When was the last time you heard anyone complain about the glut of automobile technicians? If you are also a technician, in addition to being a shop owner or manager, chances are you're probably old enough to remember when there were enough technicians to go around. After all, the average age of today's automotive technician is 43. Does that fact scare you as much as it scares me?

Ask any automotive repair professional about the lack of young people entering this profession and they will tell you that it is one of the greatest problems facing this industry. Now, stop and think about the trade magazine articles you read that are written by owners and managers. Think about the ads that you see and hear, and maybe even the ones you place yourself. It seems that more and more shops are making it known that they only employ technicians who are certified, master-certified or master-certified/L1 by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). While I applaud the professionalism and upgraded public image that ASE certification brings (I, too, am a CMAT/L1), I also recognize the need to bring entry-level people into our shops.

It costs a shop a huge amount of money to turn an entry-level tech into one that is profitable. I also know that we must each take responsibility for doing this because experienced, profitable technicians do not "magically appear out of thin air."

We have two young techs working with us. They graduated from the same technical college one year apart. One has been with us since he graduated in January of this year. He is eager to learn and wants to do a good job. The other one has been with us full-time since January of last year. He has come a long way in the time he has been here and still has a long way to go, but he is already getting close to being profitable even though he is not just doing routine work (if a person is going to grow into a good technician, he or she needs to be doing a variety of challenging work). He is also eager to learn and do a good job, and is constantly trying to find ways to work smarter. Both of them are always wanting to improve. The whole point to my bragging on these two young men is to let you know that entry-level techs are worth the effort!

We have been trying to start an apprenticeship program in the Indianapolis area in conjunction with the local state vocational college. The strange thing is that we are having trouble getting enough shops to sign up for the program. It's as if the shops are saying, "We're dying for good help, but don't expect us to do anything to help ourselves."

Ladies and gentlemen, the automotive repair industry has got to quit following the rest of the country and start taking responsibility for its own actions.

Curt Marsh, AAM, is vice president of Marsh Garage Inc., an ASA member-business. He is currently the Indy Mechanical Chapter representative to the ASA-Indiana board of directors and is serving on the Advisory Committee for the Indianapolis Vocational Career High School.

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