Oil lube and automotive service industry fight for technicians

There is another industry at ground zero for skilled worker shortages. A huge shortage is hitting oil lube centers.  The shortage is increasing franchise costs in labor, availability of labor and quality of workmanship.

For instance 80,000 Americans are employed in the Oil Lube industry. Car dealership franchises employee 265,000 Americans.  Automotive repair and service franchises need technicians to perform warranty work and do routine services.  The entire automotive aftermarket service sector is fighting for a shrinking pool of skilled laborers. The demand for mobile unit automobile repair teams, which require two technicians per unit on the road for personal cars and up to 4 technicians for fleet on-site oil changing, is increasing but the pool of workers is shrinking.

Car dealerships are expanding into the auto lube business too and feeling the pinch.  Employers are working hard to keep enough mechanics on staff while training them on the latest models and all the OEM idiosyncrasies.  To do this car dealers alone soak up 35,000 new technicians per year and that is just to stay even with the attrition rates and expansion of the largest Car Dealership Consolidators - United Auto, Auto One, Lithia, CarMax, AutoNation, Sonics Automotive Group. That's really bad news for the small businesses and franchises in the oil lube and automotive repair industry.