Tips for hiring and training radio technicians

In some cases, the training may not be effective, if the student does not understand even the basics of radio or electronics. The Electronics Technicians Association^® International (ETA) recognized this early in its inception, and all ETA-certified technicians have to take a broad-area test indicating that the certification holder has a mastery of the basics in the given area. Some of the newer ETA exams have evolved from component-level basics to systems-based basics to reflect changes in what a potential employee needs to know to be successful.

One test that many organizations seem to hold onto is the FCC General Radiotelephone Operator License (GROL) as a basic requirement for competency. There are technicians still out in the workforce who were grandfathered into that license for a test that they took over four decades ago, and there is no requirement for continuing education or further coursework for the GROL to still be valid.

When was the last time you changed a 12AX7 to fix a low audio problem? It had to be at least 40 years ago! The current GROL was last updated in 2002 and requires understanding quite a bit about maritime and aircraft systems, but it has very little focus on land-mobile-radio (LMR) systems.

Consider utilizing various types of training or training-delivery methods:  off-site; on-site; and online, self-study, and instructor-led. Send employees to relevant conferences or bring a training professional to your own location. Realize that you have experts within your own staff for on-the-job training (OJT), which is very useful. Formal training is good, but informal training fills in many gaps. The best training methods employ a mixed-method approach.

A good training course not only explains how to perform a task but—more important—why it is being performed, so users understand the business rationale behind what they’re doing. Make sure the materials are applicable to what users need to learn and include plenty of hands-on practice. This is essential; book knowledge is important, but it is of no use, if your employees cannot then apply this knowledge in real-world scenarios.

As a final thought on the subject of training, people get out of a training course what they put into it. If a person sits in class without paying attention just to get the certificate that says you attended the class, you will know just as little coming out of the class as you knew when went into the class. In addition, a course with a certification test from a recognized organization means a lot more than a sales class that only promotes one company’s newest product line.

Ira Wiesenfeld, P.E., CETsr, is chairman of ETA International.