Concern among the owners of mechanical workshops in the Girona regions. The problem is not that they lack work, but rather the personnel to be able to do it. In fact, many recognize that they have to say no to customers, because they cannot cope and it is difficult for them to find mechanics.
The Association of Vehicle and Boat Repair Businesses of the Gerund Regions (CORVE) recognizes that it is a headache that many of the members express.
The problem for the association is that there is no generational change, but also that many of the mechanics who leave the Vocational Training classrooms prefer to go to other sectors. For this reason, they are committed to offering more places to institutes, to encourage more young people to learn the trade.
This lack of personnel directly affects many businesses that must say no to some clients because they cannot guarantee having the vehicle ready in a reasonable time.
Furthermore, the modernization of technology in recent years has posed an extra difficulty, since hybrid and electric motors require different solutions.
The CORVE employers’ association explains that this lack of professionals is a problem that they have detected in recent times and they link it to many of the students opting for other sectors.
The president of the entity, Jordi Solà, considers that the modernization of vehicles is not a problem for mechanics because “they adapt” and recognizes that now the trade is “much more linked to technology.”
“What is a reality is that we are changing the stigma of the mechanic. It is no longer a job involving hands and dirty overalls, but rather requires technological knowledge. We try to transmit this to the new batches so that they become more interested in this profession,” he points out. .
The Vocational Training classrooms for studies related to automotive and mechanics are full. In fact, in all the intermediate and higher level training cycles offered in the province there are 324 places available. Only 17 seats in all these courses are empty today.
The deputy head of FP studies at the Montilivi institute in Girona, Josep Miquel, states that in some courses there is even “a waiting list.”
Specifically, there are six centers (two of them private) located in Figueres, Palafrugell (Baix Empordà) and Gerona that offer VET courses in Electromechanics, Bodywork and Automotive.
This means that the problem of the lack of professionals does not come from the lack of educational offer. In fact, Josep Miquel assures that “normally students get a work contract” as soon as they finish their studies. The head of FP studies at Montilivi remembers that there is “an issue of attitude and an issue of aptitude”, but when both come together it is easy to enter the world of work directly because “there is a lot of demand” for professionals.
Given the high level of job placement and the interest that exists among young students, the Montilivi Institute has decided to “double the places” in the higher degree in Automotive.
This decision comes after the center’s management team detected that there were “many middle-grade students who finished and wanted to continue studying.” But the Automotive offer in Montilivi was limited to only 16 places and that implied “a plug” between those who finished the intermediate degree and those who continued doing the higher degree.
For Josep Miquel, a possible reason that justifies the lack of professionals in mechanical workshops is the lack of generational change. Although it is true that the classrooms are full, “Baby Boom people enter the retirement point” and this is a determining factor, since more labor retires than enters the working age.
Another factor that could determine the lack of professionals is the technological change that the sector is experiencing. The head of studies remembers that until recently, mechanics were in charge of the electrical part of vehicles. Now, these professionals need training in “electricity, computing and an understanding of electronics.” That is why the Montilivi teacher assures that the new functions of professionals are “complex.”
Although it is true that studies give them the basis to learn these new functions, Miquel insists that being a mechanic “is a job” and that is why it is necessary to study in the classrooms, but also learn in the workshops.
He considers that the change towards Dual FP has helped to progress in this learning of the trade, but that once the studies are finished “it takes two good years” to master the job. However, technological evolution means that “within four or five years they will have to learn new things that did not exist when they went to high school.”
The institute has also sought an alternative to respond to the lack of professionals that exist in the sector. This is a “temporary solution”, as detailed by Josep Miquel, which consists of obtaining a level 3 professionalism certificate, which is equivalent to a higher degree in Automotive.
These certificates are issued through the Occupation Service of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the training is carried out from the institute. However, this year they have not achieved the minimum enrollment for this certificate of professionalism and they have not done so. “If we can next year, we will offer it again,” says the head of studies.
