A Farm Equipment 100™ dealership’s Career Academy provides many benefits — to youth aspiring to become service techs, to customers and to the growing business at Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners.

Farm Equipment’s Managing Editor recently interviewed Brad Nobbe, Vice President of Learning & Precision Ag at Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners, to learn the latest about the company’s Career Academy. On May 23, Nobbe and the instructors hosted a graduation ceremony for 24 students who successfully completed the 9-month program, now in its third year.

The ag equipment dealership, an FE Dealer 100 company and FE 2021 Dealership of the Year, currently operates 28 retail locations in Missouri and Illinois and 9 locations in New York. Excerpts from the discussion between Christine Book and Brad Nobbe are shared in this feature, part of an ongoing series focused on how the ag equipment industry is addressing workforce challenges.

While he has responsibilities for the Career Academy, Nobbe says his role includes a few other aspects of the dealership, falling into 3 distinct buckets — training and development, precision ag, and human resources (payroll, benefits, safety, etc.), with 6 people reporting to him. He says he has a great team and works with each group to execute the company’s strategy.

Nobbe spoke about the dealership’s goals with workforce development, reinforcing that it looks to employ teammates who are passionate and driven and looking for a rewarding, hands-on career aligned with its family values. He says the company takes pride in being a great place to work, noting that its commitment to its employees’ careers, families, and a mutually beneficial relationship set them apart from other companies.

The service technician positions range from small agriculture and turf to large agriculture equipment and sprayers. Aside from being a hands-on, and rewarding career, the service technician positions at Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners allow for growth in the business and frequent training opportunities.

Building the Foundation to Fill the Tech Funnel

Sydenstricker Nobbe offers several paths for aspiring technicians: SNP Career Academy is its very own tech school where students learn from John Deere certified instructors; prospective techs can also choose one of the John Deere Tech Programs (Lake Land College in Mattoon, Ill; Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kan.; Vincennes University, Vincennes, Ind.; SUNY Cobleskill in Cobleskill, NY) and earn competitive tuition reimbursement while earning their 2-year Associates Degree. Additionally, several local community colleges, including but not limited to State Technical College of Missouri (Linn, Mo.); SUNY Morrisville in Morrisville, NY all offer comprehensive training programs for young adults and high school students looking to become trained equipment technicians, and SNP offers tuition reimbursement for those programs as well.

After conducting a comprehensive analysis of their workforce needs several years ago, and realizing they would need significantly more technicians in the coming years, the dealership began planning in earnest. They knew they needed a way to increase capacity and were eager to engage with the local high schools to start the process of outreach and recruitment. Nobbe says Jeremy Schneider originally started the Academy, hiring the instructors and working with them to develop curriculum and secure resources. Presently, in addition to the Career Academy, the training facility is used for mid-career training, an E-commerce location, and a parts transfer hub.

FE SNP Grad image 2.png

Getting hands-on experience diagnosing and repairing equipment is a key part of the expansive 9-month tech training which Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners incorporates into its Career Academy. Source: Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners

Primary Benefits for Aspiring Technicians

When asked what he feels are the most appealing aspects of Sydenstricker Nobbe’s Career Academy, Nobbe identified several key highlights. It is debt free with no tuition costs. Additionally, the curriculum is 100% focused on preparing students to be John Deere technicians. And finally, students get to full-time work faster through a 9-month program. They provide the students with free housing, which is located less than 2 miles from the training facility. They receive a starter tool set which they keep after working 2 years for the dealership. Continuous improvement is the name of the game for a tech training program like the one at Sydenstricker Nobbe, he added.

“We’re extremely fortunate to have 3 exceptional instructors,” said Nobbe. For the 2 focused on the Career Academy, both have military backgrounds with one coming from automotive and the other from aviation experience. The third instructor has also worked in automotive and spent many years teaching, and he handles mid-career training for new product upgrades.

“Then learning just never ends with equipment technicians, so it’s an ongoing process which they understand and appreciate,” said Nobbe. He reinforced the critical role the instructors’ expertise, combined with their passion and skills as educators, play in the overall success of the Career Academy. Additionally, he credited the HR generalist/recruiter who communicates with prospects and coordinates onboarding for new students. She visits high school career fairs and ag classes and in doing so, she connects with and informs prospective students who may wish to apply and start the process.

For the Class of 2026, Sydenstricker Nobbe has 14 confirmed, 6 from New York, and is trying to get to 18 before the start of the next program which begins after Labor Day and will conclude before next Memorial Day.

“We’re extremely fortunate to have 3 exceptional instructors.”– Brad Nobbe

Core Curriculum Supports Service Department Priorities

Nobbe explained the ways in which the dealership develops the most impactful curriculum. He emphasized that John Deere has 3 levels which serve as the basis for the primary curriculum as it is applicable to all Deere technicians. Sydenstricker Nobbe’s Career Academy instructors also develop Canvas assignments which expand the programming and teaching from what might be a one hour web-based training to a full day focus session.

Key areas of the coursework include product specialization, combines, planters, hay equipment, etc. The instructors also incorporate rotations to give the students hands-on experience, 2 weeks at a time, at dealerships during their time in the Academy program. This allows the student to work closely with the service managers and advisors in a real world capacity, which can be enlightening and assist with their transition to their local shop.

“We do a lot of training on John Deere Service Advisor, the diagnostic tool,” says Nobbe, who adds, “We’re focused a lot on what you need to be a good technician, which is you need to understand JD Service Advisor in and out.”

Nobbe offered 2 pieces of advice he would offer those considering developing a career academy. First and foremost, tailor the training to the location as best as possible, then be sure to develop a team dedicated to supporting the program.

“If you have a really good relationship with an existing tech school that is also very close, make sure you’re leveraging that. However, there is a different offering that we’re providing, so while they are still all good schools, this is a slightly different option which helps supplement our recruiting efforts.”

He also would tell prospective dealer managers looking to start the process of their own career academy to be careful not to layer the role onto someone whose job is already demanding.

“There’s a lot that goes into it. It takes a big commitment and a tremendous amount of focus to make it happen, especially in the beginning…It’s critical to have a dedicated resource to get a new program off the ground,” says Nobbe.

Takeaways

  1. Ag equipment dealers like Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners are addressing the service tech shortage by developing their own career academies.
  2. Opportunities for young adults looking to explore careers as ag equipment service technicians have a range of options to consider when developing their skills, from OEM training to community college and tech schools to individual equipment dealer programs that incorporate a blend of curriculum to meet the needs of dealers and their customers.
  3. Coordinating a Career Academy or tech training program requires a combination of staff who have the time and expertise to focus on coordinating the many responsibilities such a program requires, from recruitment and equipment selection to curriculum and Placement.

Sydenstricker Nobbe is on the Farm Equipment Dealer 100™, a ranking of the top 100 North American farm equipment dealers — by number of locations, which provides information on total and ag stores, brands, geographies served, employees, history, executives and ownership/company profile information.

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