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Look Under the Hood of Auto Technician Hiring Demand

By Ashley Rowe on November 30, 2012 in Auto Manufacturing.

As the auto industry rebounds, related businesses and occupations are feeling an increase in demand. One such occupation is Automotive Technicians and Repairers. The BLS predicts 124,000 Automotive Technicians and Repairers will be needed in the US between 2010 and 2020. A challenge with filling these positions is that candidates need specialized skills to keep up with changing technologies and fill spots of retirees.

Automotive Technicians and Repairers hiring demand has grown each year since 2008. In August 2012, demand reached a new 4-year high with, more than 38,000 job ads posted online. However, demand has declined slightly each month and in October, the number of available jobs ads was just 1% higher than the same time last year.

Hiring Demand for Automotive Technicians and Repairers

Hiring Demand for Auto Service Technician
SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

In Yahoo!'s article, Who's Hiring, High Paying Jobs that Nobody Wants, General Motors (GM) Manager of Auto Service Education Program, Rich Orbain, mentioned that despite having training programs at 61 community colleges, GM only gets 500 trained new technicians each year, when they really need 2,500. He adds, "Recruiting, hiring, and training good workers is no easy task, but it's one that GM and thousands of its dealers are trying to get ahead of." Since Automotive Technicians and Repairers are becoming more technical, dealing with a growing number of electronic systems, other employers are also reporting difficulties finding candidates with the right skills. A negative impression of the position may also affect employer's ability to attract candidates. Orbain describes the stigma associated with the job, "it sounds like the old "grease monkey" type of character and it's not like that at all."

Recruiters may experience less difficulty sourcing this talent in cities like Chicago, IL where the qualified talent pool exceeds hiring demand. Lake Charles (LA), Springfield (IL), Yuma (AZ), and Battle Creek (MI) also present more favorable recruiting conditions.

Hiring Scale Snap Shot for Automotive Technicians and Repairers

Hiring Scale Heat Map for Auto Service Technicians

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

New car dealers, like GM, are among the automotive industries with the most demand for Automotive Technicians and Repairers. Tire Dealers, Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores, General Automotive Repair, and Department Stores (such as Sears) follow in demand and the join the competition for skilled talent. Employers are advertising for candidates that are skilled in automotive mechanical diagnosis, customer service, oil filters, leadership, and troubleshooting. With companies looking for skills like these, it's apparent that this is no longer a "grease monkey" job. Automotive Technicians and Repairers are not only required to identify and solve a vehicle's problem, but they also need to direct teams and ensure customer satisfaction.

To see what recruiting conditions look like for the position you're filling, sign up for a free trial of WANTED Analytics.

Analytics users: log in and enter Automotive Service Technicians in the occupation filter, add your location and other requirements.

Auto Revs Up IT Hiring Demand

By Ashley Rowe on September 27, 2012 in Auto Manufacturing.

In recent news, General Motors said that they're moving IT from an external function to an internal one. GM will open 4 technology centers with at least 500 employees in each in an effort to create more innovation and get products to market more quickly. This led us to wonder what type of specialized IT talent is the automotive industry recruiting. Below are some of the most advertised titles by the automotive industry for IT professionals.

  1. Software Engineer
  2. Project Engineer
  3. Program Manager
  4. Senior Software Engineer
  5. Java Developer
  6. Embedded Software Electronic Development Engineer
  7. Systems Administrator
  8. Systems Engineer
  9. Software Development Engineer Associate
  10. Product Development Engineer Web Application Developer

Employers hiring for these positions are also looking for candidates skilled in software development, project management, structure query language (SQL), Oracle Java, and Linux.

General Motors positioned their first tech center in Austin, TX because of the volume of qualified IT job candidates in the workforce in that area. While Austin is one of the top locations for hiring demand, does it also have the largest talent pool? Our candidate supply heat map below shows that Austin is among the locations with the largest talent supply in the US. However, being in a popular tech community it is not one of the locations with favorable recruiting conditions. The metropolitan area with the least difficult recruiting conditions is Appleton, WI.

Candidate Supply Heat Map for Auto IT Workers

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Will other automakers follow GM's lead and focus on technology centers to build better cutting edge vehicles? Keep track of automotive IT hiring trends with a free trial of WANTED Analytics™.

3 Things We Noticed about Recent Hiring in the Auto Industry

By Abby Lombardi on September 18, 2012 in Auto Manufacturing.

