The collision repair industry, much like the automotive industry, is facing a technician shortage. Technicians leaving the industry (through retirement, COVID-19 impact, or other factors) are outpacing new entrants to fill those roles. Dara Goroff, Vice President of Planning & Industry Talent Programming at I-CAR, talks about the results of a Technician Satisfaction survey, and what I-CAR and CREF are doing to help the industry close this technician gap.

The goal at I-CAR is to help solve the collision repair inter-industry’s technician shortage. At the end of the day, this means we need to put people in collision repair roles and keep them engaged in the industry for their entire career. No pressure, right?

There are a few things I-CAR is doing to help the industry achieve this goal:

  1. Continuously monitor overall technician satisfaction and make recommendations for industry improvement
  2. Bringing awareness to the general public on the great opportunities there are in collision repair while repositioning the industry from any outdated views
  3. Providing the industry with programs and educational solutions that help shops educate, grow, and retain technicians

Collision Repair Technician Satisfaction Survey

I-CAR partnered with the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) and engaged Ducker Carlisle, a global consulting firm, to conduct a collision repair technician satisfaction survey. This survey explores opinions on compensation, culture, and career opportunities. Thus, helping the industry understand what we do well and where we can improve to attract and retain more technicians. Ducker Carlisle was chosen to carry out the study to ensure all responses were truly anonymous and that there was an unbiased approach to analysis.

Technician Satisfaction Findings:

  • Overall Satisfaction: Collision repair technicians are largely more satisfied with the work that they do and the problem-solving that they engage in than other automotive verticals.
  • Compensation & Pay Plans: Based on the compensation results, collision repair technician roles can have lucrative earning potential. However, many technicians said that a flat rate pay undercuts any acknowledgement they get for the work they do.
  • Benefits Offerings: Only 15% of those surveyed said that they either had benefits or that their benefits were competitive with their friends and family members.
  • Career Outlook & Progression: Technicians are eager for more career advancement opportunities, driven by the need to stay current with rapidly evolving technologies.
  • Education and Technical Training: Interest in educational programs, like I-CAR’s Professional Development Program (also known as Platinum recognition), which supports a technician’s entire career while helping them stay up to date on modern repair techniques remains strong with respondents.
  • New Technology: The enthusiasm for working on emerging technologies presents a valuable recruiting and retention advantage for shop owners.

I-CAR’s white paper dives into more detail about the results of the study. Dana was also privileged to discuss it and compare the results with WrenchWay’s 2024 Technician Pay Survey with Jay Goninen on the Beyond the Wrench podcast.

Our mutual goal is to use these insights to help attract new people to the industry while also educating and collaborating with our stakeholders (repairers, policy holders, schools, and other industry players, big or small) to improve the less desirable results from the survey.

Attracting Talent to the Industry

To recruit new candidates to the industry, I-CAR in partnership with the Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) launched CollisionCareers.com. Collision Careers is a platform designed to attract talent by helping to reposition the industry to students, job seekers, career changers, and those that influence them.

Collision Careers is an omni-channel approach to reaching the public. From career fairs to social media, to advertising, video and an online hub, CollisionCareers.com, the goal is to cast a wide net to as many people as possible and to elevate collision repair as the industry of choice. The messaging features real technicians demonstrating their skills and real-world experience in collision repair. The website outlines the possible career paths and descriptions for different roles within the industry, offers information on training and educational programs, contains a search tool for new talent to identify local schools and shops that may be hiring or looking for new students, and offers career guidance tools to illustrate the benefits of a career in this field.

Any repairer or school looking to recruit new students and candidates are strongly encouraged to use this content. Collision Careers is built for the industry and it should be used by the industry freely. If you’re looking for a place to start, start with the Collision Careers YouTube video library to help continue to amplify the Collision Careers message. I-CAR is looking to partner with organizations in and outside of the automotive world. If you or anyone you know may be interested, please e-mail: collisioncareers@i-car.com.