Steve Hamre is the National Automotive Technician Recruiting Manager for Lithia Motors, Inc. The business does automotive repair, as well as retail auto sales.Steve talks about how during the COVID-19 outbreak, the business introduced a concierge service, so that during coronavirus, the shop will go to customer homes, pick up vehicles, bring them back to the shop to do repairs, take contactless payments online, and then return the vehicles to customer homes.Lithia Motors, Inc. does a lot of work on first responder vehicles, as well as work for individuals in the community. The essential role of the automotive technician provides plenty of advancement opportunities. Technicians who work for Lithia Motors, Inc. can go through company-paid manufacturers’ training to reach master level technician status.For technicians who want to work for a company like Lithia Motors, Inc., Steve says he examines qualities like professionalism, driving record, grade point average and attendance. He says he also looks for candidates who are coachable and who are willing to take on training.For UTI students, Steve advises to take advantage of the training UTI has to offer, including Manufacturer-Specific Advanced Trainings. As the industry loses more technicians to retirement every year than are coming back into the workforce, there are a lot of career opportunities for aspiring technicians, Steve says.For information regarding automotive training programs at Universal Technical Institute (UTI), visit https://www.uti.edu/programs/automotive.For additional information into specific courses, tuition and admissions, see the course catalogs at https://www.uti.edu/programs/catalogsTo find the nearest UTI school near you, visit https://www.uti.edu/locationsUTI offers employment assistance to students and graduates. To learn more about employment assistance at Universal Technical Institute, visit https://www.uti.edu/support-services/employment-assistanceTo stay up-to-date with some of the latest news regarding UTI, join us on social media. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UTI/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/utitweet Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uti.tech/