Nearly every day we get a company calling in asking “Why is it so hard to hire mechanics?” The answer is very easy but unfortunately the solution is not. The answer is Supply and Demand. There are more jobs available right now than there are qualified mechanics. There is a real shortage throughout Canada and the USA of qualified Mechanics and employment rate is at about 96% meaning that there are very few that are available.
I will always follow up the “Why is it so hard to hire mechanics?” question with a question of my own.
“What have you been doing to find mechanics?”
The answer is usually something along the lines of we put up a job ad on one of the major boards (Zip or Indeed) and we are not getting the results we want. Usually, it is a combination of not getting enough applications and the applications they are getting are not qualified. If you keep in mind Supply and Demand then this makes sense.
Job boards spend an incredible amount of money marketing to Active Job Seekers. Unfortunately when you are trying to hire mechanics, you are not targeting active job seekers, with less than 4% of technicians unemployed there are very few that are actively looking for work.
I often will hear from companies who are disappointed by the results they are getting on their job ad so they decide to Sponsor their job ad, meaning they are paying extra to make sure their job ad is at the very top of the page. This is only a viable strategy if your target candidates are visiting job boards but if they are not looking for work then it doesn’t matter how awesome your job ad is or where it shows up on the board, it is not being seen by the right people.
This is the equivalent of owning a retail store that is not getting enough customers coming in to the store. The solution for not enough customers is to advertise outside of the store to get customers to come in. Sponsoring a job ad that no one is seeing would be the equivalent of putting up a big sign advertising a 50% off sale inside of a store that had no customers. If no one is seeing the ad it is useless.
You need to market where candidates are and right now Mechanics are not typically hanging out on job boards. You need to go after passive candidates through referrals, networking, social media etc. This can be extremely time consuming and tough to do if you do not already have that network lined up.
This is where hiring a recruiter comes in handy, we can do deep dive searches specifically targeting passive candidates. Many mechanics are open to a new opportunity but are not actively looking for them. A recruiter’s job is to find those Technicians, let them know about the opportunity and deliver the interested ones to you.
If you have a tough to fill role that you need assistance with, give us a call at 1-833-937-3546 or e-mail us at info@rockstarrecruiting.ca we would be happy to help you with your search and can find the Mechanics you are looking for. We have had great success right across Canada and the USA recruiting Diesel Technicians, Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Automotive Service Technicians and Trailer Techs.
