Tech Shortage: What are you doing to help shape our future?

[Mike DelaCruz]

A topic that I’ve become more and more interested in is the future of our industry, specifically when it comes to Technicians.  I returned from the Spring Leadership Days in Orlando by Auto Care Association with an entirely new outlook, continuously reminding myself:  What can I do to help strengthen our future?

As I scroll through my Facebook feed, reading through various forums and private group comments, I constantly hear about the Technician shortage and have been over the past few years.

Does that raise any concern that we’re still talking about this after several years?  

As I read through the comments in hopes to find solutions, regrettably the majority of the comments are not solutions to the problem.  So, my hope is to find a solution and identify what action I can personally take to help strengthen our future and do my part.  I don’t want to spend anymore time talking about what we already know (tech shortage), and watch our industry reduce to rubble in the years ahead.  Not on my watch… and I know a lot of you are with me!  Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months and months turn into years.  Let’s not wait!

As I visit shops around the country, which is my favorite thing to do, I notice a common pattern in the workflow.  Nearly 70% of the shops that I have visited in the past year have empty bays.  For example, a shop in the Bay Area I visited recently had 8 bays, but 4 were empty.  They had 2 Technicians, who both told me they’re extremely busy and this has become the “norm” until they hire more Technicians.  

Of course, the owners have “tried everything”, but what does that mean?  Have they really tried “everything”, or are they looking for a band-aid to fix the short-term problem and not thinking about a long-term solution and preparing for the future?  

Shops are busy right now and business is booming for most.  So even though they have the Tech shortage issue on their minds, it’s less of a priority right now because they’re busy!  It reminds me of what one of my favorite industry coaches (and friend) told me one time about “Panic Marketing”. Business slows down, then we expect our marketing company to step up some SEO or Ads and get cars in today, when in reality you have to plan out your marketing 6-months or a year in advance.  

So what do we do when we have empty bays and a Tech shortage?  Many will simply place an Ad on Indeed, cross their fingers and hope for immediate applicants! That quick-fix strategy will never work.  But what will?  

There are shops out there with effective strategies that actually work well.  Look at what they’re doing and get some ideas.  Joe Marconi has some awesome tips on hiring great people.  Having worked directly with Joe, I’ve seen the success firsthand.

But for me personally, I’m more interested in the long-term and getting the “younger generation” interested in our trade.  I think this will help shape our future.  But how do we do this?  Someone once told me, if every shop ran an Apprenticeship program, this would help solve the problem.  

Is that the silver bullet?  If not, what is?  

 

[Joe Marconi]

On 6/7/2022 at 3:22 PM, Mike DelaCruz said:

A topic that I’ve become more and more interested in is the future of our industry, specifically when it comes to Technicians.  I returned from the Spring Leadership Days in Orlando by Auto Care Association with an entirely new outlook, continuously reminding myself:  What can I do to help strengthen our future?

As I scroll through my Facebook feed, reading through various forums and private group comments, I constantly hear about the Technician shortage and have been over the past few years.

Does that raise any concern that we’re still talking about this after several years?  

As I read through the comments in hopes to find solutions, regrettably the majority of the comments are not solutions to the problem.  So, my hope is to find a solution and identify what action I can personally take to help strengthen our future and do my part.  I don’t want to spend anymore time talking about what we already know (tech shortage), and watch our industry reduce to rubble in the years ahead.  Not on my watch… and I know a lot of you are with me!  Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months and months turn into years.  Let’s not wait!

As I visit shops around the country, which is my favorite thing to do, I notice a common pattern in the workflow.  Nearly 70% of the shops that I have visited in the past year have empty bays.  For example, a shop in the Bay Area I visited recently had 8 bays, but 4 were empty.  They had 2 Technicians, who both told me they’re extremely busy and this has become the “norm” until they hire more Technicians.  

Of course, the owners have “tried everything”, but what does that mean?  Have they really tried “everything”, or are they looking for a band-aid to fix the short-term problem and not thinking about a long-term solution and preparing for the future?  

Shops are busy right now and business is booming for most.  So even though they have the Tech shortage issue on their minds, it’s less of a priority right now because they’re busy!  It reminds me of what one of my favorite industry coaches (and friend) told me one time about “Panic Marketing”. Business slows down, then we expect our marketing company to step up some SEO or Ads and get cars in today, when in reality you have to plan out your marketing 6-months or a year in advance.  

So what do we do when we have empty bays and a Tech shortage?  Many will simply place an Ad on Indeed, cross their fingers and hope for immediate applicants! That quick-fix strategy will never work.  But what will?  

