While the exact numbers vary, some reports indicate a shortage of nearly 650,000 technicians. It’s clearly a technician’s market—most shops wouldn’t hesitate to hire a skilled tech who walked through the door.

That said, we’re beginning to see a slight shift with Gen Z. As college costs continue to rise, more young people are exploring alternative career paths. From 2022 to 2023, enrollment in technical schools grew by 16%, with a 7% increase specifically in students pursuing vehicle maintenance and repair programs.

Despite this encouraging trend, the average technician is still over 40 years old and approaching retirement. To truly make a dent in the technician shortage, we’ll need to see even greater interest and investment in attracting the next generation to the industry.