For generations, teenagers and young adults were driven to our industry by a passion for cars. Cars were all around us as we were growing up. It was our freedom when we turned 16 and got our license. We drooled over the classics and resto-mods at our local cruise-ins. We were out in the garage with our dads, uncles, our friends, all wrenching and learning how to fix them. We sat by the TV waiting for our favorite build show to start on the weekends before heading out to the garage to work on our project. These magazines, these cars, these shows, all had our attention and helped drive our interest into what ultimately became a career for a lot of us. So what changed? Where did the interest go for the next generation of techs? Are we part of the problem?
While I’m not part of the “old guard” in our industry, I’m not a spring chicken, either. Getting my start professionally in the industry 15 years ago in December 2003, I have seen a lot of change in the past 15 years. Step back for a second and look at your career and what has changed. Now think about it from someone’s point of view who has been in it double that time. The rate at which technology has been advancing in cars is hard to fathom. Think of the amount of sensors, wiring, cameras and computers that are now in vehicles that weren’t there just a few years ago. We aren’t exactly working on your dad’s Bel-Air anymore. It has advanced so much that a lot of it isn’t something that’s done in the garage anymore. People are paying to bring their cars to shops more and more, so that by itself creates demand for techs. But where are they?
In my 15 years, I have noticed a huge decline, probably much like all of you reading this, in the younger generation coming in. We aren’t getting any younger and vehicles are still going to get crashed and need repaired/painted. For the industry to continue, we as a whole need to change our thinking and get more involved.
| TechForce Foundation: Inspiring the next generation of techs |
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TechForce Foundation® is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) with the mission to champion students to and through their technical education and into careers as professional technicians. Founded in 2007, the Foundation distributes more than $2.0 million in scholarships and grants annually, thanks to its generous corporate sponsors and donors. TechForce is also spearheading FutureTech Success®, the industry-wide initiative to help encourage and support more young people to pursue careers as transportation technicians. The days of the “grease monkey” are long gone. Today’s vehicles have millions more lines of code than the spaceship that put man on the moon. Transportation technicians are computer savvy and in demand. One out of every seven jobs in the U.S. is transportation related and there is a massive shortage of qualified technicians which means hiring demand is sky-high. Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data show the annual demand for new tech graduates is more than double the number that are graduating – essentially more than two new job openings to every one tech graduate. Based on an analysis of figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, TechForce Foundation’s 2017 Technician Demand Report found that, on average, more than 120,000 new technicians are needed annually through 2021 to meet industry’s demand. This includes an average annual demand of more than 17,000 new collision technicians, over the next two years. TechForce Foundation published a 2018 follow-up report examining the supply of new technicians entering the transportation industry. Despite an annual average demand of over 120,000 technicians, TechForce’s report found that completions of post-secondary technical programs were more or less level across the industry, and the number of completions of collision specific training programs decreased year over year from 2012-2016. TechForce Foundation is addressing this challenge by inspiring the next generation of transportation techs through the industry-wide FutureTech Success campaign. The campaign leverages the industry’s collective voice to 1) reposition the image of the technician profession as a high-tech, rewarding career, 2) provide experiential opportunities for middle- and high-school students to engage with transportation technology and 3) connect students’ passion and sense of purpose with resources and mentors. For more information on TechForce Foundation, visit www.techforcefoundation.org. To download TechForce Foundation’s full 2017 Technician Demand Report click here; for the 2018 Supply Report click here. To learn more about the FutureTech Success campaign, including how you can join in the effort to encourage the next generation of transportation technicians, visit www.futuretechsuccess.org. |
For the next generation, we need to notice that the industry doesn’t have the same appeal to them that it did for us. We live in a disposable society where if it breaks, people just go out a buy a new one. A lot of kids aren’t being brought up in an environment of fixing what they have. They don’t have the experiences out in the garage with family or friends repairing that old car and getting/keeping it running. They don’t know the euphoria of satisfaction that comes with a restoration job or seeing the bodywork straight as an arrow after the car has been painted, seeing the reward for all of that sanding that killed their shoulders and arms.
