Professional Technician Development Committee Information Report 2006-3: Technician Retention and Recruitment: Challenges and Opportunities
Recruiting and retaining qualified commercial vehicle technicians has become a very challenging task. Aside from purely economic factors, the reasons for this are fourfold:
- Society has a negative view of the professional technician career path.
- Guidance counselors and parents, as a result, do not encourage young adults to consider a career in vehicle maintenance. Instead, students with technical aptitude are encour- aged to pursue careers in other professions, such as the construction, computer and electronics industries.
- There are fewer opportunities for young adults to obtain experience working in an automotive repair and maintenance place of employment. Thirty years ago, gasoline service stations featuring full-service and maintenance/repair operations were common place. Today, they are increasingly rare.
- Vehicles have become increasingly sophisticated, leaving young adults either unable or ill-equipped to work on their own vehicles and thus cultivate an interest in automotive technology. This clearly was not the case 30 years ago.
Issued: July 2006
Report