DEARBORN – When Ford Motor Company says it cannot fill thousands of open mechanic jobs — even with wages that can approach six figures — the issue is not about people refusing to work.

It is about whether workforce training systems are keeping pace with how work itself has changed.

Ford CEO Jim Farley recently said the automaker has roughly 5,000 unfilled skilled-mechanic positions, calling the situation a warning sign for the broader U.S. economy.

“We are in trouble in our country. We are not talking about this enough,” Farley said in a recent interview, adding that critical jobs across the trades remain open even as companies raise pay.

For Michigan — home to the nation’s auto industry and now a central player in electric vehicle and advanced manufacturing investment — that warning lands close to home.

A Skills Mismatch, Not a Motivation Problem

Economists and labor analysts caution against framing the issue as a lack of interest in manual or technical work.

“What we’re seeing is not a collapse in labor participation, but a mismatch,” said Laura Ullrich, an economist with Indeed’s Hiring Lab, in recent commentary on trade and manufacturing employment. “Fields like manufacturing and construction have long-term shortages because training pipelines have not kept up with demand.”

That mismatch is increasingly visible in roles like automotive service and maintenance.

Modern technicians are expected to work with:

  • Advanced diagnostic software

  • Sensors and automated systems

  • High-voltage EV components

  • Battery safety and electronics

Those skills take time to develop — and they do not always align with short-term or outdated training

programs.

Farley has noted that mastery in some advanced technician roles can take years, particularly in diesel, electrical, and EV-related work.

Why Michigan Feels the Strain More Acutely

Michigan continues to invest heavily in:

  • EV manufacturing plants

  • Battery production

  • Advanced mobility and automation

But workforce experts say service and maintenance skills have not always scaled at the same pace as factory announcements.

That gap shows up first in technician roles — jobs that are essential once a facility is operational, not just when it opens.

According to workforce researchers at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, skills shortages are projected to persist across multiple technical occupations through the next decade unless training systems become more responsive to employer demand.

Their research emphasizes that job openings alone do not create workers; credentials, access, and timing matter.

From Centralized Pipelines to Fragmented Systems

Labor historians and workforce scholars note that earlier industrial training models — whether union-run, employer-led, or state-supported — tended to be more centralized.

That did not eliminate shortages, but it created:

  • Clear entry points

  • Paid learning pathways

  • Direct links between training and employment

Today’s system is more diffuse:

  • Community colleges

  • Career and technical education programs

  • Registered apprenticeships

  • Employer-specific initiatives

Each plays a role — but no single institution is accountable for whether supply meets demand.

Economists describe this condition as structural mismatch, a well-established concept in labor economics referring to situations where workers’ skills do not align with available jobs.

What Business Leaders Are Saying — Quietly

Industry groups representing dealers, manufacturers, and industrial employers have repeatedly warned that technician shortages:

  • Increase operating costs

  • Delay deployment of new technology

  • Create long-term execution risk

The concern is not theoretical. Without enough trained technicians, investments in EVs, automation, and infrastructure face operational bottlenecks.

Carolyn Lee, president of the Manufacturing Institute, has repeatedly warned that workforce readiness is the limiting factor for U.S. manufacturing growth. In public remarks and reports, she has said variations of:

“Manufacturers are ready to invest, but the availability of skilled workers remains the biggest challenge to growth.”

A Policy Question, Not a Cultural One

The takeaway for lawmakers and economic development leaders is not that existing programs have failed — but that they are not sufficiently coordinated around real-time industry needs.

Policy experts increasingly argue that workforce strategy should focus less on:

  • Counting programs

  • Announcing grants

  • Reporting enrollments

And more on:

  • Job placement outcomes

  • Time-to-competency

  • Employer-verified skill readiness

Several economists have also urged states to more closely tie workforce planning to incentive deals, ensuring that training capacity grows alongside capital investment.

Ford’s mechanic shortage is not an outlier — and it is not evidence that people are unwilling to work in skilled trades.

It is evidence that workforce systems are moving more slowly than the industries they are meant to support.

Michigan has proven it can attract advanced manufacturing and mobility investment. The next test is whether it can align training, credentials, and execution well enough to sustain those investments over time.

As Farley warned, the issue is not hypothetical — and it is not confined to one company.

“This is a very serious thing,” he said. “And it’s not getting enough attention.”