GREENSBORO, N.C. — There is a nationwide shortage of automotive technicians, which is causing repair times to be longer.

Derek Morehead’s high school automotive class helped determine his future in the automotive industry. He says he took it for fun then shortly fell in love with it.

But these automotive classes aren’t widely available. 

“There’s not as many automotive programs and high schools as there used to be. However, from what I’m seeing and hearing is that’s going to make a comeback not only in the automotive sector, but also other aspects of career and technical education like carpentry, electronics and things like that, which is fantastic,” said Guilford Technical Community College Department Chair Jeff Faircloth.

The number of graduates completing programs in the automotive sector has dropped 20% since 2020, according to TechForce Foundation, a nonprofit that guides students into careers as professional technicians.

Now, a first-year student at Guilford Tech, Morehead gets to turn his passion into a career.

“Being able to see what I’m learning actually does matter when I go to work,”
Morehead said. “It definitely makes me more engaged in class acts and more questions.”

Working part-time at Mercedes helps him apply what he’s learned in class.

“It’s nice having to go to school and work at the same time. So like whenever I’m at work, if I don’t understand something, I always can come here and like get a deeper explanation of it than what I could get at work,” Morehead said.

Faircloth added the goal of the automotive program at GTCC is to get students jobs in the industry and help the local economy, as well as help the students be successful.