attention forthe business. Training efforts will probably befurther stimulated by a quality project currentlybeing developed, which is aimed at the businessobtaining a quality certification to the ISO-9000standard in the near future. The effect of thisproject is that the whole organization is examinedfor quality aspects, internal procedures and work-ing methods are described more clearly andstreamlined, and a quality handbook is beingdeveloped for employees. This project couldpossibly generate an extra demand for thetraining of management and administrative per-sonnel. It is expected that the in-service training oftechnical personnel will remain at approximatelythe same level for the next few years. This is

evident at BMW, where there is a compulsoryminimum of 5 days' training per mechanic peryear. However, it is expected that the same level oftraining will also be achieved in the next few yearsin the Opel branches, even without a strict trainingobligation.

As regards the (importers') in-service trainingprovision, the business considers that the existingprovision is reasonably adequate. However, thebusiness has recently informed the importers of theneed for developing a special training course forinstructors, i.e. those who are involved withtraining and courses and with the supervision ofapprentices and employees taking courses withinthe dealer businesses. This course should provideinstructors with a package enabling them toprepare apprentices or mechanics back at theirbusinesses before sending them off on a course atthe importers'. This would ensure that mechanicsattain a certain basic level before following theimporters' training programme. In terms of contentthe course should be aimed at the basic aspects ofthe particular make of cor and the basic knowl-edge of technology specific to that make.

6. Conclusions on good practice andnormal practiceAn overall survey of the situation described in thiscase study shows that this is a business which ismore active than average in training. The businesshas developed a clear attitude towards trainingand in-service training, in which a policy aimed atthe broad qualification of new employees bymeans of vocational training and internal trainingin the business is coupled with a policy aimed atongoing in-service training of permanent employ-ees In this policy attention is devoted not only tohigher qualified mechanics and chief mechanics(although these do participate most in in-servicetraining), but also to employees, in many casesolder employees, with fewer basic qualifications,who find it more difficult to keep up with ail sorts of

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new developments and are assigned to the moretraditional activities in the business (maintenance,mechanical rejoairs). It is particularly for theseemployees that the business has developed its ownprovision responding to the developments in thetype of work coming in and anticipating theimporters' initiatives. This self-training system isalso used in a creative way to help employeeswho are relatively behind in terms of training tocatch up, before taking the importers' trainingprogrammes.

In addition, the business has a training provisionwhich is fairly unique by Dutch standards, in theform of its own school in the business, and aninternal training manager. These provisions havealso contributed to the number of days training ofthe (technical) personnel being higher thanaverage. In this respect the training-orientedattitude at the top of the company is alsoimportant. The managing director is closelyinvolved in training matters, not only in his ownbusiness, but also in the sector as a whole.Amongst other things, he is a board member ofthe OOMT, the sector's training fund.

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The business has the advantage that for in-servicetraining it can cooperate closely with twoimporters who have very well-equipped trainingfacilities. Both GM-Opel and BMW provide acarefully thought-out, well structured, flexible andadaptable training programme, comprisingcourses which are directly geared to the specificproblems confronting mechanics in their work andmaking use of all sorts of modern educationalresources and methods. In addition, both organi-zations have developed longer programmes forextra career gr,wth which allow mechanics toqualify for higher jobs in the dealer businesses.Moreover, the links between the training centresand the dealers in the form of the importers'service managers/area managers provide anextra stimulus for both the general manager andfor the management and employees on the shopfloor. As links between the training centre and thedealer businesses, these external personnel ensurethat there is constant reciprocal input. On the onehand, they inform dealers about new courses, anddiscuss training policy and training practice, whileon the other, they inform the training centre of newrequirements and of any gaps there may be in theexisting provision.

APPENDIX 1

General Motors' training programme(1st half 1992)

DirectorsDirectors "Tank-up" seminarsSecond-hand car "Tcnk-up" marketing seminarL C.V. Marketing (light commercial vehicles)Senator saies trainingQuality network in the GM dealer business

The organizationC.S.I. Do-it-yourself packageSmall steps to progressIntroduction to the year's new models

ManagementIntroduction to the year's new modelsService management I + IIParts management I + IISales management I + II

In-depth trainingSelection discussionsTeam buildingConflict managementPresentationNegotiationProblem analysisFinancial knowledge for non-administrators

Repair shop techniciansThe electronics cycle

Opel basic electronicsElectronic ignition systemsElectronic injection systemsDigital petrol injection systems, Part I + IIElectronic measurement techniques

Electronics follow-up coursesChassis electronicsInterior electronics I + II

Isuzu basic cycleTrooper technical trainingCampo technical trainingMidi technical training

Introductory trainingAstra generalAstra electronics

Additional training for repair shop techniciansOpel innovation for techniciansNew Opel .echnicians

LPG TrainingOpel LPG theoryOpel LPG installationOpel LPG practical repeat courseb

Specialist training coursesAutomatic gearboxesOpel alarm systemsOpel/Isuzu diesel specialist

Bodywork training coursesPreparatory work and spraying parts made withsynthetic materialsPreparatory techniquesPaint spraying techniques

AdministrationWarranty claim administrationD.C.S. (Dealer Communication System) trainingThe financial manager I + IICooperating to succeedRelating to customers

Service receptionistIntroduction to the year's new modelsAstra technical trainingThe Elite service receptionist I + II

The store and the Opel ..:.hopIntroduction store employeeSpare parts specialistRelating to customersCooperating to succeedComplaints are opportunities

The telephoneTalking to clients on the telephoneGO: Making appointments by telephone

The sales growth programmeOpel introductory trainingIntroduction to the year's new modelsProduct sales training L.C.V.Product sales training GMACProduct sales training fleet & leaseSales skills trainingProfessional salesmanPresentation/demonstrationGO: Client managementNegotiationClient-oriented tendersSales at the entrepreneurial level

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APPENDIX 2

BMW's training programme (1st half1993)

Technical development training programmeElementary BMW knowledgeModic and Modic loading stationEngine managementDiesel engine M51 td/tdsElectrical systemsBMW diagnosticsSafety systemsBMW diagnostic technicianBMW diagnostic technician continuedBMW service technicianInstallation of accessories (car audio/alarmsystems)Automatic transmissionGearboxesElementary electro/electronic knowledgeInstallation of bodywork components (doors,bonnet, sliding roof, etc.)P-system and timesheets elementary know-ledgeRepair shop quality and client-oriented be-haviour, continuedProductivity control repair shopRepair shop managementGuarantee procedureSIP Information employee

Commercial training programmeExecutiveFinanceCommunicationBusiness acquisitionFamliarization with BMWProducts, generalSpare parts and accessories

BMW diagnosis technicianIntended for: a suitable employee who will

be invited to take this course, inconsultation with the dealer andthe TD area manager

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Subjects:

elementary knowledge of electronicsuse of test manualsengine managementuse of modiccoding regulating unitsdiagnosisplace of the diagnosis technician in the repairshoppractical exercisefinuI diploma examination

Duration: 10 days, subdivided into 2 blocksof 3 days and 2 blocks of 2 days

BMW diagnosis technician continuedIntended for: mechanics who are diagnosis

technicians and have to keepup to date in this field

Subjects: These are always related to the latesttechnical developments and changes in the BMWprogramme.

Duration: 2 days

BMW service technicianIntended for: a suitable employee who will

be invited to take this course, inconsultation with the dealer andthe TD area manager

Subjects:

construction of BMW enginesengine managementelectrical systemspower steering systemsanti-blocking system, ASC, MSRheating and ventilation systemsplace of the service technician in the repairshopcommercial approach and customer relationsfinal diploma examination

Duration: 6 days, in blocks of 3 days

TRENDS

PART 3:

\*1. Introduction

2. Trends in the economy,employment and training

3. Normal and good practice

4. Aspects of the social dialogueon training

5. Perspectives

Bibliography

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1. INTRODUCTION

In this third and concluding part of the report wewill formulate the most important conclusions ofour study of the sector and of individual businesseswithin it. We do so on the basis of guidelinespresented by the team coordinating the Europeanstudy to the writers of the studies carried out invarious countries. We begin with a short survey ofthe most important developments in the economy,employment and training which have emergedfrom the sectoral study. Then we evaluate how thebusinesses studied are doing in the light of thesedevelopments, devoting particular attention to thegood practices" which they have developed, and

which could serve as an example to otherbusinesses, including those outside the Nether-lands. Following this evaluation we discuss anumber of problems related to training and in-service training, including specific problem areasconcerning the six dimensions of the "socialdialogue": training plans, needs analysis, targetgroups of training, training philosophy, trainingcosts and cost evaluation. Finally, the develop-ments in employment, training needs and trainingprovision are examined in perspective and aprognosis is given for the future on a number ofpoints.

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2. TRENDS IN THE ECONOMY, EMPLOYMENTAND TRAINING

2.1 The economyFollowing a marked growth in the 1970s and aslight decline in the early 1980s, the Dutch motorvehicle repair and sales sector is now in the early1990s stagnating from a commercial point ofview. The sector is faced with a saturated marketand falling car sales. The number of cars on theroad is still growing, but clearly at a slower ratethan in the late 1980s. Demand for replacementvehicles is coming under pressure as a result of theextended life of the average car. The increase inthe number of motor vehicle businesses, whichwas significant until recently, is gradually declin-ing and the growth in employment available willalso gradually decrease in the next few years.There has been a considerable increase incompetition in the sector in recent years. Theprofitability of motor vehicle businesses, alreadyfairly low at an average of 2 per cent, is underconsiderable pressure. As a result of falling profitmargins on sales, it is above all the repair shopswhich will make a more important contribution toprofits in the coming years.

In the last 10 years a number of new marketplayers have been successful in this sector. In thefirst place, there are "specialists", motor vehiclebusinesses which concentrate on special aspectsof work such as exhausts, batteries, tyres andshock absorbers, or bodywork and damagerepair work. In general these specialists can workmore cheaply, and they are a direct threat togeneral motor vehicle businesses. In the past fewyears they have managed to attract a significantsection of the market, although they are currentlysurrendering some of these gains because thegeneral businesses are making desperate attemptsto attract the specialist work back again. In thesecond place, leasing companies are emerging.This actually implies a concentration of purchasingpower in the hands of a limited number of marketplayers (fleet owners), and this development couldalso weaken the position of motor vehiclebusinesses. Importers and their dealer organiza-tions are traditionally the most important players inthe Dutch motor vehicle sector and will continue tobe so for the time being. It is possible that theimportance of importers will eventually diminishslightly with the establishment of the Single Marketand that there will be more direct links betweendealers and producers. This could increme theindependence of dealer businesses vis-à-vis theirimporters' organizations.

