Metro Transit is pushing the pedal on hiring mechanics
- shelettab
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
There is a nationwide shortage of mechanics, including here in Minnesota.
According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, the automotive industry needs approximately 37,00 more trained technicians nationally. The need is affecting dealerships in the Twin Cities and larger entities, such as Metro Transit, where they’re actively seeking talent.
“Mechanics who work at dealerships or who have owned their shops, that’s who we’d love to attract,” said John Komarek, communications specialist for Metro Transit.
Komarek said they’re looking for people like Peter Massaquoi, who's been a powertrain expert with Metro Transit for 10 years, currently working out of its North Loop Garage.
“In short, I’m a diagnostics guy,” said Massaquoi. “I work on everything from engines and transmissions to electrical, most especially when there is a check engine light, like what you would have in your car.”
Massaquoi and his wife live in Brooklyn Center and have six grown children. Metro Transit was able to provide him stability that isn’t a guarantee in the profession.
Massaquoi learned mechanics growing up in Liberia, watching his uncle, who worked for the public works department. After a civil war, he was exiled to the Ivory Coast before eventually coming to California, where he studied mechanics at a community college in the Bay Area.
Massaquoi built a solid background in diagnostics and even worked for Volkswagen, which was coming out with new models in the early 2000s and looking for mechanics. Representatives visited Massaquoi’s school. “My professor took me to the office and said, ‘Take this guy with you,’” Massaquoi recalled. The job at Volkswagen lasted several years, but eventually Massaquoi found the price of living in California too high.
After encouragement from his cousin in Minnesota, Massaquoi decided to make the move and opened his own shop in Maple Grove. “We had this thing going for 3 years, but it didn’t work out.”
Then, Massaquoi saw an opening at Metro Transit and applied. He got the job, which he says has great benefits, stability being one of the biggest.
“I could sit at a dealership for 8 hours and only do 4 hours of work, which is a great disadvantage,” Massaquoi said. Instead, he is paid hourly at Metro Transit, where he is encouraged to get the job done right, even if it takes more time.
“Somebody who comes from a dealership background, the way those jobs work out, if you take longer on something, your overall pay for the day goes down, whereas here, you’re hourly,” Komarek added.
Massaquoi said breathing room to do the job right is important. “Whether I’m working for someone else or working for myself, I am going to do the work to the best of my ability.”
Additional benefits at Metro Transit include health, life, dental, and vision insurance as well as a pension and paid time off. Massaquoi said an unexpected benefit he enjoys is the community.
“You work here as a team, which is a great thing. You are not the superstar; you can help each other.”
If you would like to learn more about joining the mechanic team at Metro Transit, please visit: