They Ignored the Trades...Now They Have to Pay for It

Everybody keeps talking about the technician shortage like it just showed up out of nowhere. It didn’t. We built it.

For the last 30 years, we told kids not to go into the trades. We stripped hands on training out of schools. We pushed college as the only path. Then we built workplaces that burn out the very people we depend on. And now everyone’s asking where all the good techs went.

Here’s what nobody’s saying… Supply and demand has shifted.

There aren’t enough skilled people, and the ones who can actually do the work are becoming more valuable by the day. That means something most people still haven’t realized. The trades are no longer the fallback option. They’re the opportunity.

In this episode of Repair Shop Reckoning, Kevin zooms out and connects the dots. This is not just about mechanics. This is about a system that devalues real skill while depending on it more than ever. Kevin breaks down why the technician shortage was created, not accidental, how schools and culture steered an entire generation away from the trades, what is really happening inside dealerships and larger operations, and why good technicians are leaving while broken systems keep the wrong people in place.

He also gets into what actually fixes the problem. Leadership. Training. Pay. Standards. Not talk. Not excuses.

If you are a shop owner trying to build a team, a technician feeling the pressure, or a parent trying to guide your kid down the right path, this is a conversation you need to hear.

Because at the end of the day, the world still runs on people who can fix things. And the people who can are about to get paid.

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