Five ways to attract Gen Z technicians—and get the ones you hire to respect you

Based on these projections, there aren’t as many Gen Z-ers working as diesel technicians as the industry needs, which TechForce projected at the beginning of 2025. Which means that competition may be fierce for these younger techs as they enter the workforce. To help your shop stand out, here’s five tips to recruit Gen Z technicians.

1. Offer work-life balance

Being a technician is a demanding job. But in Deloitte Global’s 2025 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, Gen Zs ranked work-life balance as one of their top-three career goals (17%) and second-most common reason they changed industries, fields, or career paths (28%).  This means that shops need to find a balance as well, which can be a tall order.

“This is not a job that you can work from home,” said Jane Clark, SVP of Operations at NationaLease. “This is not a job that you can necessarily choose your own hours, because you have to be there to keep the shops open.”

Instead, Clark suggested shops find other ways to create flexibility for their technicians. This could range from providing the option for four-day weeks to offering flex time for family activities.

The American Psychological Association’s “Work in America Survey” found that 22% of employers offered a four-day work week in 2024, and in the same study, 80% of respondents said they thought they’d be happier and just as effective with one less day at the office.

Ultimately, the idea is that Gen Z workers prefer to be treated as people and to have an employer that’s willing to work with them on their needs.

2. Show your company cares

However, Gen Z isn’t only interested in a healthy relationship with their work for themselves. They’re also looking for a greater sense of purpose and meaning. For example, Deloitte’s survey found that 89% of Gen Zs consider a sense of purpose to be very or somewhat important for their job satisfaction/well-being.

And this is something that Sasha Spencer, operations manager at KTS Enterprise, has seen on the shop floor.

“When they don’t see how a task contributes to their development or the company's mission, that’s when you start to lose [Gen Z’s] engagement,” Spencer said.

This means that shops need to be able to link daily tasks to a larger goal and then be able to communicate to their employees regularly. This contributes both to synergy in the shop and helps technicians feel appreciated, both by their supervisors and by their community.

“We're really the backbone of the country, moving goods across the country to people that need them,” Clark stated. “So if you can show them what part they are in that, that certainly helps.”

3. Leverage the latest technology

While most technicians have a higher opinion of shops with the proper equipment, for Gen Z, access to more advanced technology and tools is a powerful draw.

“They love technology,” Clark added. “They're interested in innovation. They're interested in how AI can help them do their job.”

And this includes access and development with AI. According to Deloitte’s survey, 36% of Gen Zs say they plan to engage in GenAI training within the next year. So shops that can offer them that chance can give themselves a leg up in recruiting.

Another area is to make sure the shop has diagnsotic tools geared towards Gen Z, who don't remember life before smartphones. They don't have to be as high-tech as Cojali's upcoming Jaltest AR tool, but they should have a solid user experience. 

4. Recruiting in the right places

Another way to help recruit the next generation of technicians is to make sure you’re looking in the right places. And for Gen Z workers, that place is social media, with shops needing to post jobs that work well on those platforms.

“They're on social media, they're on Instagram,” Clark explained. “So making sure that you're present [is critical].” And shops shouldn’t only be posting when they have a job available. They should also strive to post engaging content, such as videos, that help showcase a day in their shop, what their culture is like, and the kind of work they do, Clark continued.

Another element to recruiting in the right places is making sure that your job posts are as accessible as possible to Gen Z.

“They're using their phone,” Clark said. “So if it's not easy for them to apply with their phone, they're probably not going to do it.”

As one example, LinkedIn offers its ‘Easy Apply’ feature, which streamlines the application process. And on NationaLease’s website, Clark said the company only asks for a brief application and a resume for easy access.

“How do you get in front of a technician who may not be looking for work, but their spouse is tired of hearing them complain about the shop every night?” asked Christopher Lawson, founder of Technician Find. “Social media is a great place to do that.”

5. Provide a future

Finally, a key aspect to engaging with Gen Z is making sure that they know how to progress in their roles. After all, Deloitte found that one of the strongest reasons Gen Zs chose to work for their current employer was learning and development. This was also in the top five reasons why Gen Z changed their industry or field.

“They’re hungry to learn everything they can, and most of them have goals of running their own business someday,” Spencer said of the Gen Z techs in her shop. “We find it’s most successful to set clear expectations, create detailed structures, and progressing levels of achievement along the way.”

By taking Gen Z’s future into account, shops can show that their business is worth investing in for the long haul for the next generation.