Report Update Shows Shortage of Vehicle Technicians Worsening

An update on a report released by the nonprofit TechForce Foundation has found that the transportation technician shortage continues to worsen.

The Technician Supply and Demand Report supplements previous reports for 2018 — “Transportation Technician Supply” and “Transportation Technician Demand.” The update adjusts prior projections to reflect newly published research from the National Center for Education Statistics and TechForce’s own analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, according to a news release from the TechForce Foundation.

Citing both increasing demand for professional technicians and a declining supply of new technicians entering the industry, the update concludes that the technician shortage is increasing in severity, despite industry efforts to organize around the issue and a slight uptick in new post-secondary degrees and certificates for future diesel technicians.

“The technician shortage is not a new problem,” said Greg Settle, director of national initiatives for TechForce, who co-authored the report with Doug Young, managing director of consulting firm Wilcap. “However, close monitoring of actual industry demand, as well as available supply, is critical to better understanding exactly what we are up against.”

The original Technician Demand and Technician Supply reports, published in 2017 and 2018 respectively, found that the estimated demand for new entrant vehicle technicians was more than triple previous estimates, and that post-secondary supply of new entrant vehicle technicians has not kept up with the spike in demand.

The Technician Supply and Demand Report update shows that these trends have continued, further increasing the scope and impact of the technician shortage.

“While the shortage continues to worsen, the good news is the transportation industry is organizing to do something about it,” said Jennifer Maher, CEO of TechForce. “TechForce Foundation’s FutureTech Success campaign is leveraging the industry’s collective voice to inspire the next generation of technicians and address the root causes of the shortage.”

To request copies of the Technician Supply and Demand Report along with the original Transportation Technician Demand and Transportation Technician Supply Reports, go here.

To learn more about TechForce’s FutureTech Success campaign, go here.