Gerry Lane Enterprises President Eric Lane can’t find enough certified auto repair technicians to keep his four Baton Rouge area dealerships fully staffed. And he knows he’s not alone.
“I don’t think there’s a service department in Baton Rouge who doesn’t need more techs,” Lane tells Business Report in a feature in the new issue.
Lane says he’s currently looking for at least 11 certified technicians. The need for All Star Automotive Group President and CEO Matt McKay is even greater.
He says he would hire 60 technicians today for his company’s 11 area dealerships, if only he could find them. Describing the need as “tremendous,” McKay says dealerships and repair shops all across Louisiana are struggling to find skilled workers.
“You can call any car dealer in the state and ask them if they need technicians,” he says, “and they will say, ‘Yes.’”
Lane and McKay are among those hoping the new McKay Automotive Training Center at Baton Rouge Community College—named for John W. McKay Jr., Matt’s late father, who worked for more than 30 years as a teacher, coach and principal in the local school system—will help fill the gap in their industry and make Baton Rouge a destination for auto technician training.
The new 83,000-square-foot center has been a decade in the making and cost roughly $25 million to build. BRCC contributed $19 million, while the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority and BRCC Foundation collectively contributed the other $6 million. A ribbon cutting was held on March 15 to mark completion of the center, for which ground was broken about two years ago.
“We’re creating a strong entry-level technician,” says Van Guarino, the BRCC automotive department chair and a well-known instructor who previously taught at the Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center. “We’re working to supply the demand for now and the future.”
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