Feb. 13, 2018—The Providence Journal recently analyzed the growing shortage of quality technicians available to auto repair operations. Mainly, the newspaper discovered that top candidates are pursuing careers in fields outside the auto industry.
Rhode Island, in particular, is full of garage owners who are scrambling to find technicians to fill their bays, the newspaper noted. One garage owner said that, when he is able to find decent technicians, the average turnover tends to be less than three years, despite the fact that established technicians in that area typically make around $70,000 per year—and more than $100,000 at high-end dealerships.
Industry insiders cited two main reasons for the techician shortage: societal pressure to go to college, and the second, lesser reason is demographics, with fewer young people currently available, making for a shallow pool of young job candidates.
“There’s just not enough of them. We don’t have enough skilled technicians,” said Bob Tasca III, whose Tasca Automotive Group runs dealer service centers in several Rhode Island locations. “The problem is compounding because not only do we not have enough today, but the awareness, I think, hasn’t been good enough to share with the younger generations, that, hey, this is a great opportunity, and you should take a look at it.”
