FEATURE BY JAY GONINEN TECHNICIAN CRISIS Dealers and OEMs Must Unite O ur industry had already struggled for decades to consistently develop young technicians. The last few years put our issues under a magnifying glass. The narrative that technicians receive from dealers has changed from, " You're lucky to have a job " to " We'll do just about anything to have you come work for us. " What used to be as simple as posting a classified ad and having a bunch of mechanics lined up ready to go, has now shifted to the wild west of dealers throwing themselves at technicians. NOT SIMPLY CHANGE - POLAR OPPOSITE POSITIONS We as a dealer body have no one to blame but ourselves. We ultimately created this massive problem while our industry largely ignored the technician shortage for many years. You see, it wasn't always this way. As an illustration: I recall a time when I was growing up in the business that it was a cardinal sin to steal a technician from a neighboring dealership. We need to work together to get more young people into the industry, while doing everything we can to retain the technicians we already have. This is essential to moving all of us forward in a healthier way. Of course, it will take a commitment from Dealers. We need to work together to get more young people into the industry, while doing everything we can to retain the technicians we already have. 28 We obviously need to continue our focus on profitability and having stellar P&L's each month. But we also need to take the development of technicians into account. Although this can often be viewed as an expense, looking at it that way hurts the long-term outlook for your dealership. It is going to require the buyin of Dealer Principals and OEMs for this to gain any sort of traction.