2.2 EmploymentIn terms of numbers, there has been a significantgrowth in employment in the motor vehicle repairand sales sector in the last decade. The economicboom in the second half of the 1980s and therelated increase in prosperity have also had apositive effect on the rnotor vehicle sector. This ledto a significant rise in the number of jobs,particularly in smaller general motor vehiclebusinesses. A levelling-off is expected in the next

few years, particularly as a result of falling carsales, technological innovations, an improvementin the quality of cars, the reduction in the numberof repair shop hours (less maintenance, longerperiods between services) and an increase in theproductivity of businesses. It is, however, conceiv-able that the new environmental legislationcurrently being drafted will have some positiveeffects on the employment situation.

In qualitative terms the work situation, i.e., thework in the sales locations and the repair shops, islargely determined by developments in technologyand in the market. In the technological field,developments have speeded up in the Nether-lands since the second half of the 1980s. This canbe ascribed above all to the increasingly intensiveuse of micro-electronics and computer technologyin the cars themselves, in repair shop equipment(measurement and testing equipment) and in thesupporting jobs in sales, stores and administration(logistic and office computerization). In thecommercial field new market trends are import-ant: the improvement in the quality of the cars onthe road, the saturation of the market and therelated increase in competition, changes inconsumer patterns and the demand for cars inthe private sector (greater differentiation, moresecond-hand cars), more critical consumers, alsoregarding services and repair work in the repairshop and the introduction of new sales conceptssuch as, for example, the concept of the "modularcar".

The new developments in the technological andcommercial fields have resulted in changes in thework coming in and the content of jobs in sales,stores and the repair shop. The changes in themechanic's job are summarized in the slogan:"from mechanical testing to diagnosis", as for-mulated by INNOVAM, the sector's traininginstitute. In addition to doing mechanical tasks,mechanics will have in future to carry out anincreasing number of electronics jobs and willhave to gain new qualifications for this (aknowledge of electrics/electronics, an under-standing of systems). In the sector this is clearlyviewed as upgrading the mechanic's work (to thepresent level of chief mechanic) and it wasrecently decided to stop using the term "carmechanic" to describe the job and replace it bythe term "car technician". The changes in the jobof salesman are characterized by a move awayfrom "salesman to advisor". In view of theincreasing complexity of motor vehicle technol-ogy, salesmen will also need more and more basicknowledge of technology to enable them to givecustomers good advice when choosing a car.

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The job structure in motor vehicle businesses wasstable for a long time but in recent years newspecialist technical jobs have been created in thelarger dealer organizations as a result of therevolution in electronics Some of these jobs are at

a higher level than that of chief mechanic. Thesespecialist jobs in many cases for specialist areasin electrics/electronics are linked to specificmakes and are accessible only through the

training programmes of specific makes whichare held at the training centres of the importersconcerned. Examples of these obs or informalprofessions include BMW's Service Technicianand Toyota's High Tech Master Technician.

As a result of the increased job requirements andqualifications required, it has become more difficultfor many motor vehicle businesses to find suitablepersonnel in the labour market. The traditionalsource of recruitment, young persons with LBO(lower vocational training), is no longer consid-ered to be of a sufficiently high standard,particularly by the larger dealer businesses.Although the sector is actively engaged in tryingto raise the standard of vocational training in theeducation system, many of the larger businessesstill seem to prefer recruiting employees from othergroups in the labour market, particularly youngpersons with an MBO (intermediate vocational)training, and in general from other groups withsome further education. Given the likelihood of aninadequate supply of school-leavers with LBO inthe future, the sector is also making all sorts ofattempts to attract other target groups to the motorvehicle business. In recent years these haveincluded special recruitment campaigns andtraining projects for "disadvantaged" groups: thelong-term unemployed, women and immigrants.

2.3 TrainingNot surprisingly, the developments outlined abovehave also left their mark on the sector's trainingand in-service training policy. In recent years thesector has attempted to develop a trainingstructure adapted to the new requirements byintroducing all sorts of new initiatives. In thisrespect it has benefited from a number of newdevelopments in Dutch legislation on educationwhich are aimed at making the system moreflexible and liberal. In particular, new regulationsrelating to vocational training offer more possibil-ities for cooperation between public and privatetraining institutes and between schools andindustry. The new legislation has also stimulateda greater commitment from both sides of industryto vocational training, vocational training coursesand in-service courses.

In the motor vehicle sector this increased commit-ment of the sociol partners is reflected, inter alia,in a number of special arrangements in the area oftraining within the sector's collective labouragreement (CA0). In this CAO, employers andemployees decided to set up a special trainingfund for the sector, with contributions from anannual levy on the salaries of the affiliatedbusinesses, in order to finance a special arrange-ment for training leave. Under this agreement abusiness can receive subsidies for a number ot

training days per year, equal to the number of itsemployees on the first of January. In other wordsevery employee is entitled to one day's paid leavefor training per year.

Partly in response to developments in the busi-nesses, the employment situation, jobs and thelabour market, and partly quite independently ofthese factors, there have been some importantdevelopments in the sector's training structure andpolicy since 1987:

the social partners have been assigned a muchmore central role in policy development; forexample, employers and employees are to-gether responsible for the management of the00MT, the training fund, which is at the sametime the most important policy-making body inthe sector;

the sector's vocational training institute hasbeen transformed into a new innovation andtraining centre (INNOVAM), which is respon-sible, inter alia, for coordinating the entiretraining and in-service training policy in thesector;

a new system of training planning has beenintroduced, with a new, up-to-date, three-yeartraining plan for the sector drawn up everyyear;

a new training system for the sector has beendeveloped which has the effect of improvingthe coordination of the qualification structureand course programmes in both the main-stream vocational education system and theapprenticeship system;

plans and arrangements have been made toensure better coordination between trainingprovided by schools and vocational traininginstitutions and that provided by importers;

the vocational training programmes have beendivided into modules allowing for a greaterflexibility of the programmes, and enablingvocational training institutes to offer morecustom-made and contract training program-mes;

a number of Regional Practical TrainingCentres have been opened so that the trainingcan be given closer to the businesses.

With these measures, the motor vehicle sector hoscreated a training infrastructure which comparesfavourably with those of other, similar branches ofsmall and medium-sized Dutch businesses.

In terms of content the training institutes hove alsoadapted the provisions in response to newdevelopments in the technological and commer-cial fields. Recently INNOVAM has developed a

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new provision in the field of motor vehicleelectronics. This is a basic programme consistingof different modules which is primarily aimed atintroducing the basic principles of electronics tomechanics who have no knowledge of the subjectat all. The training centres of the importers, whoare obviously faced with the: new technology intheir own makes even more quickly, have alsodeveloped all sorts of new training courses andprogrammes in the field of electronics. In-servicetraining in electronics has to a large extent takenthe place of in-service training in mechanicalsubjects. As fa- )s basic electronics is concerned,this seems to he only temporary. If skills areupdated and new mechanics, who already weretrained in electronics during their initial education,enter the companies, attention will shift to trainingin specific, new and more advanced systems andcomponents.

The importers and their training facilities are veryimportant players in the motor vehicle sector'straining market. Research has shown that they

account for approximately 80 per cent of total in-service training provision. However, the instructionand facilities they provide are accessible onlyto employees in the businesses in their dealernetwork. Most importers have also includedclauses on in-service training in their contractswith the dealers. Recently discussions took placebetween INNOVAM and the importers' organiza-tion RAI to improve coordination of the importers'training provision, the apprenticeship system andvocational training. The parties envisage a systemin which the importers are responsible for trainingin the new brand-specific technology during theintroductory stage of the innovation (e.g., ABS,ASR). Once this innovation has been introducedon a wider scale, it is included in the trainingprovision of the apprenticeship system. At an evenlater stage, when the new technology has becomepart of basic motor vehicle technology, attentionwill also be devoted to it by the mainstreamtechnical educational system. In this way techno-logical innovations will gradually be incorporatedin the sector's vocational training provision.

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3. NORMAL AND GOOD PRACTICE

3.1 Main characteristics of the casesIr.. order to acquire an insight into training policyand practice at the level of individual businesses,case studies were carried out for this report in fourmotor vehicle businesses:

a small general repair business and dealer fortwo small makes: FSO and Yue Loong;

a small general repair business which is not adealer;

a medium-sized main Ford dealer;

a large holding company, with dealer busi-nesses for GM-Opel, BMW and Mitsubishi.

All four businesses can be considered as goodexamples in the field of personnel training. Theyare managed by individuals who are veryinvolved in training, who recognize the need forit, and who have developed a clear vision in thisrespect. They have access to good facilities andopportunities for on-the-job teaching and training,and can also avail themselves of good externalprovisions for in-service training. Extensive train-ing programmes are provided, particularly byINNOVAM and the importers. These comprisecourses which are closely geared to mechanics'practical experiences, questions and problems interms of content and educational structure. Abroad range of activities is deployed, in which off-the-job training is combined with on-the-jobtraining and mainly both forms exist in a varietyof forms. Training and in-service training arestrongly encouraged, and the businesses provideample opportunities and facilities (training duringworking hours and/or reimbursement of the costof study materials). The number of days whichemployees spend on training is clearly higher thanaverage. In-service training is not only limited tothe younger, the better trained or more senioremployees, but older mechanics and employeesfurther down the scale are also offered pro-grammes and facilities for filling in on a lack ofknowledge in certain areas (in particular, basicelectronics). In that respect the businesses can alsoserve as an example for other businesses insideand outside the sector.

3.2 Organization of workIn recent years the businesses which were studiedhave clearly been confronted with new develop-ments in the technological and commercial fields.The large dealer businesses in particular have hadto cope with all sorts of innovations in motorvehicle and repair-shop technology and withmodifications in the marketing concepts of theirimporters. The training and in-service training ofemployees have proved important instruments forcoping with the qualification problems which hovearisen as a result of these innovations.