Auto sales were up 19.9% in August compared to last year, according to Autodata and reportings by auto manufacturers. So, we looked at job ads in this sector and found 3 interesting trends.

1. Hiring is happening at dealerships.

If more cars are being sold, it makes sense that car dealerships would be hiring. However, we were surprised by the staggering number of job ads that were available in August at dealers. In fact, it far outweighs the number of ads being placed by the manufacturers. In August, more than 11,000 job ads were placed by dealerships, compared to 5,300 that were available at auto manufacturers. Not surprisingly, the most in-demand occupations at dealerships are sales, sales management, and technician occpations. Overall, hiring at dealerships across the US is up 15% compared to August of 2011.

2. Hiring is growing in Detroit.

Good news for those in the Detroit area: demand for auto manufacturing workers was up 245% in August compared to last year. Interestingly, we see more and more job ads for technical positions at auto manufacturers. Technical jobs are second only to engineering occupations, but they are one of the highest growing fields up 331% from last August. This could be due to vehicles having new and more computerized components. Will this hiring continue?

Volume of Online Job Ads by Auto Manufacturers in Detroit – 4 Year Hiring Trend

Auto Job Ads by City

Source: WANTED Analytics

3. Where to look if recruiting gets difficult.

We noticed that the average posting period – or the number of days a job ad remains online – is 46 days. This means that Recruiters at auto manufacturers across the US spend about 6.5 weeks collecting resumes and beginning their interviewing process for open positions. Many areas with higher demand and lower supply of potential candidates may see even longer periods. For example, the current average duration of a job ad in Cleveland is 7.5 weeks. If hiring demand continues but the supply doesn't grow at the same rate, this time period may get longer. We found that the locations currently experiencing the best overall conditions are Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), St. Louis (Missouri), and Greenville (South Carolina).

Hiring Scale Heat Map – Difficulty to Recruit in Auto Manufacturing Industry

Hiring Scale heat map - nationwide

Source: WANTED Analytics

Want to see how auto manufacturing hiring compares in your specific area? Sign up for a free trial of Analytics and see who you are competing with for talent, where to find candidates, and how long it is likely to take to fill a job.

Analytics users – What trends do you notice for hiring in the auto industry? Log in to Analytics and search for the Motor Vehicle Manufacturing industry. Add your location or other job requirements to see what conditions are like in your city.

Recruiters, Start Your Engines – Auto Manufacturers Increase Hiring

By Abby Lombardi on July 10, 2012 in Auto Manufacturing.

In the most recent jobs report, the BLS noted that motor vehicle manufacturing saw job gains of about 7,000 during June. We thought it would be interesting to take a look at hiring demand by auto manufacturing employers, what jobs are being recruited, the skills that candidates need, and how hard these positions are going to be for Recruiters to fill.

During June, Recruiters at motor vehicle and parts manufacturers posted over 6,500 online job ads. This is a 32% increase in demand compared to June of 2011. Hiring demand in this industry fell dramatically during the recession, but has been growing steadily, now with 3 times the volume of job ads compared to the lowest demand seen in 2009.

Hiring Demand in the Auto Manufacturing Industry – 4 Year Hiring Trend

Hiring Demand in the Auto Manufacturing Industry

Source: WANTED Analytics

The majority of job listings were seen for engineering and technical positions. More than 2,000 jobs were advertised online for Engineers, the most of any occupational field, at a 32% year-over-year increase. Technical related jobs, such as Software Engineers, also increased 53% from June 2011. Other fields with high-demand within the auto manufacturing industry were production, management, and financial operations occupations.

The 10 most commonly advertised job titles in the auto manufacturing sector were:

  1. Quality Engineer
  2. Manufacturing Engineer
  3. Production Supervisor
  4. Maintenance Technician
  5. Program Manager
  6. Accountant
  7. Welder
  8. Process Engineer
  9. Quality Manager
  10. Customer Service Representative

Metropolitan areas with the highest volume of job listings within the auto manufacturing industry during June 2012 were Detroit (Michigan), Oshkosh (Wisconsin), Portland (Oregon), Chicago (Illinois), and Phoenix (Arizona). Employers in Detroit not only placed the highest number of online job ads (1,800 unique postings), but also saw one of the highest year-over-year increases in the United States. Hiring demand in the Detroit metro area grew more than 215% compared to June 2011. Oshkosh and Portland also experienced increased demand versus June 2011, while Recruiters in Chicago and Phoenix placed fewer job ads in this industry compared to last year.

