There are more vehicles on U.S. roads than ever before –and someone has to take care of them all. Qualified automobile technicians are in growing demand simply because the number of cars on the road is growing.

August was the strongest month for U.S. automakers since the start of the recession, with double digit sales gains for many automobile makes and models. The 1.5 million vehicles sold represent a 17 percent increase over last August’s tally. Sales were up for all three major auto companies, with General Motors posting the largest increase at 14.7 percent.

And all three companies are boasting some pretty impressive numbers for individual autos. GM’s Cadillac saw a 38 percent rise in sales, its best showing since 1989 and the Buick had its best sales results in a decade with a 37 percent jump. Over at Ford, the picture is rosy for its small cars like the Fiesta and the C-Maxx, but its trucks are doing well, too. According to Vice President for U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service Ken Czuby, Ford is "selling one F-Series pickup every 42 seconds."

While all this is certainly good news for the auto industry, it’s also a whole lot of good news for anyone who happens to work on cars. There are some 247 million vehicles on U.S. roads today. Not only are people buying cars in record numbers, but they’re also holding on to them longer than ever before. According to auto industry guru R.L. Polk & Company, the average age of vehicles on the road today is 11.4 years. Vice President of Polk’s aftermarket practice Mark Seng believes these are “interesting times for the automotive aftermarket” and suggests that repair shops make “concerted efforts to retain business.”

One way for independent service centers to meet the needs of their clients is to make certain that they hire well-trained and certified automotive technicians. Today’s mechanics don’t merely need to know cars; they need to know about the computers that run cars.

At Porter and Chester Institute, our Automotive Technology program helps prepare students to take the ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) exams. Porter and Chester Institute is a school dedicated to teaching students real skills to enter the real world. With nine convenient locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and a wide variety of programs, Porter and Chester Institute may be the answer to your future employment dreams.