GNYADA November 2019 Newsletter

9 DMV Commissioner Gets a Firsthand Look at the Need for Auto Techs

Governor Andrew Cuomo selected GNYADA President Mark Schienberg as a Co-Chair of his Excelsior Automotive Technician Task Force (EATTF). The Governor established the EATTF commission after GNYADA reported a shortage of technicians; he announced its cre- ation during the Opening Ceremony of this year’s New York Auto Show. Governor Cuomo said, “We have over 75,000 technician jobs [nation- wide] that are good jobs, high-paying jobs, and we want to educate New Yorkers for those jobs right here in New York. This new task force will set us on that path.” The task force is focused on increas- ing automotive technician education and boosting its workforce by bring- ing together stakeholders from all parts of the automotive industry to collaborate on promotion, education, training, and job placement issues. Since its creation, GNYADA has helped define a course of action, gathered stakeholders, conducted need assessments and, most recently, invited DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder to tour automotive schools and a dealership in the metro area to provide him with a firsthand look at the technician shortage.

Messrs. Schienberg and Schroeder spent a day touring several down- state automotive education facilities. GNYADA arranged several meetings and tours for the Commissioner and his Executive Advisor Patrick Curry to provide them the opportunity to meet with local school officials and dealership staff. Commissioner Schroeder met with LTI CEO Scott Shaw, Campus President Herman Dawkins, and a number of students to discuss how the LTI program functions and the importance of the relationship with GNYADA and its members, which create job-specific training for stu- dents to succeed in the industry. Dave Macholz, the Chair for Automotive Technology, and President Louis Petrizzo, sat with

the Commissioner to discuss Suffolk County Community College’s relationship with different OEM- advanced training programs and their class-size limitations. Jim, Joe, and Nancy Buzzetta, owners of Competition Auto Group, and sev- eral of their managers discussed the impact the technician shortage has on dealer operations. The Commissioner found the day to be very informative and it helped form ideas for the task force to con- sider. EATTF will be releasing a report to the Governor outlining key steps that must be taken to address the shortage of technicians. GNYADA will keep dealers informed of progress in eliminating the shortage.

Tech Survey Results are in– We Need Techs! 10

to the task force that these are good high paying jobs; 51% of respondents pay “A” Techs more than $100,000, 66% pay “B” Techs between $75,000-$100,000, and 34% pay “C” Techs between $50,000-$75,000. GNYADA has shared these results with the Governor’s Automotive Technician Task Force, further indicating the critical need for techs. GNYADA thanks the dealers who took the time to respond to the survey.

GNYADA recently sent a survey to its members asking for information about their need for auto technicians – which had an overwhelming completion rate of more than 35% of our membership. To no one’s surprise, the results were as expected… we need techs! The average dealership in metro New York needs 11 techs right now and at least 14 additional techs in the next 5 years (accounting for attrition, retirement, etc.) meaning metro area dealers will need more than 4,000 techs soon. The survey also proved

6 Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association • www.gnyada.com The Newsletter • November 2019