TechForce releases the 2021 Technician Supply & Demand Report
Posted on October 28, 2021 by TechForce Foundation in Headlight News, News, Technician Shortage
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TechForce Report Reveals Demand for New Technicians Supply took a big hit in 2020 from COVID while demand continued to increase Electric vehicle impact on demand negligible over next 5 years |
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October 28, 2021 – PHOENIX, AZ — TechForce Foundation® has released its 2021 Transportation Technician Supply & Demand Report, revealing the transportation technician shortage continues to worsen. Demand for technicians nearly doubled in the past year – from 136,503 in 2020 to 258,000 in 2021. Last year demand outpaced supply by nearly three to one; now it is estimated to be five to one.
The 2021 Technician Supply & Demand Report supplements the Foundation’s previous reports, adjusting prior projections to reflect research from the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office and TechForce’s own analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Citing both increasing demand for professional techs and a declining supply of new techs entering the industry, the update concludes that the technician shortage is increasing in severity, exacerbated by the COVID driven decrease in post-secondary enrollments in 2020.
Although demand is strong, with 797,530 auto/diesel/collision techs needed between 2021 and 2025, the shortage continues to worsen. This year demand for new entrant techs is estimated at 258,000 (up from 136,503 in 2020) while 2020 post secondary completions (supply) were only 48,000. We are seeing a glimmer of hope as attitudes towards these careers are improving in part because they were deemed essential by the government. This translates to great job security. “There is no short-term immediate fix for the tech shortage because it takes time to cultivate and train new techs. However, we are seeing growing industry support and student engagement with near term solutions like the network launched earlier this year by TechForce,” said Jennifer Maher, TechForce CEO.
Built to inspire and support tomorrow’s workforce of technicians, JoinTechForce.org is the first and only social network designed and gamified exclusively for professional technicians and tech students. They are using it to connect with each other, employers and schools. The transportation community is supporting it with content and using it to learn, connect, find scholarships and events, explore job opportunities while competing for prizes and leaderboard status.
According to TechForce Director Emeritus of National Initiatives Greg Settle, who authored the report, “We have done our best to make allowances for the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is clear that the long-term social and economic consequences remain unknown.”
“As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, skilled workers remain vital to our nation’s economy,” says Jerome Grant, CEO of Universal Technical Institute. “This report is informative as to the trends for emerging areas within the automotive field including some initial details on the impact of electric vehicles.”
You can download the 2021 Technician Supply & Demand Report here.
About TechForce Foundation Resource Links
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I have been in the car world as enthusiast, hobbyist and now professional for a very long-time 30+ years. We all know the automotive world is changing. Some of us can walk into our garages and look back 100 years at a car and a slight tilt of our head we can now take in the view of our car plugged in and awaiting our commands. It evolved as most industry will. We must adapt along with it and that means we must adapt our workforce along the same timeline. If we examine that timeline carefully and we unwind where we must start to fix this problem – its younger than you think. First, we must excite a new generation and nurture them through education and guide them into careers. Once there we should support them with competitive environments (salary, benefits, work life balance) and evolve new ways for them to grow, keep them educated and up to date and share appreciation, trust and ample rewards as a technician advances in their career. Hagerty recently addressed some of these issues in an article which can be read here: https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/why-is-the-automotive-repair-industry-in-need-of-so-much-repair-itself/?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_content=MED_UN_NA_EML_UN_DailyDriver_Wednesday&hashed_email=ff83d0c28b90773d3bde7982cd8203f9412f6af8caf799a830c90bfe64b4dc13
We must continue to work together and start them young.