The new developments in technology and market-ing policy have up to now had relatively little effecton the organization of labour in the repair shops.In all four businesses the organization of labourwas, and continues to be, fairly flexible. Afterschool most mechanics followed vocational train-ing through the apprenticeship system and conse-quently they are broadly qualified for all sorts ofmaintenance and repair work. Experienced me-chanics are used in the repair shops on a broadrange of tasks as all-rounders and carry out allsorts of work on many different makes of cars. Theall-round character of the mechanic's job is

particularly striking in small general motor vehiclebusinesses. In the larger dealer businesses there issome distribution of labour, though the "all-round"principle remains the dominant principle oforganization there too. Only the large Opelbranch and the Ford branch have separategroups/departments for maintenance and repairwork.

3.3 Specialization and segmentationIn the repair shops there are various specialists,i.e. mechanics who specialize in a particulartype of work in their job. To some extent this is intraditional areas such as damage-repair work,and to some extent these are fields which havearisen more recently in response to the introduc-tion of the new electro(nic) technology. Theclearest examples of this can be found in thelarger dealer businesses, particularly the BMWbusiness (Diagnosis Technician, Service Techni-cian). In the smaller businesses the more special-ized electronic work is usually assigned to one ofthe mechanics, in most cases a chief mechanic,who has had special training in this fie!d. Mostbusinesses employ one or more of these me-chanics with specific training. In a number ofbusinesses, the people in management (repairshop manager, receptionist) have also followedspecial training in this field.

For the average mechanic, limited training inelectronics is thought to be adequate; advanced,specialized training (for instance vocational train-ing in auto-electrics/electronics) is not necessary.Some managers even think it is not desirable.Specialized knowledge and skills, so they say,cannot be made productive. Furthermore, there isalways the risi: that 'overqualified' workers leavethe company for a better paid job. In that case, thereturn on the investment in training for theempl..)yer is negligible.

In general terms it is possible to distinguishbetween groups of mechanics in two ways whichindicate a trend towards segmentation. First, wecan differentiate between the 'older' and 'young-er' generation of mechanics. The older mechanicsleft school long ago and have followed traditionalmechanics' troining programmes, with the empha-sis on a knowledge of mechanical techniques andskills. This training devoted very little attention to

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matters such as electrics and electronics andtherefore they have hardly any knowledge of thisfield. In many cases the younger mechanics havefollowed vocational training which also devotedattention to electronics. Therefore they alreadyhave a reasonable basic level of knowledge andare better able to follow further in-service trainingin this field. The problem is clearly recognized inthe businesses (and in the sector) and specialprogrammes have been developed to enableolder mechanics to gain qualifications up to aminimum basic level. There are signs that theseefforts are not always successful and that thetraining meets limits, which have to do with thelimited learning capacities of especially the lower-educated employees. In some cases the businessthen can only (re)organize work according tothose limited possibilities. The Ford case gives anexample of this. The second division is the divisionbetween mechanics in dealer businesses andthose in general businesses. The former haveaccess to the in-service training facilities ofimporters, and can follow not only the basictraining in the field of electronics but also follow-up training aimed at further career progression.The latter do not have this opportunity. They aredependent on INNOVAM'S training provision,and until recently this provision contained hardlyany courses aimed at in-service training inelectronics. However, in recent years INNOVAMhas laid a greater emphasis on this subject, so thatnow a good basic training in electronics is alsoavailable for mechanics in a general business.

3.4 Regulation of trainingThe relationship between importers and dealers isvery important for the in-service training practicein dealer businesses. At Ford, as well as at GM-Opel and BMW, the dealer contracts contain rulesabout the in-service training of emplc,fees. Theserules differ with regard to the extent to whichdealers are obliged to provide training and withregard to the sanctions imposed for the failure toobserve these obligations. In this respect Ford,GM-Opel and BMW have adopted differentpolicies. Ford is more liberal: the training is

provided and dealers can enrol employees asthey choose. GM-Opel also gives the dealers thefreedom to choose but has its own planning andcall-up system, so that once employees haveentered the training programme, they are auto-matically called up for follow-up courses in thefield for which they enrolled. BMW imposes themost obligations: dealers are free to choose thetraining courses for which they enrol personnel,but every dealer is obliged to ensure that employ-ees follow a minimum number of days of in-servicetraining per year, on penalty or losing pointstowards his bonus.

There are signs that even the more liberal Fordorganization wants greoter control over its deal-ers. Ford already follows more closely theperformance of the dealers, especially their sales

performance and customer satisfaction. If a dealerlags behind on these points, and if he does notoffer enough training, then he is explicitlysummoned to step-up his training efforts. He thenis not obliged to do so, but it is clear he riskslosing his dealership if he ignores this. A furtheressential point is that, at the moment, there is anobligatory relationship between the use of ad-vanced repair-shop technology and the training ofpersonnel. Dealers are free to buy the specificFord test equipment, but if they buy it they areobliged to give their employees the necessarytraining. All importers have this obligation.

In recent years, all three of the larger importers'organizations which were studied have developedan impressive programme for in-service training inelectronics. BMW did so more quickly than Fordbut all three have developed similar programmes.Employees start with a number of basic modulestraining them in the basic principles of electricsand electronics. If they wish and/or if the businessconsiders it necessary, they can then take follow-up courses leading to qualifications for workingwith the more advanced systems and componentsspecific to certain makes. In addition, the BMWorganization has also developed a career pro-gramme for jobs such as that of technicalspecialist. With these programmes all threeimporters, particularly GM-Opel and Ford, havecarried out a sort of "catching-up" operation inthe field of electronics in the last few years and alarge number of the mechanics in the dealerbusinesses have participated in these.