Auto manufacturers are likely to experience difficulties when sourcing candidates since hiring demand is increasing and causing more competition among employers to attract qualified candidates. However, these conditions will vary slightly by location depending on the available talent supply. According to the Hiring Scale™, companies in Detroit are currently experiencing some of the most difficulties in sourcing candidates. With the volume of job ads more than doubling in the last year, Recruiters are likely to compete heavily to attract talent and experience a longer time-to-fill than average. The average duration of a job ad in the auto industry in Detroit is more than 6.2 weeks.

Hiring Scale for Auto Manufacturing Jobs in Detroit, MI (Hard-to-Fill Location)

Hiring Scale for Auto Manufacturing Jobs in Detroit, MI

Source: WANTED Analytics

In comparison, the Hiring Scale also shows the easiest places to currently recruit talent in this industry are Davenport (Iowa), Atlanta (Georgia), and Kansas City (Missouri). These areas are likely to fill job openings faster and easier than the rest of the United States.

Hiring Scale for Auto Manufacturing Jobs in Davenport, IA (Easy-to-Fill Location)

Hiring Scale for Auto Manufacturing Jobs in Davenport, IA

Source: WANTED Analytics

Are you sourcing candidates for open jobs in the auto manufacturing industry? Find out more about hiring trends and where you can find the talent with a FREE trial of WANTED Analytics.

Will Strong Car Sales Bring More Hiring by Auto Manufacturers?

By Abby Lombardi on April 9, 2012 in Auto Manufacturing.

March auto sales reports show one of the strongest months in the past few years – GM, Ford, and Chrysler all reported increases in car sales last month. Does the recent increases in car sales mean that the auto manufacturers are hiring more? We looked at online job ads over the first 3 months in 2012 to see what positions and skills are most demanded in this industry.

In the first 3 months of 2012, more than 6,000 job listings were posted online in the auto manufacturing industry. Despite strong sales, hiring has been down about 13% compared to the same 3-month period in 2011. January and March each brought more than 2,200 online job ads, while February came in slightly under that with 1,900 posting across the US in the auto industry. Most of the jobs were seen in the Detroit metro area, where hiring demand has more than doubled during the last 3 months compared to 2011. There were more than 1,300 online job ads posted by auto manufacturers over these 3 months.

Hiring Demand by Motor Vehicle and Parts Manufacturers – 4 Year Hiring Trend

Hiring Demand in Auto Industry

Source: WANTED Analytics

Demand for each occupation is somewhat mixed.  Production workers have increased about 46% over the past year, with Managers of Production and Mechanic workers seeing the highest volume of ads in this field. However, technology jobs have declined by about 3%. Interestingly, while Industrial Engineers has declined versus last year, the volume of job ads for Electrical Engineers has grown about 20%. Could this increase be caused by more electrical and hybrid vehicles hitting the market?

Some of the most commonly required skills in job ads within the auto manufacturing industry are:

  1. Microsoft Office
  2. Failure modes and effects analysis
  3. IBM CATIA
  4. The MathWorks MATLAB
  5. Autodesk AutoCAD
  6. Structured query language (SQL)
  7. Materials management
  8. IBM Lotus Notes
  9. Hyperion
  10. Production control
  11. Data acquisition
  12. Statistical process control
  13. Linux
  14. Geometric dimensioning and tolerance
  15. Enterprise Resource Planning Software

The common tools and technologies that employers want potential candidates to have will vary by position. However, most of the above required skills are engineering and technology related. Since Engineers are among the most demanded occupations, this isn't surprising.

The 10 certifications required most were also engineering related, with a few IT and financial certifications:

  1. Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
  2. Structural Finite Element Analysis Engineer (FEA)
  3. Project Management Professional (PMP)
  4. Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
  5. Design for Manufacturability and Assembly (DFM, DFA)
  6. General Educational Development (GED)
  7. Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)
  8. Six Sigma Green Belt
  9. Six Sigma Black Belt
  10. Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

Find out how easy or hard these jobs and skills are to recruit in your area with our free, online Hiring Scale™. Just tell us what position or skill set you are looking for and the location of the job opening, and we'll show you the Hiring Scale, average salary information, who your competition for talent is, and where you can find candidates.

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