BUSINESS

RV manufacturers pulled plug on Ivy Tech training program

Ted Booker
South Bend Tribune

GOSHEN — Recreational vehicle companies are always pining for more skilled workers to support the growing industry. So why would a program designed to meet that need suddenly go belly up after its first year of existence?

In the case of a training program for entry-level RV workers launched last year at Ivy Tech Community College, manufacturers scrapped the effort because it didn't yield enough students to justify the cost.

Area RV manufacturers that funded the 40-hour, five-day RV Production Associate Training Program at the college’s Elkhart County campus in Goshen — Thor Industries, Lippert Components and Patrick Industries — decided it wasn’t worth investing to keep it afloat this year, said Julie Foster, campus president. Though she said entry-level workers continue to be in high demand among companies, the program didn’t manage to draw enough participation.

“We were doing it at the request of our corporate partners, and unfortunately it was a very expensive program to run and the enrollment didn’t justify it. … It was about how much they paid per employee they got, and those numbers for them didn’t make sense,” Foster said. “People couldn’t justify 40 hours a week to take a class when they could walk right across the street and get the job.”

The $50 course, which taught students basic skills for entry-level RV production jobs, was offered for 13 five-daysessions that spanned from February through March and mid-May through June. After completing the course, students were given preferred interviews with one of the three corporate sponsors.

Up to 20 students could enroll in each class, translating into a potential maximum of 260 over the 13 sessions. But only 158 students enrolled in the program, Foster said, and 105 completed it. She said only about half of those graduates were hired by the manufacturers, a number much lower than anticipated.

Initially, she said, company representatives visited the Goshen campus to interview course graduates. But when representatives stopped doing so, it became difficult for instructors to coordinate off-site interviews at different locations.

“As soon as they left us, we lost control over the process,” Foster said, adding that some course graduates weren’t hired by companies for various reasons. “Some failed drug tests, some didn’t complete the program and some weren’t citizens and didn’t qualify.”

Manufacturers collectively invested nearly $200,000 to launch the program, Foster said, which was staffed by three instructors.

Attempts to reach representatives of participating RV companies were unsuccessful.

Not worth the effort

Matt Rose, director of RVs for the Indiana Manufactured Housing Association, Recreation Vehicle Indiana Council, said he wasn’t surprised that manufacturers decided to drop the training program. He said its pool of graduates paled in comparison to the amount of hiring actually done by the companies, which employ thousands of workers.

“It is realistic to say these bigger companies are hiring a many as 50 people per day,” Rose said. “If they’re hiring hundreds per week, I would think having a program like this wouldn’t be worth the time, money and effort.”

Employee retention remains a major hurdle for RV companies in northern Indiana, Rose said, where roughly 80 percent of the nation's RVs are made. He said two of the industry's greatest challenges are failed drug screenings and newly hired employees who quickly leave to be paid more elsewhere.

"You hear from manufacturers that many workers fail drug tests," Rose said. "And for $1 or $2 more an hour, they’ll go across the street to another RV company,” Rose said.

Foster, of Ivy Tech, said manufacturers played a key role in designing the program, helping to organize it over a period of about six months. The course featured a tour of one of the plants, visits from guest speakers and an assessment of students’ job skills. It exposed students to a variety of hands-on work, preparing them for the demands of the job.

“It started at the beginning of the week with basic skills and with building an RV wall at the end,” Foster said.

She said the failed program provided a learning experience for the college and manufacturers, which had hoped to hand-pick workers who would be dedicated to sticking with their jobs. She believes most people who want entry-level jobs at RV companies have been able to find them.

“With an unemployment rate of 3.5 percent in Elkhart County, everyone who wants a job pretty much has one,” Foster said.

Ivy Tech has no intention of reviving the program, Foster said. Instead, the college will focus on finding other ways to support the RV industry. Though the college doesn’t offer manufacturing courses, it helps support industry by offering associate degrees in business administration and design technology.

People employed at RV plants “often come to us to get degrees so they can move up from an entry-level position to something that’s more career-focused,” she said.

Originally, Ivy Tech touted the program as a first step toward launching a $14 million, 55,000-square-foot training center at its Elkhart campus that would offer manufacturing courses. But that plan, first proposed in 2012, was scrapped earlier this year because there wasn’t enough fundraising support from the community.

“It was going to have to be fully funded from outside sources,” Foster said.

In March 2015, Kevin Yanez and Maria Vila install a cabinet during an Ivy Tech Community College class that teaches the basic skills an RV manufacturer would need. The $50 course was discontinued by corporate sponsors because it didn't draw enough participation last year. South Bend Tribune File Photo