Why There Is a Shortage of Skilled Automotive Technicians

A recent article shared with me by a co-worker reminded me of a situation looming over the auto repair industry that could become a real problem over the next few years. Skilled automotive technicians are becoming harder and harder to find.

I am not talking about technicians who change your oil and perform other minor repairs. I am talking about the highly skilled technicians who diagnose and repair the most difficult problems. These technicians understand the basic mechanical theory behind each automotive system, the computer controls that now manage each of these systems, and the electronic network that links them all together.

Over the past few years, many of these highly skilled technicians have left the industry; those who remain will be retiring sooner than later. If I may be so bold (Editor’s note: he should be so bold; he’s awesome.), I would like to include myself as a highly skilled technician who has left the industry, as have most of the best technicians I have worked with over the years. It can take ten years or more for a technician fresh out of trade school to begin to really understand the complexities of our modern automobiles—most never do. Highly skilled technicians are just not being replaced as quickly as they are leaving.

One way to help stem the tide is to keep the current group in the 45–60 age range working on cars until they retire, instead of having them get fed up and leave the industry as I and many others have done. So what is driving these highly skilled technicians out of the repair business and into other fields? It’s simple—compensation and working conditions.

I realize that times are tough and everyone has been asked to do more for less pay, but this started in the automotive repair industry many years before our recent recession worsened the problem.

In most cases, technicians are paid using what is called a “flat rate” system. This system is based on the suggested labor times for each specific job. These “flat rate” times are developed by the manufacturers and then adjusted (slightly higher) for the independent repair shops. This means the technician is paid based on the hours billed to the customer for the jobs he worked on.

The technician is paid for each “flat rate” hour produced regardless of how long it takes to do the job. If the technician beats the time, she comes out ahead. If he takes longer, there is no compensation for the extra time.

Some shops take this to the extreme. When there is no work in the shop, there is no pay. Up until about the year 2000, when shops were busy, most technicians could break even or come out ahead under this system. As a way to cut costs, many manufacturers and shop owners began to reduce the “flat rate” time on many repairs. As a result, it has become much more difficult to come out ahead when performing difficult diagnostics and repairs that most skilled technicians commonly do. This situation has negatively impacted the compensation and working conditions for just about every auto repair technician.

According to information available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, since 2003, the average salary for auto repair technicians has not kept pace with the Consumer Price Index or the average salary many other skilled trades:

Percentage Increase 2003–2011

Consumer price index 23.14%

Average Salary for:
Auto Repair Technician: 15.73%
Truck and Bus Technician: 18.80%
Aircraft Technician: 21.73%
Elevator Repair Technician: 31.95%

How can this industry possibly attract new techs and retain its current ones if the average auto repair technician’s salary has lost 7.5% to inflation over the last eight years? It cannot.

Next time, we will look at why some repair shops have been able to retain their senior technicians and to bring on board younger techs, right out of trade school, who are ready to learn from these experienced technicians. We call them Top Shops.

While most shops have always had a certain amount of difficulty finding and keeping good quality technicians, the problem seems to be getting worse. It looks like this trend will continue for the foreseeable future. Good quality shops that are committed to providing their technicians with what is needed to repair today’s complex cars and light trucks (tools, training, repair information) along with fair compensation have been able to continue attracting the best and brightest technicians.

RepairPal Top Shops are excellent examples of this. These shops tend to have a core group of very experienced technicians who have been working together for many years. Mixed in with this core group are a smaller number of younger technicians (most often these are fairly recent trade school graduates) who are willing and able to learn from the more experienced group. It takes a commitment from both the shop owners and technicians to make this work. At this critical stage in the development of our next generation of automotive technicians, we need more shops committed to this never ending training process.

As part of our RepairPal Top Shop assessment process, I have the opportunity to get to know these shops and their employees. I am continually impressed with the quality I find. I have often thought to myself if I had been working in a shop of this caliber, perhaps I would still be working in the trade. It’s not that I don’t enjoy my work at RepairPal, I most certainly do! It’s just that some shops are so much better at taking care of their employees, I cannot help but wonder what it would have been like if things had turned out differently for me and others like myself who have recently left the trade.

It is not cheap for a shop to take care of their employees. Tools, training, certifications, and fair compensation certainly add up. Shops that provide all of these things will generally have to charge more for their repairs than those that do not. So, how will you know if a repair shop has the qualifications to back up the prices they charge? That is where RepairPal comes in. We have done the homework for you. You can rest assured that all RepairPal Certified shops have proven to the AutoPro team at RepairPal that they have what it takes to get your vehicle repaired.