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3.5 Training networksA training network has gradually developedaround the businesses which were studied. In thisway managers are provided with an extra stimulusto provide regular in-service training for theirpersonnel. In the dealer businesses the importersare the most important r arty in this network; in thegeneral businesses Ils,NOVAM plays the majorrole. In one case (Ford) both the importer andINNOVAM play an important role and thenetworks overlap. In both sorts of network animportant role is played by the intermediariesbetween the training centre and the businesses. Inthe dealer networks these are the employees of theimporter's external service (service inspector,after-sales manager, area manager). At INNO-VAM, they are the regional consultants. Bothensure a constant and direct exchange ofinformation between the training centre and thebusiness. This provides a great deal of feedbackfor the training centre about the quality of itstraining provision and about any new trainingrequirements which may exist. In this way thebusiness obtains extra information about newprovisions and new developments in the policyof the importer or of INNOVAM. This networksurrounding the businesses can also be viewed asan innovative practice in the field of training.

3.6 Training and service-qualityThe big importers, in particular, relate the actualtraining efforts primarily to a more general policyto stimulate customer oriented work practices intheir dealers' businessess. Ford, GM-Opel andBMW strongly stress the importance of goodquality of service to customers, both in sales and

in the repair shops. To control the market for theirmake, importers increasingly control the way theirdealers work in their markets. Direct surveysamong customers of their dealers (see, forinstance, the Ford case) give importers newopportunities for signalling shortcomings in theservice and training policies of their dealers.

..

105 1 05

I

106

4. ASPECTS OF THE SOCIAL DIALOGUEON TRAINING

The study devoted special attention to a number ofaspects of the dialogue on training and in-servicetraining which takes place between social part-ners on the European level. These aspects are:

training philosophy;training plans at the repair shop level;needs analysis;target group;training costs; andcost evaluation.

Below, we will discuss the conclusions which canbe drawn from the case studies for each of theseaspects.

4.1 Training philosophyThe concept of the quality of service is animportant element of the training philosophy ofthe businesses, particularly the larger dealerbusinesses. Improving the quality of service inthe repair shop is seen as an important instrumentfor competition in a market in which productquality and price levels provide fewer and feweropportunities for achieving competitive advan-tages. The training as well as the in-servicetraining of the repair shop personnel are bothseen as essential conditions of good service in therepair shop. In this respect, in-service training inparticular has a capacity for responding to needsand adapting to situations. The basic courses, thefollow-up courses and the introductory courses fornew models are generally intended to adaptmechanics' qualifications to the new qualifica-tions required in the repair shop. The catching-upoperation in electronics in recent years was alsoprimarily a response to new technoloaical devel-opments. However, the businesses (..3nsider thatin-service training should serve as an extension ofgood vocational training which provides themechanics with broad qualifications, so that theycan be flexibly used on a broad range of tasks.Therefore, all the businesses in the first instanceendeavour to ensure that new employees alsogain the greatest possible amount of all-roundqualifications through their vocational training.

4.2 Training plans on repair shop levelAll four businesses make frequent use of thetraining provisions of external institutes for in-service training. The general businesses make useof INNOVAM's provision, while the dealerbusinesses often send their employees to theirimporters' training centres. In addition, they havealso developed all sorts of in-service trainingpossibilities. In small businesses these are mainlyinformal learning situations in which employeeshave the possibility of mastering all sorts of newknowledge and skills in an experimental way on-the-job. The dealer businesses have also devel-oped more structured programmes which aresometimes carried out with "educational" super-vision. Reference is made here to:

1U

the in-dealer trainingdealer;

the in-service training

courses at the Ford

programme in basicelectronics provided by the GM-Opel dealers;

the self-training system of the BMW dealers.

One of the objectives of these programmes is/hasbeen to give mechanics who have not yet reacheda sufficient standard to follow the externalimporter's training courses properly a basicknowledge in the field concerned. By means ofthis link between internal and external training,businesses believe that it is possible to increase theprofitability of the in-service training activities.

4.3 Needs analysisTraining needs are not always analyzed in a verystructured way, and insofar as they are analyzed,this is done in a different way in small and largebusinesses. The businesses are not provided withmode-to-measure training; they make use of anexternal provision which is largely standardized,and can choose certain courses from this provi-sion. In making this choice, they usually look notonly at the needs of the business, but also at thepossibilities and wishes of the employees con-cerned and at the in-service training they havehad before. In small businesses the manager isusually able to immediately recognize the gaps inhis personnel's knowledge and the training needsin the business, because he often works alongsidethem himself in the repair shop. In this case thechoice of a particular course can be made quickly.In larger businesses, such a decision usuallyinvolves several people. The repair shop managerplays an important role and the instructor is alsoinvolved in determining which course is suitablefor which employee. In addition, the importer'sservice manager is sometimes involved in thediscussion, particularly with regard to the -enrol-ment of employees for training related to a careerprogramme (see BMW). In consultation with theemployees concerned, they jointly decide whichcourse is suitable and when.

