Marinucci: Business income impacts tech recruitment

Charging appropriately for maintenance and repairs enables automotive service facilities to attract top talent.

Unless tire dealers and service shop operators generate adequate income, they cannot offer competitive pay and benefits to prospective new hires.

Job candidates — whether novice or experienced — demand realistic wages and benefits because they recognize what they are worth. What's more, they also know what relatively unskilled jobs in their market are offering.

Field experience suggests that job-seeking technicians are more aware of local, non-automotive pay scales than owners and managers may realize.

Producing ample income may seem so obvious that some bosses may think the topic is trite. But if the approach is so obvious, why does it seem to be an ongoing issue in the auto repair industry?

I have heard my share of complaints about relatively meager pay and benefits — especially from young techs trying to break into the business. And among some bosses, improving apprentices' pay often is a thorny topic.

A lengthy conversation with an old friend and industry colleague gave me a fresh perspective on tech recruitment in at least one major metropolitan area today. No matter the angle at which you view apprentice recruitment, money matters.

Tom Broxholm got into the auto repair trade in 1975 in suburban Detroit. During a 19-year span, he worked as a professional tech at a service station, tire dealership, new-car dealerships and independent repair shops.

Broxholm passed all eight automotive ASE tests on his first attempt in 1975, then maintained ASE's Master Technician status for 48 years. He achieved the highest score in the country on ASE's Engine Performance (A8) test in 1995.

Changing careers in 1994, Broxholm became a full-time automotive instructor at Skyline Community College in San Bruno, Calif. In 2015, he became the college's Automotive Program Coordinator and retired as a full-time professor in 2023.

Over the years, Broxholm and I have attended each other's classes — at the college as well as at industry conferences. I always admired his dedication to his craft, attention to detail and level-headed approach to grooming aspiring young techs.

At heart, Broxholm remains a hard-working guy who never forgot his long journey into the business and up through various levels of the auto repair trade. Recently, he shared several insights into the ongoing challenge of tech recruitment and retention.

In previous columns, I repeatedly have urged readers to get involved with advisory committees at local automotive training programs. Patiently and professionally, tell teachers and administrators what you require in young techs.

Tire dealers and service shop operators cannot and should not assume that high school and vocational school educators understand their needs as clearly as they should.

According to Broxholm, boss' misperceptions and outdated attitudes hamper tech recruitment and retention. For example, some owners and managers still believe young people can learn the trade by cleaning cars, playing janitor and performing other menial tasks inside a dealership or repair shop.

Broxholm stressed the trade has become so sophisticated that bosses cannot expect someone to learn auto repair by osmosis. Instead, aspiring apprentices require a highly focused, formal education in auto repair.

Later, apprentices need capable mentors to coach them in the practical application of their auto-repair schooling.

A worthwhile automotive education costs money; covering the time that seasoned techs spend mentoring apprentices costs money. Poorly run auto repair businesses may lack the money to afford education and mentoring, Broxholm said.

Many tire dealers and service shop operators do not pay for apprentices' schooling outright. But one of their most-effective recruiting tools is a rebate or reimbursement program designed to help young folks break into this industry.

For example, some bosses set various goals for incoming apprentices. A mentor — an experienced tech — oversees apprentices' progress toward these goals.

Every time apprentices meet a goal, the boss reimburses some of their vocational school costs. In some businesses, meeting goals also puts tool money into apprentices' pockets.

But, Broxholm reminded me, rebate and reimbursement arrangements cost money. Poorly run auto repair facilities may not have the dough to support such programs.

More often than not, Broxholm explained, job applicants know two vital costs all too well. The first is the cost of living within the local market.

Aspiring apprentices know the rent for a decent apartment in a safe neighborhood — not to mention factors such as commuting costs from there to the dealership or repair shop. They likely know the cost of food, too.

Some young folks entering the workforce tolerate tough conditions until they can establish themselves with an employer of one kind or another. But increasingly, people who invested in formal education will not accept pay that puts them in a subsistence-level existence.

Instead, they expect competitive pay and benefits as well as a safe, professional workplace. These are career-minded job-seekers focused on the future; they do not apologize for their aspirations.

Broxholm emphasized that younger folks also tend to compare and contrast auto-repair pay to non-automotive wages. The contrasts may startle some owners and managers.

Obviously, the cost of living and entry-level wages vary from one part of the country to another. But in San Francisco, starting pay for unskilled workers at a popular fast-food franchise is $20-plus per hour.

Surely, that is food for thought (no pun intended) for tire dealers and service shop operators.

Ultimately, a well-run auto service facility that generates an appropriate income has a major advantage in recruiting new techs. Sound business skills are as important to success as technical talent is, so plan accordingly.