College critical
One of the most glaring things that stands out for the shortage of techs is the push from society to get a college education after high school. The narrative from a young age is that in order to be successful in life, one needs to go to college and get a degree. Because of this, the blue-collar world has become a dirty place and has a lower standard than everything else. Having a college degree is not the only way to make a great living and this is something that needs to be brought to the attention of high schoolers. The option needs to be available and not looked down upon — that they can learn a trade, make great money and not have the student loans attached that often comes with a college degree. I know many painters and body men who make six figures a year and love what they do, something a degree cannot guarantee. Take becoming a teacher for example. I have three people in my family who are teachers that started out around 30k a year. They had to have a bachelor degree to even get considered. What does a bachelor degree run? Minimum 30-40k. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with getting a college degree, and I feel there are many advantages to it in our field. But future techs need to know that other options are out there.
| Connect with Jeremy Winters via social media |
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Find Jeremy at @that_painter_fella and @boothtalk on Instagram and throught the "BoothTalk Group" on Facebook. It's a page catered to all paintlines and learning. The livestream is held every Saturday night live at 8PM EST @BoothTalk on Instagram. With a different topic from the industry every week, it is a live fireside chat with technicians from all walks and experience levels in our field. The live stream will soon be dual streamed to Facebook as well through the BoothTalk Group. The BoothTalk Podcast is available on most podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, iTunes, Google Podcast, Podbean, etc. Jeremy focuses on people and companies within our industry that are working on making a difference. |
Industry image
Our industry can make for a great career, but there is a seeming lack of interest. Can this be our own doing? Think of word of mouth and its effect. What you say to one person travels to an unknown amount of people. How many of us as technicians have been around other techs whom have said any variation of the following statement: “I should’ve got out of this when I had the chance.” That single statement can do more damage in killing interest for people. Who would go into a job where the mentality is wishing they never got into it? People tend to forget that everyone knows someone that they don’t. Think about it this way: if you make a comment like that in one of the many “auto repair” groups on social media, you may have gotten a lot of likes from other people within that group. But what about the people who are just reading the comments and are there to learn and get a basic understanding of the industry? They see that comment and how many people agree with it. They aren’t seeing anyone posting about the positives of the industry; they see the negativity, which travels so much farther than most positive information. This part of the industry is driven by passion and returning vehicles to their pre-accident condition. Not everything that gets posted needs the negativity. Not everything posted needs the bashing. But everything that gets posted gets seen by someone, and you have no idea how it affects them and their decisions.
To attract new techs, we have to make the industry attractive to them. The one main thing that has evolved with cars has also evolved in our everyday lives. Technology; while great, has also created separation. The next generation isn’t out in the garage working, they are browsing on the internet via multiple different platforms. They hold in their hand more technology than we ever saw in all of our schooling. We need to be able to break that wall down and show them how cars of today tie right into their modern technology. Show them how all the sensors and cool gadget-type stuff on vehicles work, and that will attract their interest. And once that begins, we can spark that interest that will help bring them to learning.
Teaching the trade
Trade schools are the backbone of bringing in new people. It’s how a lot of techs got their start — myself included — in an actual shop and learning how to do things from industry vets teaching the courses. Don’t be afraid to reach out to them and see where you can help. My local tech college offers day and night classes, and I went to the night classes. I was able to talk and ask questions, get detailed how-to responses and apply them on the spot to develop my craft. There are trade schools across the country trying to bring in students; reach out to your local one and see about volunteering a couple nights a month. You’d be surprised at what influence you actually have in a new tech’s path. Further helping build new techs are things like SkillsUSA. If you haven’t done any research on what they are or what they do, just take a few minutes after reading this article and look them up through social media, YouTube or a Google search. You’ll be amazed at the interest that is out there and the companies that are helping them out in their endeavors.
As you and I are now the veterans of the field, it is up to us to write the next chapter. Volunteering your time to help someone new find their passion, showing you can be blue collar and earn a great life, and actually acting respectfully on social media outlets are just small things that help. But if enough people would take the time, it would create a change and help the future.
