Transcript
Ryan Knudsen (0:05)
There's a problem in the auto industry. There are not enough mechanics. The CEO of Ford, Jim Farley, has been outspoken about it.
Chris Otz (0:16)
It's a very serious thing. We do not have trade schools. We are not investing in educating a next generation.
Ryan Knudsen (0:24)
This is Farley on a podcast late last year. Those jobs are out there.
Chris Otz (0:29)
Mechanics in a Ford dealership. As of this morning, we had 5,000 openings. A bay with a lift and tools and no one to work in it.
Ryan Knudsen (0:39)
Farley says that after five years, a mechanic working at a Ford dealership will have enough experience to make $120,000 a year. Yet for some reason, not enough people want to do. According to a trade group, there's an annual shortage of 37,000 mechanics across the industry. Here's our colleague Chris Otz.
Chris Otz (1:02)
Farley's comment gave the impression, or at least some people interpreted it this way, that wow, $120,000 jobs and we just don't have enough people who went to trade school and know how to turn wrenches. What is wrong with our country? You know, it was like almost like this moralistic reaction with the government, with education, I think we can solve this,
Ryan Knudsen (1:32)
but we have a lot of work to do. But our colleague Chris says that when you actually look at what the job
Chris Otz (1:41)
entails, it is not hard to understand why there is a shortage of automotive technicians when you drill into it and understand what it takes to be able to do this job. So I really wanted to help people understand why this profession can be so lucrative, but how hard and tenuous it is to get there.
Ryan Knudsen (2:11)
Welcome to the Journal, our show about money, business and power. I'm Ryan knudsen. It's Thursday, April 16th. Coming up on the show, why people are not lining up for this $120,000 job. This episode is presented by SAP. Your company's ambitions can't be held back by long implementations, surprise costs or empty AI promises. SAP Grow AI Cloud ERP gets you live fast, keeps pricing predictable and delivers built in AI that gets results the first day, not someday. All on a single platform that's easy to industry ready and designed to scale with your business. Bring it with SAP Grow AI Cloud ERP for any size business. SAP.com grow Comcast is delivering extraordinary experiences in live sports through the incredible broadcast and storytelling from NBC. Innovative and personalized viewing features on Xfinity and Peacock and the country's most reliable wi fi viewers can enjoy every game changing play faster and more seamlessly than ever. All in a network built to deliver unforgettable moments as close to live as possible, the ultimate experience for the American sports fan. Learn more@comcastcorporation.com sports. To give you a sense of the best case scenario for a career as an auto mechanic, our colleague Chris went to a Ford dealership service center in Kent, Ohio.
