What Service Director Mark Malizzi Seeks In A New Automotive Tech Hire

For Mark Malizzi, as a boy growing up on a farm, knowing how to fix machinery was something that came out of necessity but was also driven by the spirit of youthful curiosity. Equipment would break down and need fixing. He would have to figure out how to get it back up and running. There was always something to learn. And there were always things they could do to make their equipment run better – and sometimes even faster.

"Being a farm boy, we took apart everything and put it back together. We made things go as fast as they could; we even made lawn mowers fast."

His youth in his own words was all, “horsepower, high energy and fun.” And this interest in machinery and making things go fast stayed with him. From high school he went into vocational training. Afterward he joined the military. His humble beginnings as a farm boy tinkering on lawnmowers turned into a career where he was working on heavy-duty military equipment. Now, he has more than 30 years in the automotive industry. He’s done everything from being the crew chief for racing teams to becoming a hiring manager, the title he holds today at Fred Beans Ford of Boyertown, Pennsylvania, where he has spent the last 16 years. He has seen a lot change throughout his long career.

“The difference of working on cars today versus the ones we worked on 10 to 15 years ago is the technology. It’s no longer carburetors, points and condensers. It’s computers, it’s high-energy ignition systems. These aren’t things you can learn tooling around your backyard.”

A potential employee at Fred Beans needs to have the training and skills to work on the cars of today and be ready for future developments in auto technology.

“We’re an award winning dealership and are nationally recognized, this puts us in a different category. Not only do we have to find employees to meet our standards of what we offer now, but they need to be prepared for what we’ll be offering in five to ten years from now.”

Being a Ford dealership, Fred Beans has benefitted from networking with UTI and its graduates. The Ford Accelerated Credential Training (FACT) program at UTI provides a skilled pool of potential employees who have been helped in preparing for the types of jobs that they offer.

“When one of UTI’s students comes out of their program they are 80 percent of their way toward their Ford certification. This makes my life that much easier. They’re not starting at ground zero, they’ve had two years of familiarizing themselves with the technology.”

And for those that come to him from training programs like UTI, he likes seeing them be confident in the skills they’ve developed. They’ve worked hard and should acknowledge their accomplishments. “People need to come in proud of who they are and what they know.”

Programs, like the ones offered at UTI help develop the skills needed to enter the work force. Being a mechanic no longer means overalls covered with grease, it means a brand-new breed of worker. It’s someone who embraces the professionalism of a clean uniform and a good attitude combined with the skills and training to prepare them for what’s to come in the auto industry.

“A lot of the people we’re investing in, the UTI graduates who are coming out now, some of them are going to be in five to 10 years, my senior master technicians.”