Reader Survey: Canada facing acute collision tech shortage

Toronto, Ontario — The vast majority of Canada’s collision professionals say the industry is facing a major labour supply problem, the results of an exclusive reader survey reveals.

According to 92 percent of respondents, the sector is struggling with a shortage of qualified technicians. 

Nearly 79 percent of shops said they are currently hiring, while another 12.5 percent reported they had just finished filling vacancies. Only four percent said they were unsure about whether or not there was a shortage, the same percent that said there isn't one.

Seventy-one percent said their business has hired between one and five staff members within the past year, while 12.5 percent brought on six to ten. At the same time, eight percent of respondents said their shop reported making no new hires at all within the past year. In all, 96 percent of respondents said it was difficult to secure skilled people. 

The difficulty in finding qualified help is not limited to any particular role. Close to half of participants identified senior body technicians as the hardest positions to fill (46 percent), while one-in-eight pointed to junior body technicians (12.5 percent), one-in-four (25 percent) to painters and one-in-20 to management (four percent) or support staff (four percent).