Fielding a Technician Farm TeamFielding a Technician Farm Team

Dealers know that requests for repair and service are booming, but a shortage of technicians pushes some customers to independent repair shops and other dealerships.

And the shortage isn’t for just the highest-trained of the 58 specialization categories designated by Automotive Service Excellence tests. The need for entry-level oil-and-lube techs contributes to the almost 100,000 technicians needed to join the workforce in 2025 and 2026 to keep up with demand.

“We are always recruiting for our quick lube, and we have kind of a stairstep from oil change that will get you into the main shop,” Bruce Genthe, president, Genthe Automotive, Southgate, MI, tells WardsAuto. “Now, you’re in a learning program with other technicians, the service manager, picking up (education) and working toward your certification. It’s basically a three-year program.”

Genthe has made that transition easier thanks to unblocking a significant obstacle that blocks would-be technicians. Genthe is one of the teams that has teamed with Sonic Tools to provide its technicians with an array of tools, often costing more than $10,000. As the techs move along in their career paths, their tool sets expand. Once a trainee stays with the dealership for three years and moves to master tech status, the tools are theirs.

The partnership is something akin to one run by Cox Automotive’s FleeTec Academy. Based in Indiana, the program recruits potential diesel technicians. They then undergo intensive residential training. Graduates who stay with Cox for three years also are allowed to keep the tools provided by Cox, estimated at $20,000.

Colby McConnell, president, Sonic Tools, says Genthe’s initiative “stands as a model for training the next generation of skilled automotive technicians. With Sonic Tools at the core of their program, Genthe’s initiative stands as a model for training the next generation of skilled automotive professionals. Genthe Automotive’s investment in its technicians is also a direct investment in the next generation of automotive service and repair work.”

Terry Rivers, senior manager of Vehicle Services Training at FleeTec, part of Cox Automotive, agrees a proactive approach is the best way for dealers to build their technician base.

“There really isn’t any other way,” Rivers tells WardsAuto about addressing the tech shortage at dealerships. “They have to train their own.”

Of course, dealerships’ technician training is a bit different from that at Cox.

“My service manager, Keith, has really taken a hold of this and put his arms around it,” says Genthe. “When we first this, he moved his desk into the shop, (near) where he could keep an eye on the trainees. And he really wanted to see (them) succeed so he’d keep working with (them) until they were OK on their own. And then he’d still check. That made the techs more comfortable, and others would start asking about the program.”

The system has paid off in multiple ways, says Genthe. He says one of the trainees completes more work than those with more years on the job “because he’s comfortable. It’s real exciting to see someone who really had no training and watch them ramp up to success.”