National RV Training Academy (NRVTA) hired Gerald Ewing as national sales manager.
Ewing will supervise the school’s three student advisors and oversee NRVTA’s recruitment at area high schools.
The Chicago native has worked in public education for 25 years and served as a college-level basketball coach. He noted college is not the right path for everyone, but there are other paths for individuals good at working with their hands.
“While they may struggle to pass an English class,” Ewing said, “they thrive when looking at motors and diagnosing problems. NRVTA has a place for those students.”
The academy will be selective in the types of students it recruits out of high schools, he said. Ewing will focus on encouraging students with agriculture or tech backgrounds to enroll at NRVTA. Students who are involved in groups such as Future Farmers of America and 4H already use RVs or trailers to transport animals to various shows. Eventually, NRVTA will work to recruit homeschooled students, too.
“There is a level of maturity among agriculture students that we do not often see in the general student body,” Ewing said. “Many of these kids grew up driving tractors and trucks on the farm as early as 7 years old. They are raised to be responsible at a very young age.”
Ewing said the opportunity is ideal for mature students to get training for a fraction of college costs, with quick job placement and good wages.
Ewing worked as a dean of students for Chicago Public Schools for 13 years, during which he also served as a high school basketball coach. From there, he worked as a basketball coach for a community college in Kansas before moving to a similar job in Texas.
Ewing was recruited to join the NRVTA team by Marketing Director Tony Flammia, who saw a way for the academy to assist the RV industry by training younger technicians and instilling best practices into their work habits.
A graduate of Texas A&M University in Commerce, Texas, Ewing has a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership with an emphasis on human resources.
“The biggest niche in any organization is relationships and working with people,” Ewing said. “Coaching is easy when there are good players on the team. Completing courses at NRVTA will be challenging, which is why I will be focused on recruiting quality high school students.”
Ewing said a student can graduate from high school May 27, start classes at NRVTA on May 30 and make as much as $25 an hour by the end of July.
Terry Cooper, NRVTA president, said the recruitment concept allows NRVTA to serve area RV dealerships by instilling proper training into young technicians.
“Training high school students is a win-win situation for everyone,” Cooper said. “Students win because they get top-notch technical training preparing them for a lucrative career in the RV industry. Dealerships win because they can hire a trained, certified RV technician who can go to work immediately working on bigger projects. NRVTA wins by connecting graduating students with RV dealerships who have immediate need for trained technicians.”
Cooper said the biggest hurdle is convincing high school guidance counselors that students can make a good income.
NRVTA is developing a program modeled after those in place by John Deere and Caterpillar which train high school students in factory-owned schools. It is for that reason Ewing is planning to approach RV dealerships about helping to cover the cost of attending NRVTA to reduce the financial pressure on young students. The student then would go to work for the dealership immediately after graduating.
In January, Ewing will visit all 52 high schools within 80 minutes of the NRVTA campus. In February, he plans to talk to dealerships about working with students. In March, he will head back to the high schools to speak with students who are finalizing post-graduation plans. He is also planning to arrange field trips for students to tour the NRVTA campus and meet instructors.
For more information about NRVTA and its training programs, visit www.nrvta.com, email [email protected] or call (903) 386-0444.
