Comments on: Dealer’s Voice: Stop the College of Trades

By: TheRealMeatloaf

TheRealMeatloaf — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 19:24:58 +0000

I’m not sure where the rhetoric is coming from, but I work at a dealership where the average tenure of a mechanic is upwards of 12 years. We have apprentices working for us who are making more than fair wages while they learn a plethora of skills and gain experience they simply couldn’t get in a classroom environment. Furthermore, good technicians are like gold and are compensated accordingly. A good, efficient technician who has all his training up to date and 5+ years’ experience can easily earn six figures and many who have sought after specialties can earn well into the six figures.

Sure, there are some dealerships who treat apprentices poorly, however the definition of “poorly” varies greatly depending on who you speak to. Some apprentices don’t like the fact that they have to take out garbage and sweep floors – not realizing (or understanding) that the senior technicians all went through the same process when they were earning their stripes. As long as that’s balanced out with actual time spent working on and under vehicles it’s a perfectly normal part of the apprenticeship process.

By: Al

Al — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 13:21:56 +0000

And finally, as you can see here from all the plentiful comments from Canadians, no one really cares.

By: Al

Al — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 22:49:56 +0000

No different than the college of physicians and surgeons? You are kidding right? There is a huge, huge difference between physicians and mechanics when it comes to pay and respect. Only the manufacturers and dealers can provide benefit to the consumer, and not some wasteful bureaucracy called a college of trades.
P.S. Our experience is that the dealers couldn’t care less about mechanics. They only care about service advisors (some dealers call them producers) who can sell a lot of service that consumers do not need! Good mechanics leave bad dealerships and this is also a reason why you hear about a lot of poor service!
Most consumers won’t service their vehicle at the dealership, (except warranties, this is usually a lot of hassle also).

By: Jeff Hazlehurst

Jeff Hazlehurst — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 17:12:42 +0000

I agree with the person who commented above. The dealers and manufacturers must shoulder some of the blame for young people not wanting to get into a career in the automotive repair trade. Licensing fees may be a factor, but if technicians were compensated more fairly, then licensing fees wouldn’t sting so much. I believe that the time has come for manufacturers and dealers to seriously consider a different type of wage structure for their technicians. Possibly some type of hourly wage, or salary, so that technicians can be fairly compensated for all of the time that they are at work. Otherwise, it will become increasingly more difficult for manufacturers and dealers to attract talented young people into the repair trade.

By: Al

Al — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 15:16:32 +0000

The college of trades is another wasteful bureaucracy born due to the fact that most if not all dealers ( in GTA +?) treat automotive technicians and apprentices very poorly. Who wants a job like that? This unfair treatment includes: Greed based flat rate system, no respect, very low pay for a lifetime of learning. SHAME on the dealers, we know we have been there and left this trade to do something else. Because of all this the motoring public is going to pay much, much more for automotive services. The damage is done!

By: Norman

Norman — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 14:15:25 +0000

I see the college as benefit to the consumer. The college will become a regulating body for its members. Over time, the members will be regulated, and monitored to ensure quality of work, continued education, and a governing body to voice disputes. No different than the college of physicians and surgeons.