I recently had the opportunity to speak with Michael Medalla, Manager of the Toyota USA Foundation. The Toyota Foundation recently joined TechForce Foundation® as a supporting member, so it was the perfect opportunity to get Toyota’s perspective on the skills gap we are facing as a country, and how our new partnership could contribute to help solving that issue.
The automotive aftermarket is a $277B industry, growing since 2010 and predicted to continue. It’s fueled by consumers keeping their vehicles longer, putting more miles on them and needing more help when it comes to servicing them.
If you have been around the transportation industry for any length of time, the phrase “technician shortage” has to be a familiar one. Other than a brief respite during the Great Recession from 2008 into 2009, this has been the most talked about issue in the industry, bar none. And “talked about” is a generous term. A more apt description might be “talked to death.”
