The RV industry could use more people who know how to Make it Right.
RVDA of Canada teamed with Canadian TV star and skilled trades promoter Mike Holmes and his Make it Right website to promote RV technician careers with a guest blog last week.
The collaboration occurred after association representatives met Sherry Holmes, Mike Holmes’ daughter, at the Skills Canada National Competition in Regina, Saskatchewan, in late May. RVDA of Canada has exhibited at the event since 2013, showcasing the RV service technician trade.
RVDA of Canada President Eleonore Hamm said, “We always have a fun activity for the students to try to engage them and get them to learn a little about the trade.”
This year, the association’s booth was in the Empowering Women in Trades area, which Sherry Holmes visited. Mike Holmes is a national spokesman for Skills Canada.
“She invited us to put together a guest blog on the RV service technician trade,” Hamm said. “It was a great opportunity, and we want to thank them for allowing us to showcase this industry. We have not seen any specific numbers, but we know they have a huge reach. It can be hard to measure the impact of things like this, but we saw it as a great opportunity.”
Holmes is a professional contractor who found fame renovating homes on HGTV. He was named Forbes’ third-most trustworthy celebrity and Reader’s Digest’s second-most trusted Canadian.
Amanda Heath of the Holmes Group said, “We believe the RV trades is an interesting sector that young people might not consider when thinking about careers in the skilled trades. Mike, Michael (Mike Holmes’ son) and Sherry have provided support to many skilled trades organizations over the years, and they believe it is important to highlight the diverse sectors within the skilled trades.”
Sherry Holmes was not the only one attracted to the RVDA of Canada booth. Over 1,500 students, teachers and parents visited the booth during the competition’s two days.
Hamm said, “We always know that during the Skills Canada competition, and then the following week—the first week in June, which we brand Canada RV Tech week—we do get quite a bit more traffic on our RVCareers.ca website.”
RVDA of Canada works with several regional and provincial RV associations to host career booths at RV shows around the country.
“In those cases, it is not just necessarily the technician trade,” Hamm said. “It is all of the career opportunities in the industry, whether that is sales, accounting or anything else that goes into running a dealership. People want to buy an RV and go RVing, but they never really think about the career opportunities in the industry. So, at RV shows, we have an opportunity to talk to consumers about those careers.”
The regional and provincial associations also participate in career fairs in their areas, with support from RVDA of Canada. They promote the RV Careers website, and its social media presence.
Hamm said, “We are always trying to grow our audience in terms of what is happening with career options in the industry.”
