Davide Novo, Automotive Technician

How I started

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"When I got into this I had no previous automotive experience. I had a bad experience getting my car fixed and I took a one-year course at Red River, a beginner automotive course. That's where I really began to get into it and acquired some of my skills.

"I started to work at Canadian Tire in the shop and kept expanding on my skills. I finished off my apprenticeship and now I'm at this point. So that's where I've accumulated my skills, is through a little bit of school, a little bit of work, apprenticeship and time."

Images from my workplace

Where I work

I work for Continental Car Services. It's owned by a father and son and the company has been in business for 31 years. Tony, the father, opened it with a business partner and they were the first European car shop in the city.

We have the skills and experience to fix anything British or European, like Maserati, Rolls Royce and Ferrari. But we have no problem fixing any kind of vehicle that comes in the door, foreign or domestic.

Different elements in job

I tend to stay in the shop for the better part of the day. I don't have much office work to do.

My job is very physical and can be physically demanding job at times. What I do varies. There's a lot of standing, but I could also be sitting in a vehicle or taking it for a test drive.

The equipment I use in my job also varies. I can go from using something non-technical like a hammer to using a piece of equipment that's worth $30,000 to find a problem on a vehicle. That's the nature of my work.

Important skills

There are a number of different skills I need for my job. I read and research a lot. If I haven't worked on a particular vehicle, I do research on the Internet to make sure I'm doing what I need to. Research also includes talking to other mechanics. Diagnostic procedures need reading and math skills to figure out problems such as why a sensor isn't work within range.

Oral communication is also important. When I'm trying to find the problem, I need other technicians' input. People skills and communicating are important when dealing with customers too.

Liaising with others

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"We phone people at other shops. We also have contacts in other provinces that are in the same type of business we are.

"On the Internet there are a few European car forums, an international automotive network. If you have a problem with any vehicle you can probably find it in there, and if not, you can post up and people can post what they have found."

Creativity required

This job gets creative at times. If a bracket for an alternator breaks on an older vehicle, and there are no parts available, I have to bring out the welder and maybe the plasma cutter and make my own bracket. If the customer wants air conditioning put in and the manufacturer doesn't make the bracket for that, I have to figure out how to do it.

We have also built kit cars here. If a kit car is made to go with an automatic transmission and the customer wants a standard transmission, I have to come up with different ways to make things work.

Family important

I was born in Winnipeg. We moved to Portugal when I was six months old and stayed there until I was about seven or eight years old. When we returned to Winnipeg, I grew up in the west end, the St. James area, for most of my life. My childhood was very family-oriented. We would go to Portugal every couple of years to visit family.

My greatest accomplishment is recently marrying my wife. I always saw myself getting married but I didn't think I'd find the right girl so quickly. My wife is very family-oriented too. She has a big family with about 10 aunts and uncles.

Barriers and lessons

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"When I first went to school, I didn't speak any English. I was the little immigrant boy who had a hard time in the first few years in the school system.

"There weren't that many Portuguese kids when I was going to school. Then I went to a junior high where there were more Portuguese kids. At that point I could speak English fluently so it wasn't that big of a barrier.

"I tried to fit in with everyone else, but through time I realized that I was a little bit different. Different was a good thing. Obviously I learned to speak English fluently but I stayed true to myself."

Parents from Portugal

My parents grew up in Portugal and lived in France for a few years. My dad is a construction worker. He works with concrete. My mother used to be a seamstress but now she is a caterer for Rae and Jerry's.

Post-secondary education wasn't available for my parents where they grew up. They knew how to speak French but didn't speak English well. That was a barrier to them finding jobs here. There were people in the community who spoke Portuguese and my parents stayed with Portuguese companies where it wasn't necessary for them to speak fluent English.

Rewarding myself

We have a big screen TV. My wife considers that a treat, but for me that was a necessity.

If I made more money, I would treat myself to a sports car. I'm very car-oriented. I would love to get a different part for a car I'm building for myself. It's a 1987 Jetta two door, Wolfsburg Edition. If I felt I deserved a treat, I would order a part for that car.

Fishing is relaxing

I enjoy fishing. We've taken my father-in-law's boat up to quite a few lakes up in The Pas. I like Clearwater Lake where there's some excellent fishing if you can find the right spot.

The fun part is relaxing outdoors with friends and family. I have no worries when my rod is in the water, my fishing hat is down and I'm getting a suntan. It's a good stress reliever.

In the winter I go fishing for jackfish, which I catch and release. They're not the best for eating because they have lots of bones. But when I catch pickerel I keep them.

Fixed but flexible

Most days I work from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. If a part has been delayed, I will work late to get it done.

It's a small business and the management is pretty flexible. When my in-laws needed a transmission, I worked on it during the day. It makes up for when I've been asked to stay an extra hour or half hour.

If I'm sick, I try to make up the time. I don't have to but I'll stay later to help clean up the shop or go in on a Saturday to help out.

If I'm asked to work on a Saturday, I get paid overtime because that's above my regular 40 hours a week.

