Opinion: Mike Rowe has it wrong on technician shortage root cause

[Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in this open letter are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of Fleet Maintenance, and we hope to provide a forum for all perspectives on this issue. If you want to chime in, drop a note to [email protected].]

Mr. Rowe: I'm Disappointed. Let's Talk...

Mr. Rowe:

I’m disappointed.

As a longtime fan of your show and of your support for those who work on “Dirty Jobs,” your recent posts that suggest that technicians are avoiding the automotive field because of a lack of interest or motivation is off message.

When did you become a megaphone for corporate executives?

Having spent my life in this industry, and the last five years of my life researching automotive education and industry credentials while working toward my doctorate, I’d like to take a moment to have a conversation about the state of the technician career.

For a moment, I would like to be the voice for the technician so that the “industry” has a better understanding of the world of the technician through their eyes.

We don’t have a technician shortage. We have a technician career crisis.

Here are a few of the issues technicians are facing:

1. Flat-rate pay system: This pay system is a hedge against technician incompetence in favor of the employer. In other words, it protects the employer at the expense of the technician. If the technician takes too long, they are penalized. If they don’t do it right the first time: penalized. If they work like crazy, they can earn more, and some do, but most don’t.

Often this is at the expense of quality repair work. In some cases, when technicians start beating the clock, the manufacturer changes the labor time to protect their interests and bottom line. Can you imagine the exhaustion of working this way?

This leads to disappointment for the employer and the technician as both of their expectations were not met. The employer hoped for a skilled entry-level candidate, and the student was told by the school that they graduated from a “Master level” program. We need to fix this by improving technical skills of graduates. Currently, we assess students with multiple-choice exams. Their employers assess them on what they can do on the job. We need to train technicians toward the skills that employers hire and promote for.

4. A 50-year Problem: These industry issues are not new. Fifty years ago, the industry proposed a self-regulated profession that was designed to stave off technician licensing in response to public criticism during national hearings around safety problems in automotive industry. Industry assured Congress that they would take care of the issue of technician incompetence using a “skills test”. 

In 50 years’ time we have failed to realize that it didn’t work. The skills test was replaced by a more scalable multiple-choice exam.

It provided access to low-skill, cheap labor for employers, but it certainly didn’t fix the technician competency problem. 

While voluntary testing did help technicians showcase their knowledge, self-motivation and personal investment, it did not help technicians build a professional bench that showcased their skills. Fixing this very issue is paramount. 

Industry promised congress a “skills test” but we have never had a formalized measurement of technician skill. 

To make matters worse, the number of technicians certified through the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) has decreased from roughly 275,000 in 2012 to less than 175,000 today—a loss of over 100,000 certified technicians. 

5. Attrition: For all the money the “non-profit” sector is throwing at the technician shortage problem in the form of grants and scholarships, technician attrition falls somewhere between 40-80% in the technician’s first three years of employment. Why? See above. And below.

6. Technicians need a profession: Without a complete remake of the technician career role, and without addressing the core root causes, nothing will change. 

Professions recognize individuals who have made an investment and demonstrated their abilities. We need to take a hard look at why we don’t have a better system for our industry.

As a person who grew up working on and around cars (third generation) and became an educator and advocate for technicians, I would like to see nothing more than the great success of the men and women who do the dirty job of keeping this industry rolling.

I thought you did too, Mike.

Messages that blame technicians are missing the mark if they go without addressing the underlying issues that are affecting their decision to avoid or leave the industry.

There are 800,000 technician voices; have a conversation with them. See what they think.

As for the comments by technicians in your recent posts, reach out to some of those folks and get their story. For as long as I can remember, their stories were what mattered to you.

Restore my faith, Mike. And help us create a skilled trades sector we can all be proud of.