Bolting Careers Together With Mechanics Hub

A long time ago on a Zoom call far, far away, the Fullbay team chatted with Mike Maizis, Vice President of Mechanics Hub, a multi-generational recruiting firm focused on one industry and one industry alone: diesel repair.

You can see why we were so eager to talk with him!

Mechanics Hub operates in Canada, but 90% of their clientele (shops and mechanics) are in the United States, so Mike has a good grasp on the industry in both countries. He spent over an hour chatting with us, sharing the story of Mechanics Hub as well as observations about the industry and how the organization brings mechanics and shops together. 

(As an aside, you may note that we use the term “mechanic” in this article instead of our more usual “technician.” Hey, it’s Mechanics Hub, and we were staying on-theme. Mechanics are technicians in our book, and vice versa. Now, on with the show!) 

THE MECHANICS HUB ORIGIN STORY

Grab a coffee and sit back, because Mechanics Hub got its start in 1988. Maizis & Miller, as it was then called, was started by Mike’s grandmother and her business partner as a general staffing firm focusing on the Greater Toronto Area. 

By the early 2000s, Maizis & Miller decided to niche down into heavy-duty diesel repair. Part of its draw was familiarity; the family has a lot of experience with engines, mechanics, and the trades. But they were also interested in the many fields that are either adjacent to it or outright dependent on diesel repair. Think mining, forestry, agriculture, and power generation. 

That was also when they changed the name. “People would ask us if we were a law firm, or a collections company,” Mike laughed. Maizis & Miller became Mechanics Hub, and Mike’s father — followed by Mike himself — joined the team. 

“I kinda had that path clearly laid out for me,” he said. “So I was learning about mechanics and talking about mechanics when I was even in elementary school.”

The human element of recruiting also drew him in: “Whenever we made a placement, we were able to change somebody’s life,” he said. Maybe that meant getting a technician a pay bump that improved their financial position. Maybe that meant getting a mechanic a day shift job so they could spend time with their kids in the evening. 

It wasn’t just about finding someone a job. It was about helping them attain a better life. 

HIRING & PLACING MECHANICS: THEN & NOW

As you can imagine, Mechanics Hub has seen a lot of change in the decades they’ve spent in the industry. Chief among them, Mike said, was the 2007 change made by the Environmental Protection Agency introducing aftertreatment systems. This signaled a shift in the industry; we’ve since gone from the Boomer mechanics who could diagnose a truck by listening to the engine to needing to hook up to ECM systems and use diagnostic software and programs to figure out where a system was underperforming.

The seeds for the tech shortage had already been planted, mostly by well-meaning Boomers who wanted their kids to go to college and get a cushy office job. But the changes that came after 2007 compounded things, effectively making diesel feel somewhat high-tech. 

Now, obviously, the diesel field did not implode, and there was not a mass exodus. But the technological changes that followed did provide a new layer of difficulty to things, and it did drive out some older techs (and dissuade would-be newer ones). And of course, there was not enough interest from the younger generations to shore up the depleting ranks, and, well, here we are.

There have been other factors at work, of course, but the end result is the same: a shortage of skilled mechanics. Everyone wants good techs, but shops are still figuring out how to hire and retain them. 

That’s where Mechanics Hub comes in. 

HOW MECHANICS HUB CHOOSES & TRAINS RECRUITERS

On one hand, outsourcing your hiring to a firm seems like it would be absolutely amazing. They do all the actual hard work of digging up applicants, vetting them, and getting them to you. And in an ideal world, that’s exactly what happens. 

Except heavy-duty repair involves specialized skills. And that’s where Mechanics Hub has an edge on the competition: they understand the diesel repair industry and what goes into it. Some of their recruiters came up through the industry, while others have no experience in it. 

In all cases, “We look for personality and their willingness to speak to people on the phone,” Mike told us. They have to be comfortable calling strangers and talking to them. They also need a strong moral compass; Mechanics Hub takes its role as a placement firm very seriously, and each job landed has the possibility to change someone’s life for the better. 

Once hired, recruiters receive a two-month training program, learning about the software Mechanics Hub uses and shadowing a current recruitment specialist. They also receive specialized diesel technology training developed with a Cummins-certified technical trainer to allow for important conversations with skilled candidates. The training material, by the way, is pretty impressive: high-pressure common rail fuel systems, aftertreatment systems, and Cummins INSITE diagnostic and engine software are just the start. 

Only when they have a baseline understanding of the mechanic trade and how some of this machinery works are they sent out to start placing people.