Interact with customers

I interact with customers frequently. A lot of people park their car in the back and walk in to the shop and I'm usually the first person they see unless there's someone outside. They'll ask me how my day's going and tell me the problem they're having with their car. It's important for me to be friendly and make sure they have a good experience.

When Bob, the Service Manager, is busy, I'll answer the phones. I have a phone in my bay so I'll pick it up. The customers know me by name. They're pretty friendly.

No typical day

I never have a typical day and I wouldn't know what that would look like. In some jobs, there is a fair bit of routine and things remain the same every day but I've never had two days that look the same. The cars I work on vary. The problems with the cars and therefore the repairs needed are different. The customers change.

I can spend nearly a whole day working on one car and the next day I can work on four cars. I enjoy the variety. It keeps things interesting.

Varying pace and stress

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"There are days that it's not stressful at all and there are days where as soon as you're done one car, there are two more waiting. Sometimes that stress can start to get a little overwhelming. You've just got to know how to balance it.

"A particular job will pay so many hours. Bob will schedule that I have four hours to do that car; he won't just give me two hours even though I can get that car done in two hours. He'll make sure that I do have plenty of time to get that done, to make it a little less stressful."

Home and work balance

Whether I bring work home depends how busy the day has been and what I'm working on. If I'm working on something where I need to do more research, I'll go on the Internet, call people or go visit people to get more information in my evenings. The more information I have, the better able I am to fix that vehicle.

There are other times when the days have been long and frustrating when my work stays at work and my home life is at home. I really don't want to have my work negatively affect things at home.

Work is fun

My job is fun and interesting. I have a chance to work on vehicles I've never had a chance to work on before. Dealing with different technology is interesting. I enjoy taking a Ferrari for a test drive down the street and seeing the looks on people's faces.

Playing at work for me is a part of my constant routine. It's not that I'm not doing my job but I feel like my job is a hobby for me. I'm lucky enough to get paid to come to this place. I work on great cars and take them for test-drives. How great is that?

Dealing with stress

There are times when I get stressed. When there are a number of vehicles to go out and I can only work at a certain pace or when I'm working on a job and feel like I'm getting nowhere, I feel the pressure.

When I'm feeling overwhelmed, I take a break, have a cup of coffee or chat with someone else to get their input. This helps me feel better. It clears my mind and gives me a different perspective so I can go back to the project with fresh eyes. Other times, I will work on another vehicle to break things up.

What I love most

I love the fact that I'm working with people who are very tuned into their customers and their employees. It's a family oriented business. If something comes up and I have to be with my family, no questions are asked because they realize family comes first.

Working for this company also means my wife and I have a nice standard of living. I was working flat rate before. I get paid hourly now so no matter what comes in, I'm going to get my paycheque. As my skills grow I'm going to be reimbursed for that at work so things can only improve.

Honesty and trust

As an automotive technician, you have to have people skills because you're constantly interacting with co-workers and customers. Our customers trust us completely.

To build a good customer base with repeat customers and referrals, I need to build a relationship based on honesty with customers. If I don't have a good customer base, I'm not going to go anywhere.

Myths about my work

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"A lot of miscnoceptions are that mechanics tend to be greasy, dirty people that are trying to rip you off. Unfortunately through some of the businesses that are open, you do see some of that. Not all businesses are like that.

"Our business, for example, we're very customer-friendly and customer-oriented. We try not to be greasy but sometimes you can't help it, depending on what you're doing. We try to be nice, clean cut, with clean clothes and a good presence to the customer."

My first jobs

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"My first job was cleaning the 24-hour Shopper's Drug Marts. And that was just a litte part-time job.

"In grade 10, that's when I first started working at Canadian Tire. I spent most of my career with Canadian Tire and moved up along. I worked in every single department - as a cashier in sporting goods, hardware, automotive - I've been through it all.

"I gained a lot of people skills working with customers. You want to make sure that your customers are happy and get a good experience.

"In my cleaning jobs and working at night, that was definitely back-breaking labour and I learned hard work."

Time off to decide

After I graduated from high school I took a year off because I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do. I worked for a year at Canadian Tire, which was a good thing. I didn't want to jump into something that I didn't want to do.

While at Canadian Tire, I took the nine-month full time Automotive Technician Certificate course at Red River. We had an internship program for two weeks twice during the course. My first placement was at St. James Volkswagen and the second at Canadian Tire, where I transferred from the store to the shop.

Career plan developing

After the Automotive Technician Certificate course, I went through the three-year apprenticeship program. It was a good chance for me to learn hands on. During my apprenticeship I didn't know exactly what I was going to do but I knew it would involve the automotive trade.

My career plan continues to evolve because nothing's set in stone. I'm thinking of opening my own shop, perhaps fixing and selling pre-owned vehicles. I need experience to do that and being a licensed ASE certified technician will help with that.

Note: ASE is the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, a non-profit organization offering courses and exams to certify automotive mechanics.

Parents’ support

My parents asked me what I would like to do as a career. When I told them I wanted to be an Automotive Technician, they asked me why I wanted to do this. I told them I am good with my hands. I knew that working with my hands would be something I would do for the rest of my life. They supported me in my choice.

