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The Real Reason America Is Short of Automotive Technicians
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. America’s automotive technician shortage has become one of the country’s most pressing workforce challenges. According to TechForce Foundation, around 1.2 million new automotive, collision and diesel technicians must enter the workforce by 2029 just to keep pace with the unprecedented demand, yet current training pipelines are expected to fill only a fraction of that demand. What was once considered an industry concern is increasingly becoming an economic one, affecting repair capacity, consumer costs and the ability of businesses to keep pace with rapidly evolving vehicle technology.
Pressure on the workforce continues to build as the country’s “silent army” of experienced tradespeople retire, and vehicles become more sophisticated. Electric vehicles, advanced driver-assistance and increasingly complex electronics demand specialized expertise that cannot be developed overnight. Dealerships, independent repair facilities and aftermarket businesses are competing for the same shrinking pool of skilled workers, while customers are already feeling the effects through longer wait times and rising labor costs.
Recent investments by automakers and industry organizations underscore how urgent the situation has become. The US Department of Labor is awarding $162 million to expand Registered Apprenticeship programs. Companies are developing similar programs, offering scholarships and raising compensation in an effort to attract new talent.
Yet many leaders often argue that these initiatives address the symptoms rather than the cause. Filling vacancies will remain difficult if fewer young people ever consider the automotive industry as a serious career option in the first place.
Americans, many believe, aren’t running out of capable young people. It is running out of opportunities to introduce them to careers they were never encouraged to explore. The debate, increasingly, is moving from labor shortages to career awareness, vocational education and whether schools are preparing students for the workforce the economy actually needs.
Will Castro has seen that disconnect unfold far more closely than many. With more than four decades of building custom vehicles through Team Unique for celebrities, athletes and luxury clients, Castro has shifted much of his attention toward developing the industry’s future workforce through Unique Academy USA , a vocational training program that introduces students to careers in the automotive aftermarket.
Castro believes the industry’s biggest obstacle is not a lack of ambition among young people but a system that presents four-year college degrees as the default measure of success while giving vocational careers comparatively little attention.
“I don’t discourage college. College is fantastic for the people it’s built for. But not everybody is built for college. Plenty of students are wired to work with their hands, build businesses and create something of their own. We have to stop acting like there’s only one path to a successful life,” Castro explains.
He further argues that outdated perceptions continue to overshadow the modern automotive industry. Too often, students picture automotive careers as traditional repair work without realizing the aftermarket sector offers highly specialized fields such as paint protection film installation, vinyl wrapping, window tinting, detailing and vehicle customization.
“We’re teaching skills where someone can make an incredible living without fitting the stereotype people still have in their heads,” Castro says. “You can stay in a clean shirt, learn a specialized trade, work on amazing vehicles and build a career that can take you anywhere.”
More Gen Zs may be agreeing with that perception, as young workers are going into trades driven by the desire to move away from the conventional college track, especially amidst rising pay and technological advancement.
Castro believes the technician shortage reflects another issue receiving far less attention: the declining number of experienced professionals willing to become instructors. “I think one of the biggest shortages is instructors. Knowledge leaves the industry every time someone retires without teaching the next generation,” he says.
Instead of solely relying on classroom instruction, Castro advocates experiential learning that places students inside real businesses, exposes them to customers and allows them to learn directly from professionals who have built successful careers. “I’ve made plenty of mistakes throughout my career. If I can help students avoid those same mistakes, they’re already starting ahead of where I was,” he states.
Castro points to one graduate as an example of what practical education can accomplish. Eddie Chavez completed the program before launching Team Unique Mobile Services, a business specializing in professional window tinting for vehicles, homes and commercial properties. Castro reflects, “If Eddie was able to build his own business, another student can see that and think, ‘I can do it too.’ That’s how confidence starts.”
Stories like Chavez’s reinforce Castro’s belief that vocational education should produce entrepreneurs as readily as employees. Technical skills create opportunities, he says, but understanding customers and business ownership ultimately determines long-term success.
Industry participation is equally important. Castro notes that students attending Unique Academy USA currently receive training at no cost because the academy and its longtime title sponsor, XPEL Inc. , fund the program and its mentorship initiatives. He hopes more businesses will choose to invest in developing talent instead of waiting for someone else to solve the labor shortage.
“If business owners want this industry to be around for another generation, they have to help build ...
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