HOW TO PLACE A MECHANIC

So, how do you find out if a mechanic is well-suited to the job? 

You talk to them.

Their conversations with mechanics tend to cover a lot of ground. One of Mike’s first steps is to find out where a mechanic wants to go in their career — what kind of work do they want to be in, and how do they want to progress?

• Are they thinking they want a steady, 40-hour work week?
• Are they OK with the two-week on, two-week off rotation requirements of some jobs? 
• Are they cool with pulling out heavy transmissions or clutches or 18 giant tires? 
• Are they OK sleeping in a tent, in 40 below zero?
• Are they willing to get any certifications, like ASE? 
• Are they willing to engage in roadside work, which can be dangerous? (And if so, do they have experience in it?) 

These are all possible in the heavy-duty world! Yes, including 40 below — Mechanics Hub has sometimes placed people at jobs up in Nunavut, which involves sleeping in a tent with other people next to a generator that runs 24 hours a day.

The environments and pay rates from one job to another can be wildly different. The work, too, even if it involves the same basic skill set and tools. And sometimes an applicant can look at a pay rate — “Wow, this job pays $70 an hour!” — and gloss over other parts of the job, like the fact that they’ll be away from their family for weeks at a time. 

These conversations tend to run for about half an hour, but they give Mike and his team a good idea of both how skilled a mechanic is and what they’re willing to do in a role. That kind of information is mission critical for placing someone in a job they’ll stick with for the long term. 

TOOLS ARE A BIG BARRIER TO ENTRY IN THE DIESEL FIELD

“Tools are not cheap,” Mike said. “And paying for tools can burn a pretty big hole in your pocket.” This is true for anyone, but it hits the young people who are just setting out particularly hard. Some of these greenhorns have already spent thousands getting educated or completing an apprenticeship; now they have to spend more on tools? 

It can make finding a job considerably more difficult. Mike has seen several cases where Mechanics Hub was not able to make a placement because of the lack of tools. “It breaks my heart, because we’re talking about a few thousand dollars to find the right fit,” he said. 

Still, there are some signs that things are shifting. A recent — very large — Mechanics Hub client supplied everything for their employees. Mechanics checked out a tool they needed to use and then returned it, just like a library book. And per our latest State of Heavy-Duty Repair, 59% of shops are either buying tools outright or providing tool allowances for their techs. 

So, yes, there’s some work to do, but the industry is shifting, at least in this regard, and we’re hopeful it makes bringing in the next generation of technicians easier. 

A WORD OF ADVICE FOR SHOPS

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about mechanics, but let’s focus a bit on the shops that hire them! What can they do to make themselves look appealing and be a place where mechanics want to work?

Building a good shop culture is part of it, as is implementing perks like flexible hours. But Mike’s primary advice to shops who are just hiring someone is very simple: Clean your shop.

Seriously. Clean it up.

In addition, make sure the person (or people) interviewing an applicant is friendly. A lot of mechanics are introverts and need to be drawn out of their shells a bit. Make sure your interviewer knows how to smile and shake hands and make someone feel comfortable. “If that interview feels like an interrogation, no matter what we do on our end, we’re not gonna be able to get somebody hired,” he explained. 

Mechanics Hub doesn’t just sign off when a shop makes a hire, by the way. They can continue a relationship with the shop that helps them retain their employees. This includes making sure the shop prioritizes safety and has a smooth onboarding process. 

They can do quite a bit more, though Mike acknowledges some companies just want resumes and not much else. Still, there are plenty who realize they need or want a little help in building the kind of organization mechanics will flock to. 

THERE’S A LOT OF PROMISE IN THE FUTURE OF HEAVY-DUTY

“A rising tide lifts all boats,” Mike said towards the end of our conversation. “We want everyone that works in this industry to succeed.”

One of the things he hopes the general public realizes is that there is good money to be made in diesel. In some cases, especially in the mining sectors, the machinery costs millions of dollars to manufacture and run. It does not function without a mechanic. 

Now, is this high-paid mining job 30 hours a week? No. It’s hard work. But the money is there, which is consistently surprising for those who don’t know much about the field. Beyond that, heavy-duty isn’t really going anywhere. Yeah, they might switch up the fuels…but the equipment is still going to need maintenance and repairs. There’s a certain level of job security that comes with the skill set, and it can be life-changing.

And changing lives is what keeps Mike and the Mechanics Hub team going. They’re not just hooking a person up with a job. “It’s about helping other people and making their lives easier,” Mike said as we wound down the call. “It’s a really fulfilling way to make a living.”