I would like to put my $.02 into this discussion. I have been a forklift mechanic at a crown dealership for over 10 years, I have only worked for this one employer as a fork lift mech, but I had 4 years experience as an industrial plant mechanic and also a few years as a motorcycle mechanic. I know tech's at all the noteworthy forklift repair businesses in the region, and all the service companies seem to have the same flawed strategy for hiring new tech's. Instead of hiring young auto tech's and retooling them to be fork lift tech's, they seem to prefer to try to shine up and re issue the bad pennies that get washed out of the other fork lift companies. It seems that on the rare occasions that they do hire tech's from other industries they work out well.

The pay is another problem too, and I may wind up leaving the business soon because of it. Based on what I have seen in my region, average fork lift tech's make about the same as average auto or diesel tech's, but the top tier auto and diesel guys make a lot more than the top tier fork lift tech's. I may not be the best fork lift mechanic in the business, but I am very good, however I have a friend who is the top guy at a luxury brand auto repair shop that makes almost twice as much as I do. He is my age, been at it as long as I have been, and is mostly self taught. We work together frequently on side projects, our skills and knowledge are evenly matched, except that I must be stupid for continuing to work for about 40% less per year for using the same skills. I generally like working as a fork lift mechanic, especially working on the road, but money talks and B/S fork lift companies that won't pay may have to...

So, in conclusion, for the benefit of any fork lift service company managers that may read this, the future of the fork lift repair business is in cross training young tech's from other fields, and retaining the top talents by paying them properly.