Both INNOVAM and the importers have their ownmethods for defining training requirements and theneed for new training provision. INNOVAMreceives a great deal of information from itsconsultants and regularly carries out studies ofthe needs in each sector. The importers areinformed by their external service employees. Inaddition, they make use of information whichcomes in through the service support and warrantywork departments. One of the importers (Ford)recently carried out a large-scale, systematicresearch project on training needs. In this surveyparticipation in training and wishes for furthertraining of all dealers were listed. On the basis ofthe findings, the training programmes were mademore modular and hierarchical

4.4 Target groups of trainingThe courses provided by INNOVAM and theimporters serve the needs of various differenttarget groups in the businesses. They offer specialprogrammes for technical personnel (basic,follow-up, promotion), for sales personnel andfor personnel in management. In certain situationsor for certain jobs, elements from these pro-grammes can be combined to create integratedtraining provision. For example, during theintroductory training courses for new models,GM-Opel sales personnel not only receive salestraining but are also provided with elements fromthe technical training programme. Chief mechan-ics at BMW who can be promoted to the job ofService Technician, not only follow technicaltraining, but also do several modules from theprogramme for repair shop organization andmanagement because management tasks will bepart of their job in the business. None of thebusinesses have actually made use of the trainingpossibilities for so-called disadvantaged targetgroups such as the long-term unemployed,immigrants and women returning to work afterhaving a family.

4.5 Training costsIn all four businesses training and in-servicetraining has taken up a considerable amount oftime in the last few years (and therefore resulted inloss of production). In a few cases this led toproblems in connection with absence due totraining, but in most cases the need for trainingwas considered so great that these problems wereaccepted. Usually the costs of training, includingthe loss of production, were completely at the

employer's expense. Employers are reimbursed bythe training fund for one day's training peremployee per year on the basis of the sector'sarrangement for training leave. In one business,the large dealer business, there is an arrangementwhich entails that the employees themselves areasked to contribute to the costs if the trainingexceeds a certain maximum. If employees in thisbusiness wish to do more than five day's trainingper year, they have to give up ATV time (a schemefor the reduction of working days) for the numberof extra days.

4.6 The cost/benefit evaluationNone of the businesses systematically evaluatedthe costs and benefits of training and in-servicetraining. In general, no great need is felt for this.On the whole the costs of training are notexcessive, while the return is often self-evident.The mechanics, particularly in the dealer busi-nesses, simply could not do their work properly ifthey were not constantly updated on the latesttechnology. One problem which does arise,particularly in the smaller general businesses, isthat mechanics often do not have enoughopportunity, after they have been to a cour j, togain experience in the new technology becausethere is still too little electronic work coming in.This means that not all courses achieve maximumreturn. Another problem which faces all thebusinesses is that well-trained specialists are verysought after in the labour market and when theyhave followed the training they often leave to go toanother employer. In this case, it is the competitorwho benefits from the in-service training.

1 0 71 07

3.

5. PERSPECTIVES

5.1 EmploymentAs stated above, there will be less growth inemployment in the motor vehicle sector in the nearfuture than was the case in the past. However, thisdoes not mean a downward trend in employment.On the other hand, the sector does face theproblem of a decreasing number of apprenticesfollowing (lower) vocational training, as do othercomparable sectors in the Netherlands. Thedecline in the birth rate which started in 1975means a low number of 16 to 20-year-oldscoming into industry in the 1990s. Moreover,there is a growing trend for young people tocontinue their education. Those who are capableof following higher education tend to opt less oftenfor dual vocational troining. The result is thatbusinesses and branches of industry will have tocompete for the skills of the scarce apprentices. Upto now the sector has been reasonably successfulin maintaining the number of apprentices at aconstant level but in the near future more attentionwill have to be devoted to a labour policy basedon a sound insight into the relationship betweensupply of and demand for apprentices.

5.2 Training needsAccording to INNOVAM, exclusively devotingattention to mechanics' technical skills andabilities is by no means sufficient in view of the-hallenges facing the sector. Growing competitionond increasingly critical clients also as regardstechnical personnel demand qualities such asgood service, quality awareness, a sense ofeconomy and a feeling for norms and values. Ina buyer's market, the customer is king. A businesscan stand out in addition to the price/performance ratio of its products or servicesbecause of the degree of service which accom-panies the production process. This is why there isa greater demand for more attention to social/normative skills and a wider provision for trainingcourses for the non-technical jobs (commercialpositions and managers).

Besides this, it is expected that over the next fewyears training needs in commercial and manage-ment functions will grow. An increase of scale ofbusinessess, a more differentiated range ofproducts, new, more powerful parties on theproduct markets (lease companies, fleet owners),new forms of business (quick service companies),growing competition on traditional segments ofthe market, more critical customers and morecritical, better educated personnel, will increasequalifications required of sales staff and man-agers. Importers already offer a lot of training inthese areas. INNOVAM has plans to develop newcourses.

