Teacher Shortage Forcing Many Schools To Turn Away Students
In a time when the automotive repair industry is reeling from a lack of employees, schools designed to produce perfect candidates are unable to accept new students.
Limited teachers and resources are putting limitations on the number of auto techs a school can graduate yearly, and this is making it difficult for auto repair shops to find trained mechanics to hire.
The demand for auto technicians is growing at a much more rapid rate than area schools can graduate.
The students that are graduating, are finding themselves with job offers on the table before they even get through their junior year.
This is great for the select few students who can get accepted into these schools, but it is putting a strain on local businesses trying to keep up with hiring.
Students are getting jobs before graduating at a rate of 90%, meaning even students with subpar skills are finding themselves working on customer's cars the day after graduating.
With the strong demand, the quality of technicians and the work that they perform is sure to decline in the up coming years.
With the increasing demand, competition to lure fresh graduates is heightening, with rising wages and offers of lucrative benefits and bonuses.
Top wages for auto techs can reach upwards of $100k a year, starting wages are around $15 to $20 per hour.
At least 35,000 technicians will be needed annually to fill the void in repair shops, and the schools are just not able to meet that demand.
The future for many aspiring auto technicians is looking bright, so long as they can get accepted into a program that will train them.