Comment: Is it me or is our trade suffering a serious skills shortage?

GW columnist Caroline Lake asks why more young people aren’t being encouraged into the trade

Comment: Is it me or is our trade suffering a serious skills shortage?
Founder of Norwich-based Caroline’s Cars and GW columnist, Caroline Lake.

Writing in her column in the latest issue of GW Views, Caroline Lake said: “I have recently advertised repeatedly for an ‘experienced mechanic’ using various mediums including online, the local press and in desperation, a well-known motor trade recruitment agency but to no avail.

“Yes, I had applicants but these tended to be limited to the likes of the local pizza delivery bloke, who as a wannabe mechanic thought that as he had changed the brake pads on his mate’s Mondeo, he was now fully qualified to work in a garage.

“Oh, and a few ‘jobseekers’ who didn’t really seem to want a job, especially not in a garage, but were keeping up their quota of applications.

“Having chatted at length with the manager of the recruitment agency who failed to find me a suitable employee, his opinion was that indeed there is a shortage and that for many years the garage industry has done little to attract intelligent and mechanically minded people into the trade.

“Having used the local college to recruit and train several apprentices over the years, my personal experience has been that most students are encouraged towards our trade when they have few if any qualifications and anyone with more than a smattering of GCSE’s would be guided towards a ’better’ career.

“Which brings me on to my new apprentice Amy and what a breath of fresh air she is.

“Amy approached me a few months ago as she has always wanted to be a mechanic, initially just to ask for advice as to how she might enter the trade with no previous experience and the added disadvantage of being a woman.

“Her story made my blood boil.

“At school, Amy expressed a desire, indeed a passion, to follow a mechanical career but as a bright student who gained numerous GCSE’s, several at A grade, this wasn’t considered a suitable career path.

“Instead she was pushed to take A levels, which she did and passed.

“But she still wanted to be a mechanic…”

This extracted article first featured in Garage Wire Views, click here to continue reading as Caroline questions how the industry can encourage more people to consider the trade as an attractive career option…

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8 Comments

  1. With respect, you have to be a bloody genius to diagnose and fix modern cars. Even the manufacturers scrimp on training by only training the master techs to the standard that is required these days. The conditions poor and pay scale is peanuts. The investment you have to make in tooling alone is ridiculous. I know very intelligent vehicle technicians that are now working for tescos because it pays just as well.

    Reply
  2. With respect, you have to be a bloody genius to diagnose and fix modern cars. Even the manufacturers scrimp on training by only training the master techs to the standard that is required these days. The conditions poor and pay scale is peanuts. The investment you have to make in tooling alone is ridiculous. I know very intelligent vehicle technicians that are now working for tescos because it pays just as well.

    Reply
  3. The problem it the skill level required in the motor trade has rocketed over the years but the money has not moved with the times It is extremely common for apprentices to come into the trade and when the learn the skill wage imbalance they make there exit I know a lot of mechanics that are only just above the minimum wage but the problem is we can’t just start putting wages up because the cost would have to be passed to the customer who im sure wouldnt be to happy and before we do that the public need to be educated on just how much skills are required to work on today’s cars because even though they are aware that cars are more technically advanced than they where years ago they don’t seem to grasp how much the skill level has had to advance with it

    Reply
  4. The problem it the skill level required in the motor trade has rocketed over the years but the money has not moved with the times It is extremely common for apprentices to come into the trade and when the learn the skill wage imbalance they make there exit I know a lot of mechanics that are only just above the minimum wage but the problem is we can’t just start putting wages up because the cost would have to be passed to the customer who im sure wouldnt be to happy and before we do that the public need to be educated on just how much skills are required to work on today’s cars because even though they are aware that cars are more technically advanced than they where years ago they don’t seem to grasp how much the skill level has had to advance with it

    Reply
  5. An excellent article and one that has caused serious problems to our business for many years. Even though we offer similar rates to those paid by main dealers it is impossible to find someone who is suficienttly qualified, experienced and interested to repair vehicles to the standard we require. The biggest problem to overcome is the costcutting society we live in, motorists always want the cheapest price and by driving prices down there is no scope to pay better wages and just as importent, to offer a technician a career path that competes with those in other industries. The days of paying minimum wages,having to put up with dark and dirty working areas, no prospects of worthwhile training and qualifications have to end, cut price MOT’s and cheap servicing are not going to change this .Anyone who is worth employing will be poached by other industries who can afford to provide a better job. This has happened to us several times in the last couple of years and the time taken to weed through the dross and the time wasters who apply for the vacancy makes me wonder if the garage trade is doomed and going the same way as petrol stations and public houses

    Reply
  6. An excellent article and one that has caused serious problems to our business for many years. Even though we offer similar rates to those paid by main dealers it is impossible to find someone who is suficienttly qualified, experienced and interested to repair vehicles to the standard we require. The biggest problem to overcome is the costcutting society we live in, motorists always want the cheapest price and by driving prices down there is no scope to pay better wages and just as importent, to offer a technician a career path that competes with those in other industries. The days of paying minimum wages,having to put up with dark and dirty working areas, no prospects of worthwhile training and qualifications have to end, cut price MOT’s and cheap servicing are not going to change this .Anyone who is worth employing will be poached by other industries who can afford to provide a better job. This has happened to us several times in the last couple of years and the time taken to weed through the dross and the time wasters who apply for the vacancy makes me wonder if the garage trade is doomed and going the same way as petrol stations and public houses

    Reply
  7. This is a brilliant article! This is something that needs to be addressed quickly as I feel the industry is on a downwards spiral. We are now in our 35th year of trading and have seen a decline in the quality of workforce available to the market. This stems from various things but after talking to many friends who have got out of the industry tha main factors are poor pay, long hours ridiculous targets and the ever increasing unregulated competition that can do it cheaper, bodge it up and then leave the experts to fix their mistakes. Collectivly the aftermarket sector can not offer the career path that would apeal to most technicians as the ever increasing competition of unregulated garages and prices being driven down to rock bottom does not leave enough to offer the wages or prospects that would be attractive. The garages that are prepared to invest in this indusrty will only invest if change will happen but until then we ride the rocky road of uncertainty.

    Reply
  8. This is a brilliant article! This is something that needs to be addressed quickly as I feel the industry is on a downwards spiral. We are now in our 35th year of trading and have seen a decline in the quality of workforce available to the market. This stems from various things but after talking to many friends who have got out of the industry tha main factors are poor pay, long hours ridiculous targets and the ever increasing unregulated competition that can do it cheaper, bodge it up and then leave the experts to fix their mistakes. Collectivly the aftermarket sector can not offer the career path that would apeal to most technicians as the ever increasing competition of unregulated garages and prices being driven down to rock bottom does not leave enough to offer the wages or prospects that would be attractive. The garages that are prepared to invest in this indusrty will only invest if change will happen but until then we ride the rocky road of uncertainty.

    Reply

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