By Ed Sunkin
Editor
UNDERHOOD SERVICE Magazine

Through the years, you have heard over and over about the automotive technician shortage in the service and repair industry. Well, that subject has been dissected enough for now, so I won’t focus on that. However, I would like to talk about a side issue on the technician employment matter — steering the right people into our industry.

For example, how many young people did you influence over the years to enter this profession? Have you spoken at schools during career fairs or hired interns/apprentices to work part-time at your shop?

Maybe you know of someone in your family or a friend’s son or daughter who may have what it takes to become a technician or mechanic and you counseled this person on the advantages of a career in automotive service. Or maybe you have steered relatives away from this industry during such conversations.

Regardless of your input, the website of our sister publication, Tomorrow’s Technician, has recently added a JOBehaviors feature that can help point job candidates into a career path that best suits them.

We all know that finding the job that’s right for you is critical to your long-term success and happiness in life. You may even work with some people who are unhappy in their jobs and see how it negatively affects other aspects of their lives. Other shop co-workers of yours are so happy in their job, they don’t consider what they do for a living “work.”

We have heard that the number of jobs for automotive service technicians and mechanics is projected to grow faster than average for all occupations over the next decade. Which is good news for future techs.

But, before someone you know is sent off to college into a lifestyle they are not comfortable with, or before you start shelling out money for trade school tuition that will be seen as “wasted” a few years down the road, have the young adult check out the JOBehaviors feature.

Unlike most generic personality profiles, or IQ tests that don’t address jobs of interest, JOBehaviors provides dozens of job-specific self-assessments for positions in a variety of high-demand industries including the automotive service and repair market.

The applicant may find that they really do have a love for solving fuel-related vehicle problems on a Northstar engine and performing electrical diagnostics on an Escape hybrid.

On the other hand, the JOBehaviors profile may help you discover that taking over the family’s automotive repair facility is not what your son or daughter had in mind.

With the skyrocketing costs of secondary education these days, the key is to help the next generation discover what they are good at and what jobs they would like to do, rather than trying to set their goals for them.

Interested persons can access the JOBehaviors feature by visiting
www.tomorrowstechnician.com/CareerCenter.

As a side note, if your shop is looking to hire an entry-level technician, service writer, tire changer, parts delivery person or other staff member, we are continually updating the Career Center page at www.tomorrowstechnician.com.

All you need to do is e-mail us your shop name, city and state, contact information (phone, fax, e-mail address, etc.) and the job requirements to [email protected] and we will run your “help wanted” ad for FREE on our Career Center page.