As auto industry struggles to fill good-paying jobs, Ford unveils new strategy
Help wanted.
Seriously.
The global auto industry is bracing for a shortage of auto repair and maintenance technicians as the field feels the pinch of an aging workforce nearing retirement and too few recruits to fill the jobs they leave behind. Customers can expect to feel the pain — think even longer waits for service — unless automakers take drastic steps to recruit new talent.
Back in the day, these folks were called mechanics. But things have changed.
As much as the job may involve grease and wrenching, so, too, does it require understanding software technology. Vehicles continue to become more sophisticated as the industry moves from gas-powered to electric.
On Thursday, Ford Motor Co. announced its investment in a potential solution.
The Dearborn-based automaker said it has budgeted $1 million for scholarships to cover costs for students who want to become automotive technicians. The collaborative effort, which also includes the charitable Ford Fund and Ford dealers, aims to help 200 low-income students — or 50 per region in Arizona, Texas, Georgia and Illinois — obtain a two-year certification program.
"Despite annual demand for 258,000 new technicians, there are only 48,000 graduates from technician programs each year nationwide," Ford said in its news release, citing data from a TechForce Foundation 2022 report and the U.S. Department of Labor.
The Ford Auto Tech Scholarship is open to current and future students who are enrolled in post-secondary auto or auto and diesel technician training programs in the Greater Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Phoenix areas, and the scholarship funds will be distributed in $5,000 increments to cover all costs including tuition, tools, living expenses and transportation. Ford will monitor success and determine whether to expand the program nationally.
Six-figure jobs on the horizon
This effort is led by Elena Ford, chief customer experience officer at Ford, the nonprofit Ford Fund and Ford dealers. It was conceived after a series of meetings that identified strategies to benefit the overall industry.
“When we started talking with dealers across the country, we heard amazing stories of auto techs who are bringing fresh energy and perspective to our industry,” Elena Ford told the Detroit Free Press. “We created this scholarship program to give students a strong start on a career path that combines passion for vehicles with problem solving and communication."
Auto mechanic jobs average $44,245 nationally (higher in Texas), and can reach six-figures for master technicians, according to ziprecruiter.com. However, a listing at Car Guys in New Baltimore offers $75,000 to $85,000 while Belle Tire in New Baltimore offers a pay range of $60,000 to $100,000. Marlette Auto and Truck in Port Huron lists pay from $60,000 to $120,000, depending on experience.
'Writing your own ticket'
Tim Hovik, owner of San Tan Ford in Gilbert, Arizona, said the auto technician issue "is absolutely top of mind."
It's not a Ford crisis; it's industrywide and Ford is working to get ahead, he said."Some of our legacy jobs that sort of make the world go round in our country, that workforce is getting toward the end of their careers, and we've had a challenge replacing them," Hovik told the Detroit Free Press. "Part of it is education, telling people these jobs are available."
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What's especially powerful, he noted, is the idea that someone five years out of high school may be able to have a six-figure income while "writing your own ticket, getting a job anywhere in the country."
Geek Squad and gearheads
Dealers have been talking every month, trying to address this issue, said Hovik, who is also chairman of the Ford National Dealer Council that serves as an advisory group on strategy and developing issues within Ford. "The feeder system in schools has largely gone away. It's incumbent upon manufacturers and dealers to work together on technician recruitment and retention," he said.
"We’re certainly not anywhere near the ICE (internal combustion engine) world shrinking," he said. "We may be working toward the electrification in terms of sales, but tens of millions of ICE vehicles are on the road. As we move forward, a technician can be heavy diesel tech or more akin to somebody you’d think of as Geek Squad, doing basically computer software work all day. It's a range of skills."
This is not just carburetors and sparkplugs anymore, Hovik said, adding:
"This career allows for a great wage, a great life."
Not a greasy, dirty job
Charlie Gilchrist, CEO of four Ford dealerships in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, told the Free Press: "In our state today, every single dealership needs automotive technicians."
Gilchrist, who talked with Elena Ford about his vision, went so far as to hire a former technician who spent years teaching shop at a local high school to help identify talent and recruit young technicians out of high school — most recently adding young women to the team.
"There's the perception that it's a greasy, dirty job," Gilchrist said. "It's a high skill, high-tech job now. The demand is there. It's critical."
Late last year, Gilchrist hired Travis Unger, a former automotive tech who taught shop at Weatherford High School in Weatherford, Texas, as the dealership's director of education to recruit young talent.
"We target the kid who goes through automotive programs or gearheads. That's a good talent pool but it's time to expand," Unger said. "A lot of young people have a skill set, and they don't realize how well it would plug in."
Case study: Jaiden Parker
Jaiden Parker, 18, of Weatherford, has been a technician trainee at Southwest Ford since September. She works now with her former high school instructor who told her about the program that identifies women who may not have considered automotive careers.
"In middle school, I knew I had a love of cars. In high school, taking automotive classes, it started with little aesthetic things like making a car look better or sound better. Then it became about the fundamentals," said Parker, who views the career path as a way to support her little girl, Bexley.
Applications are due by June 30 and applicants will be notified of the results on a rolling basis throughout the spring and summer. Information about schools involved in the project and how to apply may be found online at www.TechForce.org/FordFund.
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Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid