Director of Technical Workforce Development & Training Partnership

Sunstate Equipment Co., LLC•, SC

About The Position

The Director supports and co-leads Sunstate’s enterprise approach to attracting, developing, assessing, and advancing technical talent. The role connects external talent pipelines, apprenticeship, Technician I–IV development, manufacturer resources, curriculum, skills assessment, career progression, and workforce planning into a coordinated system that supports safety, productivity, customer service, and growth. This enterprise leadership position is accountable for strategy, partnerships, program architecture, resources, governance, and outcomes rather than primarily delivering training. It supports broader People priorities for career paths, role-based learning, internal talent pipelines, and scalable capability while preserving useful branch ownership. The Director reports to the Vice President, Business Services and the Vice President, Contractor Solutions, and works closely with the Director, Technical Excellence as a peer and primary functional partner. The role leads integrated workforce-development strategy, external partnerships, program architecture, learning and assessment systems, career progression, workforce visibility, and customer-training development. It partners with Technical Excellence to scale and improve apprenticeship while Technical Excellence leads internal program execution and technical content development. The position is based at a location to be determined and requires regular travel across Sunstate’s operating footprint and to partner, manufacturer, and customer locations.

Responsibilities

Develop the multiyear strategy, operating plan, budget, and resource requirements for technical workforce development and customer training, aligned with business growth, fleet composition, equipment complexity, branch needs, and projected technician demand.
Translate workforce demand into coordinated recruiting, apprenticeship, partnership, training-capacity, and progression plans with relevant business, operational, safety, People Operations, and Talent Acquisition teams.
Build branch, market, regional, and enterprise skills inventories and capability matrices showing readiness, capacity, coverage, and material productivity, equipment-readiness, safety, and succession risks.
Use hiring, assessment, progression, retention, fleet, and business data to recommend where to build, hire, partner, or redeploy capability and to direct apprentice starts, recruiting locations, investment, and program capacity.
Establish workforce reviews, data ownership and controls, and reporting that supports operating decisions and gives both Vice Presidents visibility into progress, impact, constraints, risks, and decisions needed.
Lead apprenticeship strategy, design, governance, expansion, and improvement in partnership with Technical Excellence; establish an accelerated pathway to productive Technician I readiness without reducing technical, safety, or performance standards.
Evaluate apprenticeship selection, learning sequence, field exposure, mentoring, assessment, and completion; define entry requirements, milestones, skill expectations, advancement criteria, documentation, administration, and recordkeeping.
Combine classroom and digital learning, hands-on training, supervised field experience, manufacturer programs, coaching, and competency validation; coordinate development opportunities, qualified mentors, coaches, instructors, and local program leaders.
Evaluate apprenticeship registration and related federal and state requirements, GI Bill eligibility, grants, tax incentives, and other resources; monitor enrollment, progression, completion, retention, time to productivity, and post-program performance.
Build an apprentice-to-Technician IV career framework with Technical Excellence, defining knowledge, demonstrated skills, field experience, certifications, and performance expectations for each level and role-based learning paths tied to branch and equipment needs.
Make progression transparent and based on demonstrated capability and readiness; coordinate technician step-pay and connect the framework with recruiting, onboarding, performance, compensation, internal mobility, and workforce planning through People Operations.
Create development paths for experienced technicians to update or broaden skills and become mentors, assessors, instructors, lead technicians, or subject-matter experts; use career visibility and development to strengthen engagement and retention.
Build national and local relationships with trade schools, technical institutes, community colleges, high schools, faculty, placement teams, and student organizations; position Sunstate as a preferred employer and development partner in relevant technical careers.
Create repeatable talent pathways through internships, apprenticeships, co-ops, job shadowing, scholarships, equipment support, instructor engagement, classroom presentations, career events, and direct hiring; align partner curricula with Sunstate operating requirements.
Connect technically capable service members and veterans to Sunstate through transition programs, veteran-employment organizations, and installations; engage workforce boards, economic-development organizations, state agencies, community groups, and industry associations.
Evaluate workforce grants, apprenticeship and incumbent-worker funding, tuition support, credentialing assistance, and other government or community resources; maintain compliant documentation, commitments, measurement, and reporting.
Select and prioritize partnerships based on candidate quality and flow, participation, placement, retention, geographic coverage, and sustained training or funding value.
Develop relationships with equipment manufacturers, dealers, suppliers, industry associations, and external training providers; inventory and evaluate their training, certifications, materials, digital content, facilities, equipment, and instructor support for quality, relevance, availability, and cost.
Coordinate or negotiate access to suitable manufacturer and partner resources and incorporate them into apprenticeship and Technician I–IV learning paths, aligned with fleet composition, purchases, branch needs, diagnostics, and emerging technology.
Track equipment technologies with Technical Excellence and translate manufacturer updates into timely curriculum, assessment, and field-practice changes.
Lead technical-learning architecture and enterprise curriculum standards, with Technical Excellence owning technical manuals and subject-matter requirements; inventory content and prioritize its retention, refresh, consolidation, replacement, or development.
Define content ownership and review, approval, validation, publication, maintenance, and retirement processes; establish standards for learning materials, hands-on activities, field assignments, and assessments, and maintain a reusable learning library.
Design learning delivery that combines instruction, hands-on practice, field application, mentoring, virtual and digital learning, and manufacturer training; determine delivery location and approach while accommodating branch workloads and operating requirements.
Establish instructor, facilitator, mentor, and assessor qualifications; develop branch trainers, service leaders, and subject-matter experts through train-the-trainer resources; coordinate capacity, schedules, equipment, facilities, materials, and participant coverage.
Evaluate learning technology and vendors for scalability, field usability, integration, data quality, learner experience, and value; apply quality assurance and measure proficiency and operating impact beyond attendance or completion.
Lead assessment development and governance for hiring, apprenticeship progression, Technician I–IV advancement, promotion readiness, and development planning, drawing on Technical Excellence’s skill requirements and expertise.
Define consistent competencies and assess technical capability, safe practices, judgment, and readiness through appropriate knowledge checks, observed work, hands-on demonstrations, simulations, certifications, and field validation.
Establish assessor training, calibration, recertification, documentation, and quality controls; partner with Talent Acquisition and operational leaders to apply assessments consistently.
Periodically validate assessments against job requirements, technology, safety standards, and technician performance; ensure assessment results provide structured evidence without replacing accountable human hiring and promotion decisions.
Develop the customer and contractor equipment safety and operations training strategy, business model, and roadmap under Contractor Solutions; work with Sales, Safety, Operations, Legal, Finance, and technical experts to identify needs and priorities.
Establish customer-training standards for curriculum, instructor qualifications, equipment, facilities, participant materials, assessment, documentation, quality assurance, and customer experience, reflecting applicable safety requirements, manufacturer guidance, and Sunstate operating standards.
Maintain one integrated roadmap with defined workstreams, owners, resources, measures, and decision rights; align priorities and shared capacity with both reporting Vice Presidents and escalate competing demands for resolution.
Ensure commercial objectives do not compromise safety, instructional quality, or internal technician-development capacity.