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If you’ve recently needed to look for a new mechanic to work on your vehicle, you’ll know that it’s all too easy to end up dealing with technicians with minimal knowledge of the vehicles they’re supposed to be fixing, or trying to avoid falling victim to a repair scam. Trying to find skilled mechanics isn’t a problem limited to everyday owners, either — even CEOs like Ford’s Jim Farley have said they’re finding it difficult to source workers with the skills to fix their vehicles. Farley shed more light on his company’s struggles during a recent appearance on the Office Hours: Business Edition podcast, saying that Ford “had five thousand [current] openings” for mechanics, leaving its service centers with “a bay with a lift, and tools, and no-one to work in it.”

He blamed the issue on a lack of education opportunities, saying, “We do not have trade schools, we are not investing in educating our next generation.” Farley said that the vacant Ford mechanic jobs paid “$120,000 a job per year, but it takes you five years to learn it,” noting that “tak[ing] a diesel out of a Super Duty, it takes a lot of skill, you need to know what you’re doing.”

He was particularly critical of the state of the automotive industry compared to China, and suggested that the U.S. might even be putting itself at a military disadvantage with its current job market. Farley said, “God forbid, if we ever get in a war, Google’s not going to be able to make […] the tanks and the planes, so this is a self-defense for our country issue.”

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Farley’s concerns reflect the current state of the job market, and the latest data suggests that his worries might not be alleviated anytime soon. A 2024 report from Validated Insights shows that the number of students enrolling in trade schools grew 4.9% between 2020 and 2023, reversing a trend of declining enrollment between 2017 and 2020. However, the number of students enrolled in automotive courses continually declined between 2017 and 2023, even as courses for other professions became more popular.

While there are still plenty of engine maintenance tasks that keen DIYers can do at home, the increasing complexity of modern car technology is limiting what home mechanics are able to fix. As well as being adept at diagnosing mechanical issues, modern car technicians have to be able to work with frequently changing software packages. Some of this software can go out of date in just a couple of years, as one Hyundai owner found out when they tried to replace their brake pads. That’s not to mention the cost of that software, which can be prohibitively expensive for anyone apart from dealers to subscribe to. As a result, the role of the skilled mechanic is likely to become more important than ever in keeping modern cars on the road, making Farley’s latest comments all the more concerning.