My woodworking teacher was also supportive. I think he was disappointed I didn't go into woodworking technology but he told me that if being an Automotive Technician was something I wanted to do, to go for it.

Further training

I've done a couple of short courses through Piston Ring and some AC Delco courses.

Canadian Tire also had a program, the Cars Network, which is a satellite broadcast from Toronto. It's like going to school but I watched courses dealing with a particular vehicle or subsystem of a vehicle on TV. The broadcast was live but if I had questions I could call them at the end of the session or go on the Internet and fill out the questions.

The newest course I'm working on is the Automotive Services Excellence Course at Red River College. They come up about twice a year. I recently wrote one and I'll be doing another in the fall.

Happiness and money

(TEXT FROM SOUND BITE)

"I want a lot of things out of life. I think I want some sports cars but I think the most important thing in life is to be happy. That's one of the reasons I chose this career. I didn't choose the career that would make me the most money; I chose something that would make me happy, something that I would enjoy doing. Who says you can't have both?

"I'm not making bad money right now. I definitely want to be making more money, and by opening up my own shop, being an entrepreneur, I believe I can get everything I want out of life."

Looking forward

I want to be at the top of my career, the best at what I do. I think I'm on the way.

I'm only 23. I haven't decided yet if I would like to open up my own shop or go back to school and become a shop teacher. Both options appeal to me because I can continue working with cars and my hands. If I go into teaching, I can use my experience and knowledge to guide, mentor and teach my students.

In five years, I hope my wife and I are settled in Dauphin and have kids. I hope to have my business up and running or to be on the way to getting it up and running.

Continuous learning

There are new programs coming out, new vehicles coming out, new hybrid technology and electric cars that the dealers aren't giving out too much information on. One of our customers just got a hybrid car and as soon as that car is off warranty, if not sooner, I know we'll be seeing it. I'm certainly going to have to learn more about hybrids so I can properly fix them.

The automobile industry is constantly changing so I have to keep up with it. It makes you feel good when you go back to school and get more education. Learning is a part of life.

Making a difference

I would like to inform the public more about automobiles. If people knew more about their vehicles and how to keep them running well, that could change the world. I also think they need to be informed about greenhouse gases and what vehicles are better to drive to reduce global warming. We want the world to be there for our kids.

If I were a teacher, I would try to make a difference in my students' lives. Some of my instructors had a very big impact on my life. I would like to try to pass that on.

Future outlook good

This sector in Manitoba is very sustainable. No matter where you go, someone has a car. Vehicles will break down and they're going to need to be fixed.

When I first started, it was all about carburetors. A lot of businesses went under with the change to fuel injection because they couldn't keep up with the times. This could happen again with the hybrid, electric car and hydrogen technology. If shops and technicians don't change their skills and learn more, they're going to be at the same point when carburetion changed to fuel injection.

Job Market Info

The links below take you to federal and regional government information on employment, education, salary ranges and long range prospects for this career.

The official title for David's occupation is "Automotive Service Technician" and its NOC* code is 7321.

Manitoba Job Futures

*Each occupation has an official name and unique number called the 'National Occupation Classification' code or 'NOC'.

Education

Useful High School subjects

- Mechanics
- Business
- English
- Science
- Mathematics

*Source: JobFutures.ca

For those out of school, Adult Learning Centres can help you get or upgrade your high school diploma, including adding subjects that are required for work or further education. All Manitobans are normally entitled to four free courses.

Below are links to various programs and courses that will you on the path to a career as an Automotive Technician:

Red River College

Automotive Technician - Certificate
Automotive Technician - Diploma
Apprenticeship Motor Vehicle Mechanic/Ford Automotive Student Services Educational Training

Winnipeg Technical College

Auto Mechanics

Tec Voc High School

Mechanical & Industrial Technology

Assiniboine Community College - Brandon

Automotive Technician

University College of the North - The Pas/Thompson

All programs - pdf
Automotive Technician - Scroll to p 26

Essential Skills

The most important Essential Skills* for Automotive Service Technicians and other related occupations are:

- Document use
- Oral communication
- Problem Solving
- Decision making
- Continuous Learning

*For more information on Essential Skills and their importance to this occupation, go to: Essential Skills (NOC 7321).

Professional Resources

Automotive Trades Association Manitoba
Supporting the province's automotive repair industry

Canadian Automotive Repair & Service Council
A not-for-profit national organization for the automotive repair and service industry

National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence
An organization that improve the quality of vehicle repair and service through testing and certifying repair and service professionals

CareerTrek
A not-for-profit organization that provides innovative educational programming for young people with perceived barriers to entering post-secondary education

Related Careers

Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics (NOC 7312)

Motor Vehicle Assemblers, Inspectors and Testers (NOC 9482)

Motor Vehicle Body Repairers (NOC 7322)

Recreational Vehicle Service Technician (NOC 7383)

Supervisors of Automobile Assembly Metal Repairers (NOC 9221)