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Award-winning auto technician is among the best in Canada

As an eight-time winner of the coveted General Motors Grand Master Gold award, John Tomiszer is at the top of his game.

LISA FATTORI

[ 2006-03-15 ]

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TOMISZER
8-time winner

What began as a childhood curiosity about the mechanics of machinery flourished into a brilliant career as one of Canada's most qualified automotive technicians.

Today, as shop foreman at Johnston Chevrolet Ltd. in Scarborough, Tomiszer still loves the challenge of finding solutions to difficult problems -- a passion that inspires the team of automotive technicians he leads.

"I always had an interest in taking things apart to find out how they worked," Tomiszer says. "Mechanical inclination is something that's difficult to teach. It helps if you have a natural interest and an instinct for working with your hands."

In addition to overseeing and assisting automotive technicians, Tomiszer makes warranty decisions, manages the IT requirements of the department and consults with customers.

The state-of-the-art service department is equipped with the latest high-tech gadgetry, including diagnostic tools, PCs and wireless, hand-held computers. As automotive systems become increasingly high-tech, servicing vehicles requires more sophisticated tools and an aptitude for computers to complement mechanical expertise.

"HIGH-TECH ERA"

"The high-tech era has come into the automotive industry, much as it has everywhere else," Tomiszer says. "This means upgrading scanners so that they can 'talk' to the sophisticated sensors of the latest models of cars. Today's technicians must also be IT specialists."

Despite the high-tech environment of modern service departments, technology is no match for the experience, expertise and intuition of a qualified automotive technician. "If scanners could diagnose a problem, then I'd be out of a job," Tomiszer says. "There's a misconception that we plug in the equipment, and a computer tells us what to do. Diagnostic tools may tell us that there is a problem, but it's up to us to find out what that problem is and how it will be solved."

Diagnostic detective work includes visual inspections and referencing a web-based diagnostic manual for trouble-shooting. Trouble charts, designed by automotive engineers, assist technicians in flow-charting possible scenarios, but not every case is textbook.

"There is not always a published answer to a particular problem," Tomiszer says. "You still have to rely on your understanding of how a car functions."

According to Tomiszer, a shortage of qualified automotive technicians is becoming more and more evident; this, despite the potential to earn between $40,000 and $100,00 per year.

"As with any profession," he says, "you are paid for what you know, not what you do. A really good technician can make more than $100,000 per year. There are great rewards in being a good producer and in being good at what you do."

Aside from the reward of working in a job that he loves, Tomiszer enjoys the rare status of being one of General Motors' top 26 automotive technicians in the country. With every win, he and his co-winners are treated to gala events hosted by the GM Technicians' Guild program in exotic locals, such as Antigua, Barbados and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The program's grueling exams and final, hands-on skills challenge for short-listed Gold Award candidates is a testament to Tomiszer's determination and ability to meet and beat any challenge.

"Participating in this program has given me many opportunities," Tomiszer says. "The award is a reflection of what you do day-to-day for a living, and the recognition is very rewarding."

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