Dive Brief:
- The number of automotive technicians employed in the U.S. reached 794,600 in 2023, according to the TechForce 2024 Supply & Demand report. The growing workforce is over 5% higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
- The projected demand for automotive service technicians is expected to rise by over 470,000 between 2024-2028, according to the report.
- Meanwhile, the number of post-secondary completions in the transportation field increased for the second year in a row, reaching 37,449 in 2023, which may help address expected shortage of qualified technicians.
Dive Insight:
As the national shortage of automotive technicians persists, TechForce Foundation CEO Jennifer Maher said it is good news to see the number of students pursuing automotive technician training increasing for the second year in a row, according to data from the TechForce 2024 Supply & Demand report.
The attitude that every student should pursue a four-year university degree has broadly changed, Maher said. As the auto industry transitions to electrification, the high-tech field is becoming more appealing for young people to work in, she added. However, Maher wants the automotive industry to improve retention of young technicians by offering higher compensation for entry-level roles and building a more conducive workplace culture that many Gen Z workers seek from a career.
“There's a lot of employers who really believe you've got to pay your dues and work on the lube rack for several years,” she said. “The problem with that is, this is a gaming generation and an information generation, so they want to know how quickly they can master and go up.”
Of the more than 37,000 students who finished post-secondary automotive technician education in 2023, more than half attended a two-year public institution. Universal Technical Institute, a private post-secondary institution in Arizona, had the most graduates in 2023, with eight of its programs ranking in the top 10 nationally, per the report. Nearly 4,500 students completed its automotive training program at those locations that year.
However, the industry must make up ground, as demand for automotive technicians is expected to grow to over 471,000 between 2024-2028, according to the report.
The report projects a demand for over 89,000 new automotive technician roles in 2028, 71,671 of which will be “replacement positions from separations”—defined in the report as new openings created by retirement and turnover. It attributes the remaining demand to growth in the industry.
Maher said it is also important to consider that students pursuing post-secondary school for technician roles have options beyond the automotive industry.
“Every other industry is poaching from the same pipeline,” she said. “It's the same kid they all want, whether you go diesel or you go to wind turbines. They're all looking for these kids who want to take it apart, put it back together, problem solve, work with their hands.”
Clarification: This story was updated to reflect the full number of students graduating at UTI campuses in 2023.