5.3 Quality of trainingThe motor vehicle repair arid sales sector will haveto continue to adapt its training arid in-se! vice

108 training provision not only in terms of quantity, butalso in terms of quality. As this study has shown, a

number of initiatives have been developed for thisWe would explicitly like to refer once again torecent efforts to harmonize training provision inthe sector. A system has been developed in whichthe different training programmes, with theirstrong and weak sides, have each been allocatedtheir own place. In terms of content these tr ainingcourses are adapted as far as possible to what isneeded in this sector. The provision of training andcourses of the various educational establishments(LBO, MBO, KMBO and the ApprenticeshipSystem) is composed in such a way that appren-tices can move from one form of training toanother relatively easily. INNOVAM played andcontinues to play an important role in thisharmonization process.

Various forms of cooperation also exist betweenINNOVAM on the one hand and the importers onthe other hand. INNOVAM is also endeavouringto harmonize the provision in the field of in-servicetraining. Rapid technological change requiresmechanics to undergo regular in-service train-;ng. Up to now the importers have provided thelion's share of these refresher courses, with brand-specific courses for personnel from the dealerbusinesses The OOMT believes that the length oftime that manufacturers/importers keep theirknowledge in-house is constantly diminishing(OOMT, 1993). This can be ascribed, inter alio,to:

the shorter life of products;

the reduction in the time which manufacturersallow for research, design and the implementa-tion of new product lines;

the standardization of components;

the obligation to provide satisfactory service.

In the policy of the OOMT, one of the functions ofin-service training is to help to reduce the periodof time between the innovation stage and theintegration of innovations in standard training.This is why INNOVAM is encouraged to play anactive role in the field of refresher courses incollaboration with importers. INNOVAM couldabove all be responsible for the general refreshercourses, possibly with some supplementary el-ements specific to certain makes. For their part theimporters could provide specific in-service train-ing for certain makes in their contractual training,based on the general refresher courses.

It is expected that harmonizing training provisionswill have a positive influence on the possibilitiesfor meeting changing training needs. In future,mechanics in the motor vehicle repair sector willhave more adequate technical in-service trainingthan at the mr. tient. In addition, according toINNOVAM, the hat monization efforts can result inthe integration of innovations in standard training

108

programmes at an early/eailier stage. Moreharmonized training provisions can stimulate thedevelopment of craftmanship in the sector and canperhaps counterbalance to some extent thesegmentation processes ( ,pecially those be-tween dealer and non-dealer employees) on thelabour market and within the companies.

10j

3.

1 09

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABN-bank (1990), 'Het autobedrijf', Amsterdam,Algemene Bank Nederland.

AMRObank (1988), 'Op weg naar 1992. Deautobranche', Amsterdam, Amro-bank Nederland.

Auto- en Motortechntek (1992), 'Special: werk-picots 2000', 52e iaargang, October 1992.

BOVAG (1987), 'Samenvatting consumentenon-derzoek autobranche 1987', Rijswijk, BOVAG

Economisch lnstituut voor het Midden- en kleinbez:rijf(1990), 'Het midden- en kleinbedrijf in 1988 en1989 en een eerste verkenning van 1990. Deauto- en reparatiesector', Zoetermeer, EIM.

INNOVAM/VAM, '.Iaarverslagen 1987-1991',Voorschoten, INNOVAM/VAM.

Krekel, Van der Woerd en Wouterse (1988), 'Op lei-dingen in de autobranche naar een hogereversnelling', Rotterdam, KWW BV.

Krekel, Van der Woerd en Wouterse (1989), 'Bijscho-lingspraktijk in motorvoertuigen- en tweewie-lerbedrijven', Rotterdam, KWW BV.

Ministerie van Economische Zaken (1992), 'Onder-nemen op niveau', Den Haag, Ministerie van EZ.

Nederlands Economisch lnstituut (1988), 'De BOVAG-branches naar 1992', Rotterdam, NEI.

00MT (1988), 'Evaluatie stimuleringsbeleidscholingsverlofregeling', Voorschoten, 00MT

OOMT (1993), 'Trends in vakbekwaamheid inde motorvoertuigen- en tweewielerbranche',Voorschoten, 00MT.

RABO-bank (1989), 'Visie op personenautobe-drijven. Ondernemers op het kruispunt vanwegen', Utrecht, RABO-bank

Rauner, F. & H. Zeymer (1991), 'Auto und Beruf',Bremen, ITB

Riphagnn, Reiche en De Vos (1991), `Driejarenplanopleidingsbeleid motorvoertuigen- en twee-wielerbranche', Voorschoten, iNNOVAM

Tillaart, H. van den, 'Bijscholing in de detailhan-del', Nijrnegen, ITS.

Tillaart, H. van den, J. Frietman & J. van den Berg(1991), 'Ondernemen met perspectief. Onder-zoek scholing van werknemers in het midden-en kleinbedrijf', Den Haag, Ministerie van Econo-mische Zaken.

VAM (1988), 'Autobedriif op weg naar ges-troomlijnde toekomst', Voorschoten, VAM

Warmerdam, J. & J. van den Berg (1992), 'Scholingvan werknemers in veranderende organisa-ties', Den Haag, VUGA/Ministerie van Sociale Zakenen Werkgelegenheid.

Warmdam, J. m.m.v. H. van den Tillaart, J. Onti it & J.van den Berg (1992), 'Arbozorg in het midden- enkleinbedrijf', Den Haag, VUGA/Ministerie vanSociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid.

1 0

3.

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CEDEFOP European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training

Training in the motor vehicle repair andsales sector in the Netherlands(FORCE programme)

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