Just two years ago I was looking to recruit a new member of staff for the workshop, I looked through the usual online job sites seeing what wording would catch the best applicant and the most competitive salary packages being offered. What struck me was the salary comparison between sectors, a main dealer was advertising for a level 3 technician, 6 days a week paying £17k a year, just below was a warehouse job that required no qualifications was less hours and £20k a year!
So where do we find ourselves now, well the good news is that recently it has been announced that Vehicle Technicians have seen a 5.5% increase in advertised salaries over the past 6 months and having recently put an advert out salaries are now around £30k per year. This is great news for technicians as the pay they are now receiving credits the knowledge and skill required as well as the tools they need to invest in and the necessary continuous learning.
But although this increase is well justified and a great incentive for techs it has come about due to a real shortage of skilled technicians available. Back when I saw the low main dealer wage the trade wasn’t attracting bright young talent willing to put in the years to learn the skills needed for such a small wage. Not only do we not have people looking to enter the trade we also have plenty looking to leave. The MOT online testing seems to knock more and more people out each year and the pool of technicians with an MOT qualification seems to be rapidly diminishing.
The ever-increasing issue of finding staff that have experience and are of a good competency is a problem I hear time and time again from employers, as they say a business is only as good as the staff who work in it. Nothing is more important to a workshop than having technicians who tick a mountain of boxes and help drive the business forward.
The trade and the education system need to get a grip of the shortage of technicians within our sector. It’s a problem that has been growing for years, I would like to see more education surrounding retraining people of all ages into car mechanics and electrical systems, promoting it more in schools to show it’s not just about being covered in oil and working in the cold!