Cars: Employers: Shortage of skilled workers, a major challenge for car workshops in Romania

Romania is facing an unprecedented crisis of the workforce in the car repair sector, and the effects of this problem risk paralysing the automotive service industry, warns the Employers' Association of Automotive Service Operators (POSA), in a press release.According to POSA data, over 40% of the workshops are experiencing major difficulties in recruiting skilled workers, and many are already refusing customers or significantly extending delivery times due to the acute shortage of staff.The employers' representatives say that this situation does not only affect the activity of the workshops, but also road safety, as delays in vehicle repairs can lead to the circulation of cars with problems that are not remedied in time."We are at a critical point. If we do not take immediate measures, we will end up in a situation where many operators in the field will close their doors, and customers will have to wait weeks or even months for an essential repair," warns the first vice-president of POSA, Marian Lazar, quoted in the release.He points out that, while other industries benefit from incentives to attract the workforce and digital transformation, car workshops are left to fend for themselves "in an increasingly hostile economic and legislative context.""There is talk of technology and digital transformation as solutions, but the reality is that, without a skilled workforce, technological advances are useless. Robots cannot replace mechanics, painters and car technicians - at least not in the near future. We need real solutions, and the authorities must understand the seriousness of this crisis," said Lazar.Automotive service operators draw attention to the fact that, if this problem is not managed quickly through policies to support employers and by facilitating professional training, Romania risks losing a vital sector of its economy, with direct consequences on the costs and duration of car repairs for consumers.The auto repair sector in Romania is facing a profound workforce crisis caused by several factors: the emigration of Romanian specialists to other European countries, where pay and working conditions are more attractive; the lack of an efficient vocational training system to ensure the training of new generations of skilled workers; the reluctance of young people to enter this field, mainly due to the lack of attractiveness and the difficulty of work; an increase in demand for auto repairs generated by an increase in the number of vehicles in circulation, which amplifies the shortage of personnel.According to POSA statistics, 75% of car workshops say they have difficulties in recruiting staff, 60% of workshops have delays in delivering repaired cars due to lack of technicians, 30% of garages say they are in danger of closing in the next 5 years if solutions for the workforce are not found.POSA has analysed the possibility of hiring workers from Asia and other regions to compensate for the shortage of local specialists but considers that the process of recruiting and integrating them is extremely cumbersome. The main obstacles in this regard are excessive bureaucracy - obtaining the necessary permits takes between 6 and 12 months; high costs - an employer has to bear quite high expenses and that only for documentation, accommodation and integration; language barrier - most foreign workers do not know Romanian and require adaptation courses."In recent years, we have noticed an opening of car workshops to hiring foreign workers, but the bureaucratic procedures are cumbersome, and the costs associated with their recruitment and integration are high. The Romanian government should simplify the process of obtaining work visas and provide incentives for employers who bring in the workforce from outside the EU, in addition, hiring people who change careers and professional retraining are solutions that can bring more staff, but require well-structured training programs and adaptation to the requirements in the field," according to Lazar.Giving the circumstances, POSA proposes a long-term strategy for the revitalisation of the automotive professions, based on three essential pillars: the reintroduction of professional education - the government should support the opening of classes for car tinsmiths and painters, mechanics, electricians in technical schools and encourage collaboration with car workshops; increasing the attractiveness of the profession - modern working conditions, state-of-the-art technologies, competitive wages and benefits for workers; campaigns to promote automotive professions - POSA suggests a national campaign to promote these professions among young people.In addition to the workforce crisis, POSA also points out another major impediment, namely taxes and administrative tasks "that suffocate car workshops". Among the problems identified are labour taxes, which are among the highest in Europe, excessive bureaucracy, which hinders the activity of garages and increases operational costs."Instead of supporting the development of this essential sector, the state annually adds taxes and bureaucratic obligations that hinder the activity of the workshops. Urgent measures are needed to simplify administrative processes and reduce excessive taxation, so that companies can focus on what really matters: offering quality services and training new generations of specialists."In order to stop the collapse of the workforce in garages, POSA calls for urgent measures, such as reducing labour taxation for employees in the field of auto repairs, simplifying the recruitment process of foreign workers by eliminating administrative bottlenecks, reforming technical education and reintroducing vocational education, tax incentives for garages that invest in training young people, incentives for professional retraining, to attract people from other fields to the jobs in car workshops, investment in modern technologies, doubled by training programmes for employees."If concrete measures are not taken now, we risk witnessing the closure of a large number of workshops and an unprecedented crisis in the automotive repair sector," according to Lazar.