There are shops out there with effective strategies that actually work well.  Look at what they’re doing and get some ideas.  Joe Marconi has some awesome tips on hiring great people.  Having worked directly with Joe, I’ve seen the success firsthand.

But for me personally, I’m more interested in the long-term and getting the “younger generation” interested in our trade.  I think this will help shape our future.  But how do we do this?  Someone once told me, if every shop ran an Apprenticeship program, this would help solve the problem.  

Is that the silver bullet?  If not, what is?  

 

Mike, I agree with you 100%!  You make a great analogy with what happens when business slows down and shop owners go into, as you say, "Panic Marketing." 

It is up to the shop owners to build the workforce of tomorrow. And we do need to get the younger generation interested in this amazing industry.

If half the shops in this great nation of ours started an apprenticeship program, we could solve the tech shortage in a matter of a few short years. 

 

[Transmission Repair]

1 hour ago, Joe Marconi said:

Mike, I agree with you 100%!  You make a great analogy with what happens when business slows down and shop owners go into, as you say, "Panic Marketing." 

It is up to the shop owners to build the workforce of tomorrow. And we do need to get the younger generation interested in this amazing industry.

If half the shops in this great nation of ours started an apprenticeship program, we could solve the tech shortage in a matter of a few short years. 

 

Sadly, I agree with both Mike and Joe about the obvious: the technician shortage.  However, the shortage is not as profound (but it is still there) in the transmission repair industry.  I'm plugged in to my local market and I know of at least 2 transmission builders I could hire in a heartbeat... If I weren't retired.  Optimistically, I look at the other side of the coin.  There was once a time where I was spending a lot of money to market our shop in an effort to keep all the bays full and the ample tech supply busy.  For example, $50K/yr. for Google PPC advertising, and more!

In years gone by I remember having to let a technician go because I couldn't keep him busy due to my poor marketing skills at the time.  Today, there's not near the pressure on shop owners to market their shop because of the technician shortage.  I can't think of one example today where a shop owner has their existing techs standing around in an empty bay waiting for work to come in.  They are all busy.  Granted, now there's empty bays with no techs to fill them.

In the early 2000s, I hooked up with WyoTech, ( https://www.wyotech.edu/programs/ ) a for profit technical college specializing in automotive, collision and diesel.  They were a 500-mile, 8-hour drive from SLC, UT.  They had a class graduate every 90 days.  The school hosted a job fair every 90 days as well.  It was a great source for green techs.  The problem I had back then was too high of expectations.  I should have picked up where the college left off as far as training was concerned, but I didn't know or become aware of that till years later.

Like most, I had unrealistic expectations of the graduating student I hired.  If I had it to do over again, I would have continued with an apprentice program in my own shop to finish training the newly hired students.  But I didn't. 😞  So, my vote is with you guys: an apprenticeship program, but in our own shops.  It's easy for me to say that looking back.  My vote would be to hook up with a post-secondary technical college to get apprenticeship material.  I know of a local transmission shop owner who used to work for me who did exactly that.  Believe it or not, the technical college ended up hiring him as an instructor!  His comment to me was, "It's a hell of a lot easier and a lot less travel than trying become a shop consultant.  Kids believe me and don't have any preconceived notions."  Wow.  What an eye-opener.

Just don't make the same mistake I did and let opportunity pass you by.

 

[Joe Marconi]

These are all great points. We have to remember that many of us would not be where we are today if it were not for an older shop owner giving us a chance.

I was hired as an entry tech when I was 20 years old at a two-bay gas station in the Bronx. I had no formal automotive mechanical education, just what I learned from my father and doing my own car.

At that age, I was no Ace, but I learned fast. In fact, 5 years later I had my own shop. I only bring this up because someone gave me the opportunity.

If we don't build for our future, no one will. 

 

[Mike DelaCruz]

@Transmission Repair thank you for adding so much detail.  I greatly value and appreciate your experience.  You've listed some great takeaways for me and a lot to really think about.  I'm confident with your insight, I will be able to execute on something that will help me do my part. 

[Transmission Repair]

On 6/15/2022 at 12:24 PM, Mike DelaCruz said:

@Transmission Repair thank you for adding so much detail.  I greatly value and appreciate your experience.  You've listed some great takeaways for me and a lot to really think about.  I'm confident with your insight, I will be able to execute on something that will help me do my part. 

I also hired an engineering student from the local university.  Great success, but he was expensive.