Big shout out to Terry Hyden from US Automotive for flagging this story for me that dropped back in October—and prompting me to dig into what's happened since. Here's the situation with federal apprenticeship funding and what it means for the tech shortage: The good news: Both the House AND Senate Appropriations Committees have now passed bills that preserve $285 million in apprenticeship grants for FY 2026. The House version specifically includes language pushing the Department of Labor to support incumbent automotive repair technicians with advanced training—meaning helping the techs you already have level up on ADAS, EVs, and emerging vehicle technology. This matters because the Trump Administration actually tried to eliminate standalone apprenticeship funding entirely and roll it into a block grant program called "Make America Skilled Again" (MASA). Both chambers rejected that approach and kept the dedicated funding. The reality check: None of this is law yet. After a record 43-day government shutdown—the longest in U.S. history—Congress passed a continuing resolution that funds Labor, HHS, and Education at FY 2025 levels through January 30, 2026. Translation: The apprenticeship dollars are still flowing, but the new FY 2026 language and any potential expansion aren't in effect yet. We're in a holding pattern. What to watch: January 30, 2026 is the next deadline. Congress either passes a full appropriations bill (making that $285M and the auto-tech language official), kicks the can with another CR, or we get another shutdown. Here's a link to the original article from ASA that started this conversation: [Recent Federal Government Actions Could Help Alleviate Skilled Auto Repair Technician Shortage] Here's my question for the group: Knowing that Congress is defending this funding but nothing is final yet—should independent shops be doing anything NOW to position themselves for when these dollars actually hit?

This post is a bit long but its full of hiring gold nuggets if you stay with me till the end. You might know that Technician Find has started doing comprehensive salary and benefits surveys for the shops we work with so they can see at a glance what their competition is offering their techs and how they stack up. We pull this data from the top job boards online and then aggregate the data into an easy to read chart. Then we run a statistical analysis of how our client shop's salary and benefits stack up so they can see where they are weak. This level of detail helps us write ads that get applications and it helps shops make offers that get accepted. Anyways, a client asked a great question this morning... To paraphrase he asked if there was a way to see what shops were actually paying their techs. NOT what they were offering online in job ads. You know me, I love a good challenge so I took a deep dive on Perplexity.AI to see what I could drum up. This is my reply and the interesting stuff I found in my deep dive: ______________________ Thanks for the detailed context. You're absolutely right that posted salaries only tell part of the story. Short of doing a W2 audit of each shop in your area there's no way to get an accurate read on real compensation numbers. That being said, there is a workaround of sorts. I did a deep search for actual compensation information in Perplexity.AI and received the output below. This output is based on supposedly factual data gathered from real shop owners and technicians via online sources where compensation is being discussed candidly. You can be the judge of its veracity but this data does reveal some interesting conclusions about how salary should be structured and listed for maximum impact. Let me know what you think. Take care, -Chris ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Based on recent placement data and industry compensation research, here's what strong technicians are actually accepting when they're recruited off-market versus what appears publicly.

Let me tell you a quick story. A few months back, I got a text from Jeff Lee. He and his wife Amy own J&R Service Center—three shops, including a motorsports division. His message? "That ad got five responses in one day. Between 15 and 30 years of experience. You might wanna spread that around, bud. It definitely hits the buttons." Two minutes later, another text: "Two more just came into the inbox. That's seven. Over 10 years experience." Now look—that doesn't happen every day. That's an outlier for sure. But here's what's NOT an outlier: Ads that stand out get responses. Ads that look like everyone else's get ignored. Go search Indeed right now. Type in "automotive technician in [your city]" You'll see 380+ jobs that all look EXACTLY THE SAME. Same boring headlines. Same "requirements first" structure. Same invisible, forgettable copy. Meanwhile, the techs you actually want? They're scrolling past all of it. So I put together something special for you. Inside the classroom, you'll find: → A 16-minute video walkthrough showing you exactly how the ad that got those 7 responses was built—section by section → The actual swipe-and-deploy template you can customize for your shop → A custom AI tool (Mini Travel Brochure) that writes the relocation section if you're open to hiring outside your area → Another AI tool (Tech Ad Tuner) that diagnoses what's wrong with your current ad and shows you exactly how to fix it Your ad is usually the first impression a technician has of your shop. It's the highest-leverage thing you can work on if you're serious about attracting real talent. Go grab these tools and write something that makes a tech stop scrolling. 📍 Find it all in the classroom under "Grab a technician ad template that works!" Remember—techs aren't reading every word. They're scanning. They're deciding in seconds whether you're worth their time.

Got this question from a client yesterday. Here's what most shop owners don't realize: Techs aren't hibernating. They're still scrolling social media and hanging out in the trade groups just as much as any other time of year. They're just not moving yet. Which means December is actually the perfect time to start conversations—not close them. Think of it like warming up an engine before you drive. The shops that plant seeds now? They're the ones techs reach out to in January when they're finally ready to make a move. The shops that wait? They're competing with everyone else who had the same "wait until the new year" idea. Recruiting is like marketing—it's never a bad time to do it. And when you really need it, you always wish you started sooner. Are you planting seeds now or waiting for spring?

You just haven’t said the number out loud. So let me help. Take your ARO. Multiply by how many cars that bay could move per week. Multiply by 4. That’s what’s bleeding out of your shop every month. 🔥 And for what? Another week of hoping the right guy applies? “We’re booked 2-3 weeks and still not hitting our numbers.” Yeah—because you’re saying no to work while your equipment sits cold. Here’s what I’ve seen after talking to hundreds of shop owners: The ones who stay stuck treat hiring like another line item. The ones who break through treat it like the $20K–$40K++/month problem it actually is. Which camp are you in? Drop your number in the comments. What’s that empty seat really costing you? Be honest. The math doesn’t lie. If you’re ready to do more than just talk about it—I’ve got something that’ll help. Just ask.