What roles will older techs play as new tech emerges?

The automotive aftermarket is really on two different doorsteps that are prepared to change the way this industry operates. On one hand, there’s the aging workforce that’s preparing to retire. On the other, a wave of technologically advanced vehicles are moving in.

The industry needs to find a way to embrace both simultaneously, observed Rob Morrison, Canadian fixed operations manager at Phaff/Lithia.

“What we need to do is embrace the older workforce that’s looking to retire. They still want to feel that they’re engaged with something,” he said as part of a panel at Centennial College’s Driving the Future 2.0 event recently.

“They have a wealth of knowledge that they can share with us. They might not be able to pick up the tools every day — the body wears out — But we have a whole bunch of young people who need all this mentoring, the knowledge transfer, etc.”

Maybe new thinking is required, Morrison added. Rather than thinking someone needs to produce a certain number of hours in the shop to produce a profit, that profit may lie in the knowledge transfer.

“This is a big revolution, so you know that mentorship is more important than ever before,” he said.

The industry needs to be more welcoming, according to David Cochrane, regional sales manager at Delphi, to balance out the exit with fresh faces. There needs to be more effort in being more inviting.

Furthermore, the cost of tools needs to be addressed. “In the old days, we were all very happy to spend thousands of dollars in tools to be able to perform our job,” he said. “Now, the young people coming into the industry, they don’t see the value in spending thousands of dollars to be able to come to work every day.”

For Pierre-Hugues Comiré, regional field technical manager at Hyundai Canada, he puts a lot of value on experience and its place in a shop. Even with electric vehicles, there are still wires and brake lines — things older technicians will be familiar with.

And with more diagnostic work, those older techs who may not be able to physically keep up with the demands of being under the hood may be great at diagnosing issues and directing younger technicians on fixing the problem.

“The job of a manager is really to leverage the skills of each individual person. And we have to work as a team,” Comiré said. “Leverage the scale of that older workforce, and that younger workforce, and we’re all going to be better for it.”