Sheila Jones is the manager of CNH’s Top Tech program. As such, she handles all of its day-to-day activities, including setting up connections with participating schools and coordinating activities with dealerships. Her goal: maintain a stream of entry-level technicians headed to productive careers working for CaseIH, New Holland Agricultural and New Holland Construction, and Case Construction Equipment dealers.

And, for the record, Jones is more than accomplishing that goal.

“With the Top Tech program, we have roughly 65 partner schools, and I say roughly because we’re constantly adding schools,” says Jones. “Our dealers reach out to us wanting to set up a partnership. I add them to our list of partner schools, and we start working on the process of getting them established. Sometimes they’re looking for an instructor or building their own curriculum and working through the school systems to get things accredited.”

Some of the schools CNH Top Tech have partnerships with just one dealership. Others work with three or four, says Jones.

The educational institutions CNH works with are varied. Some are high schools that have technician programs, and some are colleges.

“So we have a mixture of both actually,” says Jones. “We kind of try to be open with what our dealers need in their area. And, we have found there’s some really great high school programs out there that start in freshman year. Some of them start in the sophomore to junior years, allowing students to take these career technical courses. 

“And, we have  found a nice home for our curriculum at those schools. Students are able to get hands-on training and then move into internships or summer jobs at the dealerships and start applying some of that training when they’re not at school.”

Jones says for many students, taking technician training courses throughout high school is their preparation for a career. They earn their certificates and are ready to go to work at a dealership after graduation.

But, many students want more. For them, Jones says the CNH Top Tech program also works with two and four-year colleges.

For those who do opt to attend college, CNH offers scholarships through the Future Farmers of America program. Jones adds that “a lot of our dealers offer scholarships and assistance for tuition and tools. That does vary by dealer, but we do highly encourage that they offer some kind of incentive or partnership with the student to help them through the training.”

Students in two-year technical programs usually are going to get an associate’s degree, says Jones. “But, we’re seeing a really big trend with certificate programs, and students wanting to get the training and get into the workforce as soon as possible,” she adds.

CNH’s Top Tech Program can accommodate those students as well. Jones says they have programs that last as little as nine months, but typically they’re a year. 

“Those students are not earning an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree,” says Jones. “They are taking their certificate from us for level one fundamentals, and they’re going straight to the dealership. They’re going straight to work, and then they’re ready to go to the next level training at that dealership. I think it’s just because they’re, they’re ready to work.”

She says many students appreciate having the option to go to work immediately after graduating from high school. 

“I was kind of surprised, the feedback that I’ve gotten from the high schools that have partnered with us and those students were very thankful for the opportunity that they could take (tech training) while they were in high school and get into the workforce sooner.” 

In one instance, Jones says, “The training they were getting at the high school was at the same level of training the tech college was offering. The instructor was phenomenal. And those students are so knowledgeable and so eager to learn, and they were so proud of their certificate.”

According to Jones, CNH has several levels of technician certification for those who complete their studies and join a dealership.

“We have our technician fundamentals for agriculture,” she said. “We have technician fundamentals for CE or construction equipment. Those are level one.”

Jones also says CNH offers training for equipment used in precision agriculture, the process of using high tech machinery and programs to plan, plant, maintain and harvest crops.

 “For our precision offering, we offer a precision sales person certificate for those that are looking for a more sales based job,” says Jones. “And, we have precision specialists one, two, and three. So those people at the dealership are more typically technicians that are specific to work on the (precision) technology.” 

After getting their education, students in the Top Tech program have plenty of employment opportunities.

“Our dealership footprint is over 500,” said Jones. “We have all brands: Case IH, Case Construction, New Holland Agriculture and New Holland Construction. So all of those dealers participate in this program. And, the training that the students receive from the Top Tech program is valid at any of those dealerships. So that it not only applies to the dealership that they may be working with or partnering with to go and get the training, but it’s valid at any of those dealerships across the United States and Canada.” 

And, just who are the young people who are taking part in CNH’s Top Tech Program, and looking to join the staff of dealerships? Is there a typical student?

“You know, I want to say that there is, but then I go to farm shows and I get surprised,” says Jones. “Students that come by the booth and want to talk about it. I think the typical student is someone who wants to work with their hands, and enjoys that type of work, loves figuring out things.”

Jones says one of the activities that CNH staffers do at farm shows is to have students take a hydraulic motor apart and put it back together.

“We kind of make it a little competition for the students so that way they can win a prize and they get bragging rights,” she says. “You can really learn a lot about a student in that short amount of time.”

Last year, the fastest any visiting student completed the task was 43 seconds.

And, the budding technicians that are interested in becoming part of the CNH Top Tech program come from all sorts of backgrounds.

“We do see a lot of kids from rural areas,” says Jones. “But, I do get kids who’ve never seen a tractor before. They walk up to the booth and it’s like, ‘Man, this is really, really neat,’ and that’s always refreshing. Anytime we can bring somebody into the industry that’s never been a part of it, I feel like that’s a win. I would say a typical student is someone who likes to work with their hands, not necessarily from a farm background, but we do see that a lot of those kids too.”

Regardless of the backgrounds of the participating students, Jones believes CNH Top Tech is good for them and for the dealerships where they go to work.

Jones says she sees the program continuing to grow as the demand for qualified technicians keeps increasing.

“It’s growing every day,” she says. “I’m getting requests on a monthly basis to add schools, and that just excites me. I think it’s very honorable work to be helping get the next generation of service technicians into our dealerships.

“I’ve worked with our dealers for 10 years, and they’re some of the best people, some of the best businesses, and I feel like it’s a great opportunity for young people to get into the industry. 

“So, yeah, I’m glad it’s growing. I think it’s going to continue to grow. I think there’s more room for expansion. We’ve expanded into precision agriculture, but I think there’s probably more room for expansion on different certificates that we can offer.  We’re constantly looking at what else we can give that student. We want them to be as valuable as they can be when they leave our program.”