december2022 - 4

EDITOR'S NOTE
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The technician shortage
is getting real
Everyone needs to pitch in to fix this problem.
E
BRENDAN BAKER
EDITOR
BBaker@
endeavorb2b.com
ven before the pandemic,
there was a technician
shortage. Some estimates
say the industry, which includes
every segment from automotive
to aviation, will need more technicians
in the next four years than
we have available in the pipeline.
What does that mean?
According to the TechForce
Foundation, a non-profit group
helping replenish the supply of
technicians to shops, the industry
will require almost one million
new technicians by 2026.
TechForce recently released
its 2022 Transportation Technician
Supply & Demand Report
that shows tech program graduations
slipped 2.6 percent and 0.4
percent in the diesel and collision
repair segments but have fallen by
a combined 17 percent over the
past five years.
Even with a solid rebound for
automotive (+4.2 percent) and diesel
(+6.5 percent) repair segments,
the overall picture shows a drop in
combined completions, going from
48,208 in 2020 to 44,052 in 2021.
Collision repair techs have also
dropped 0.7 percent, continuing
a six-year decline.
TechForce estimates demand
for new automotive, diesel, and collision
repair technicians (new and
replacements from prior years) will
reach 232,000 in 2022 and balloon
to 900,000 through 2026. That's
not a typo, either.
An article in WIRED highlighted
the issue of fewer shops
to repair high-tech cars and fewer
shops capable of working on them.
The article states that U.S. repair
shops fixed 246 vehicles per bay
in 2020, compared to 225 in 2016.
The problem growing under
our noses is that in many cases,
independent shops can't get the
repair information to do the job
correctly. Without expert techs
who know how to use high-tech
tools and think like engineers,
some shops are reluctant to work
on a vehicle if they know they can't
do it right. So they send the job to
the dealership. But even dealerships
need help hiring techs.
The
state of
the
repair
industry should matter to tool
distributors as much as it does
to shops. How far will you have
to drive to service the same
number of accounts? What about
the number of customers (i.e.,
techs) purchasing tools from you
week after week?
" The solution to this crisis lies
in industry, non-profit, education,
and government partners working
together to build awareness,
curiosity, and interest in these
careers among our youth, " said
TechForce Foundation CEO Jennifer
Maher. " This year's report
underscores the challenges we face
in attracting, training, and retaining
technicians and the boundless
opportunities for talented
young people to build successful,
rewarding careers in one of the
world's most dynamic and technology-intensive
industries. "
4 Professional Distributor I December 2022 I VehicleServicePros.com
Printed in the U.S. Volume 30, Number 10; December 2022
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT - TRANSPORTATION
Kylie Hirko 630-253-4034 Kylie@VehicleServicePros.com
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EDITOR Brendan Baker
BBaker@EndeavorB2B.com
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december2022

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