CNH Industrial’s Top Tech program is available to students in the U.S. and Canada
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Three things in life are certain – death, taxes, and farm equipment breakdowns at the worst possible time.
To help producers get back into the fields as soon as possible after a breakdown, an equipment manufacturer has created a program to help train tomorrow’s ag equipment technician.
CNH Industrial’s Top Tech Program works with CNH’s existing dealer network and tech schools in the U.S. and Canada to recruit students into considering a career as an ag equipment technician.
The colleges offer an associate degree in diesel and agricultural technology and students receive training on modern Case IH, New Holland and CASE Construction equipment.
Local dealers provide equipment students can work on to give them practical experience working on the machines.
The schools receive materials specifically about Case IH systems which the instructors deliver to the students, said Peter Steiner, Top Tech Program manager with Case IH.
“Take hydraulics, for example,” he told Farms.com. “We provide that tech school instructor with information about how Case IH uses hydraulics within its system, the specific tools and specific troubleshooting someone might need to do.”
Upon completion of their studies, students would earn a Level 1 certification focused on fundamentals.
Schools with a focus on precision would provide students an opportunity to earn the Level 1 certification with an additional precision component.
These certificates would allow students to work at any Case IH dealership, Steiner said.
The idea for this kind of technician program came from Case IH’s dealer network.
Multiple locations are short staffed and need trained technicians to help provide service to their customers, Steiner said.
“There’s a demand for technicians. Just about every dealer I talk to could add a minimum of one, or for some larger dealers maybe (six) people to add to their staff to meet customer needs,” he said. “Staffing shortages can limit growth if they can’t support the customers they have.”
Steiner encourages interested students to visit with local dealers.
Case IH reps may be able to provide information about potential employment and scholarship opportunities, he said.
“Many dealers offer incentives like tool purchase programs to help someone get started on a career as an equipment technician,” he said.