Technician shortage throwing a wrench in Island auto shops

Autobody shops across Prince Edward Island are seeing an increase in business but they have concerns about who will be doing the repairs in the future.

The problem, someshop managers say, is an absenceof training for people interested in getting into the business.

"It's the lack of trained apprentices coming into the trade and the lack of training facilities here on P.E.I. that we can draw apprentices from." said Jeff Dalziel from Dalziel's Auto Body in Charlottetown.

P.E.I. has not offered any autobody technician training through its apprentice program at Holland College in 10 years.

A representative for the department of Workforce and Advanced Learning told CBCin an emailed statementthatthe departmentstopped running the program because it wasn't meeting the minimum enrolment requirement.

'Harder to find more staff'

"It's desperate hard to find new employees," said Steve Perry, office manager of Gaudet's Auto Body in Charlottetown.

"With the increasingpeople that are in the town, the accidents are increasing as well, so you're busier and it's harder to find more staff."

The Department of Workforce and Advanced Learning also said P.E.I. issued 13 Red Seal certifications in Motor Vehicle Body Repair in the last fiveyears.

It says the province will cover the cost of training in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia through its apprenticeship program. Currently, there are six Islanders getting trained.

'We grow our own'

Some autobody shops inthe province are training technicians on their own.

"We have a term for it: 'We grow our own,'" said John Dalziel, the shop foreman atDalziel'sAuto Body.

"You have to find a good candidate, bring them in, provide the training for them, provide the materials and the work experience for them to hopefully turn into someone that you wouldlike to keep and to hire."

Most people trying to get their certification have to travel to other provinces to do so.

Some shops say they recruit workers through high school apprenticeship programs.

Others are bringing trained workers to the Island from out-of-province or overseas.

"Hopefully someone like Holland College or one of the training institutions would jump on and be able to help us maybe overcome this issue that we have. There has got to be an option somewherewhere it can be done," said Jeff Dalziel.

"It was done in the past. There is no reason it can't be done in the future."

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