Despite more than 40 million Americans filing unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for skilled technicians across the transportation industry remains strong. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has deemed many of these jobs essential to supporting the nation’s infrastructure during the health crisis, and employers continue to report a need for trained technicians.
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To meet this pressing need, industry leaders are leveraging their long-standing partnerships with quality educational institutions like Universal Technical Institute, which trains students to work as skilled transportation, welding and CNC machining technicians. UTI recently interviewed 22 of its industry partners about their needs, why they hire UTI’s graduates and opportunities for the technicians who service vital equipment, maintain essential truck fleets, and keep vehicles, including those used by first responders, on the road.
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“In the midst of the pandemic, we need trucks to move essential needs such as food or medical supplies, and the more these trucks have been running, the more likely they are to break down and come into our shops,” said Whitley Burr, Corporate Staffing and Employment leader, at Penske’s Premier Truck Group. “We can service those trucks only when we have skilled technicians on the floor who are trained properly and ready to work. The necessity is obviously there, and our technicians are an incredibly essential and huge part of our business.”
Demand for these skilled technicians is expected to remain high through the pandemic and as the nation recovers. The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated pre-pandemic there will be more than 110,000 job openings for auto, diesel and collision repair technicians on average annually across the U.S. through 2028. In an economic downturn, people and businesses keep their vehicles longer and trained technicians remain in demand to maintain and service them.
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