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Employer Quotes

The quotes below are from employers in this industry: Transportation

They are talking about this topic: Industry Trends

 

The quotes below are about this issue:
The effects of technological changes on the repair industry include more equipment with electronic functions; these functions include a greater number and variety of modules to control them. There is also a movement toward manufacturer-specific parts and the use of wireless diagnostic equipment. Respondents say these changes require a shift to a computer-based industry that requires technicians to have more specialized and technical skills

Employer Quote Region
"And you have so much electronics now in these vehicles that almost everything has something electric about it. With shock absorbers, it used to be you'd take out two nuts and bolts and it fell out. Well, now they're electric. And they operate on a traction control. And they have a stabilizer system. So it's not something you can just turn around and change." Central
"How you fix cars a lot nowadays is with the computer and you can't get around that. It's not just turning nuts and bolts anymore." Central
"I think [we'll] probably see more the growth towards the combination hybrid, electric, gas trucks. Demand isn't real high right now, but it seems like that's what manufacturers are focusing on, so as an employer that's what we train on and what we try to have available. The technology looks good, but I doubt very much that anybody coming out of a tech college would know a whole lot about it." Central
"I think it's harder to find a young, skilled, technician now than it has been in the past, and technology has made it so they need to have more skills." Metro
"It seems like in the new car world, the expertise [techs] need is so specific. I mean, you could leave my shop and go work for another shop and you're going to start all over because you got to forget everything you used to know at BMW and start all over with GM." Metro
"And I think you have to be comfortable and savvy with technology. If you show up uncomfortable with technology, boy, that's going to be tough for you to find room in this environment." Metro
"But it isn't the grease monkey thing like it was a long time ago. Now you're using the computer and doing things like that. So I know that when I was working with the tech school, it's this idea that you're working with electronics and things like that." Northwest
"There is going to be more and more parts that are going to be specific by the manufacturers. I was just talking with a gentleman today who was having problems with his vehicle. I recommended that he go to the manufacturer because I have seen a lot fail in the aftermarket. It's just something that happens and I don't know the reason why." Northwest
"From a technology standpoint, the industry is growing every single day. The advancements in electronics, how a system operates, how many different modules control what function of what vehicle, and so forth. On any given day you can pick a new car on our lot, and you can have 15-20 different modules or more that control the simplest function of what it does. Whether it be the door lock or turning the radio on. And unfortunately in an automobile program it's very difficult for someone to see all those...what it all controls. And to have the diagnostic equipment to be able to understand and learn those functions...all my technicians in the shop, they've got their own laptops at their own station. They hook wirelessly up to the new cars. They perform module updates, whether it be the electronic control module or transmission control module. It's not done with a wire anymore. It's done wirelessly from their laptop through the diagnostic equipment to the vehicle. Looking into the future, talking to the instructors for the manufacturers, that's only going to grow. And that wireless function is going to become greater and greater and greater. And I can understand from a teaching standpoint, that's a pile of money, obviously. I'm not sure students will understand the vast size of diagnosing a vehicle in today's world." Northwest
"It's really brutal when you see your employee texting all day long, and [things like that]. And yet, in many cases, an employee that can succeed at problem-solving, because s/he understands how to do this kind of research. I've had technical students tour my facility, and I always show them [the computers], because every station has a computer. You have to have these skills. Somehow this skill has to be taught to techs. They have to be able to understand that the info is just not in this book that their boss provided them." Northwest
"We all understand what the industry is and what's going on right now, and it's really hard to keep up with everything. We were talking about the different modules and things like that. I fixed a door and we had to send it over here to get it flashed so the computer would recognize that it has a new window in it. So, yeah, it's not the old way it used to be. And people understand that also. It's not a Saturday afternoon mechanic type thing or shade tree mechanic. It's not that anymore. If there's something wrong with the car, you come walking out with a scan tool or a computer or something like that and figure it out. It's not the greasy mechanic anymore." Northwest