While numerous industries have felt the pressure of labor shortages, perhaps one of the hardest hit has been the automotive industry. Today, the technician shortage is a still significant problem facing the automotive industry, impacting its ability to meet demand and maintain workforce stability. In fact, a study by TechForce Foundation found that by 2024 the U.S. will be short automotive, diesel, and collision technicians by 642,000 jobs.
In addition to the shortage, dealerships and their Service Managers often don’t have the tools or time to enhance the capacity of their current technicians, factor in future capacity, or understand how that can affect revenue and profitability. When the number of technicians in a service drive is low to begin with, optimizing the staff you do have is critical.
In this article, we will take a look at the causes of the technician shortage and discuss what you can do about it with key industry insights from our experts.
Why is there a Technician Shortage?
What’s caused the shortage? COVID-19 is the one obvious answer that comes to mind, but there are other factors that have contributed to the current circumstances. These factors include retiring baby boomers, the lack of overall awareness of career opportunities, and the insufficient number of graduates from postsecondary automotive technology programs to meet the demand for skilled technicians, and the shift toward EV and more highly computerized vehicles.
As baby boomers retire, the industry faces the ongoing challenge to replace these experienced workers with new talent.
Additionally, concerns about earning a living wage can deter potential technicians, adding to the stigma around trade work and limiting career opportunities.
Reason 1: Retiring Baby Boomers
According to Forbes magazine, the automotive industry will see a 4% drop in technicians by the end of 2029. During the same time period, retiring Baby Boomers will result in 100,000 job openings. The industry will need to replace these retiring technicians with new skilled workers to maintain workforce levels.
“The best way to sell a truck is to talk about how lousy a competitor is … The best way to really promote college hard, is to talk about how subordinate all the other opportunities are.” -Mike Rowe | Dirty Jobs
Reason 2: Lack of Career Opportunity Awareness
Becoming an automotive technician is a skilled trade, something that historically isn’t promoted as a viable career path in schools. In turn, this has caused a stigma around trade work. Many schools have reduced or eliminated shop classes, limiting younger generations’ exposure to automotive careers. The reality is that the career presents a great opportunity for growth, especially as the industry changes.
School programs that focus on automotive education are essential for promoting careers in auto repair and helping students understand the benefits of joining the industry. Educational institutions are creating incentive programs like scholarships and tuition reimbursement to lower the financial burden of training.
There is a growing need for dedicated programs to raise awareness and prepare students for rewarding automotive careers.
Reason 3: Industry Transitions
Advancements in cars have led to increased complexity, and with that, technicians’ skillsets need to evolve too. There are computers, batteries, and mechanics that didn’t exist 10 years ago that require the knowledge to make repairs and perform maintenance. While traditional tasks like changing oil are still part of the job, technicians now need more advanced skills to work with modern automotive technology. These changes are also transforming the broader transportation industry, making skilled technicians essential for maintaining vehicles that support today’s transportation systems. To keep up with these rapid changes, ongoing course enrollment is crucial for technicians to stay current with new technologies and industry standards.
Technicians need to comprehend advanced coding to diagnose vehicle issues effectively. Online courses, virtual classrooms, and digital tools are now essential in preparing students for the realities of today’s automotive repair landscape. These resources allow aspiring technicians to gain hands-on experience and up-to-date knowledge, regardless of their location, making the path to a rewarding automotive career more accessible than ever.
What Can My Service Department Do to Combat the Technician Shortage?
As a dealership, there are a few sustainable solutions to offset the pressure you may feel from the technician shortage. This will require not only establishing a framework to attract and maintain new talent, but also maximizing the staff you already have. Implementing innovative strategies to address the shortage can give your dealership a distinct advantage in efficiency and customer satisfaction. Additionally, it’s important to bring new training methods, technology, and awareness into the service department to attract and retain top talent.
Attract and Maintain Talent
Showcasing your dealership as a great place to work by establishing a great company culture focused on caring for its employees is the easiest way to attract new talent. Offering competitive pay and good benefits will also help with retention in the long run. There is an ongoing debate in the industry about flat rate versus hourly pay structures, with many highlighting how hour-based compensation can provide more predictable income and improve technician satisfaction.
In recent discussions with a few major manufacturers, we’ve found that dealerships with higher profitability are retaining their technicians at a higher rate because they are able to increase pay, allocate work appropriately, and ultimately keep their staff happy.
Maximize Existing Staff
Making the most of the technicians you have, while also planning for the future, is easier said than done. The shop environment plays a crucial role in technician productivity, providing the space and resources needed for efficient work. Technicians often balance dual roles, working both in the shop on vehicles and in the office handling administrative tasks, which highlights the multifaceted nature of their jobs. In fact, technician capacity is the largest constraint on revenue achievement, because it is impossible to plan to have more customers, more hours, and more parts sales without the staff to support it.
The best place to start is by implementing a plan to provide sufficient capacity to support your service department’s revenue goals throughout the year. This plan should include things like work-mix changing, new and leaving technicians, pay rate changes, parts sales, and more. Equipping your technicians with the latest digital tools and high-quality equipment is essential to empower them and streamline workflows. These digital tools complement the skills of your technicians, enhancing workflow efficiency and helping your team meet the demands of a modern shop.
Increasing ELR is another area that can lead to better pay for your technicians, which helps retain and attract new talent. The best way to maximize ELR is to align pricing compliance, flat rate times paid to technicians, and discount allocations.
Now that you have a better understanding of what is happening with the technician shortage and what exactly you can do about it, it’s up to you to make the necessary changes. As always, Dynatron Software is here to help support your service department goals when it comes to technician capacity management and strategic planning.
Sources:
https://www.autoserviceworld.com/tech-shortage-continues-to-worsen-new-study/
https://getjerry.com/insights/theres-mechanic-shortage-how-will-affect-car-repair
https://www.neit.edu/blog/auto-mechanic-career