JobatNumerous companies and sectors in our country are looking for skilled maintenance technicians. What exactly does this bottleneck profession entail? And where are these profiles employed? Jobat.be asked Virginie Verschooris, remuneration expert at HR services company SD Worx.
By Thomas Rosseel, in collaboration with Jobat 19-02-24, 09:31 Last update: 09:39 Source: Jobat.be
What does a maintenance technician do?
At this writing, Jobat.be lists no less than: 1,593 vacancies as ‘maintenance technician’ Open. “The maintenance technician, also called a service technician or maintenance operator, is a bottleneck profession,” says Virginie Verschooris.
The payroll expert at SD Worx zooms in further on the range of tasks: “A maintenance technician is responsible for maintaining and testing the equipment and machines, detects malfunctions, solves problems and repairs damaged equipment. A maintenance technician replaces parts and installs them according to regulations, inventories technical documentation and efficiently estimates costs and repair times.”
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From construction to field service
According to Verschooris, the fact that the maintenance technician belongs to the list of shortage professions is due to the rapid increase in the number of electromechanical equipment in recent decades. “As a result, the demand for trained experts continues to increase. Just think of the arrival of the internet, solar panels, charging stations, vehicles that have many more gadgets and are electromechanically controlled.”
“This is a position with a lot of responsibilities. You are responsible for machines and the safety of the employees who work with them. Moreover, extensive knowledge of the various domains and techniques is required. That is why people need and look for their own specific profiles per sector.”
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There are different types of maintenance technicians, with associated tasks, depending on the sector in which they work:
• Construction: they are responsible for the safety and efficiency of buildings and infrastructure.
• Industry: maintenance of machines, troubleshooting and troubleshooting.
• Engineering: the more experienced profiles that carry out programming.
• Infrastructure: electrical cabling.
• Field service: moving into the context of maintenance and repairs for all kinds of technically related matters.
Read more below the image.
Virginie Verschooris: “Maintenance technician is a position that permanently evolves and changes according to the developments of the latest techniques.” © Getty Images / SD Worx
Which profile should you have?
In addition to technical knowledge, the maintenance technician also needs quite a few soft skills, Verschooris knows. “Think of good communication skills, time management and being able to collaborate with different parties. This is a function that permanently evolves and changes according to the developments of the latest techniques. This means that there are various specialists who can be deployed in different sectors and that they must continue to receive further training.”
Precisely because of the specificity, there are companies that outsource these profiles. “That is a kind of service. The disadvantage is that there is no continuous presence within the organization. In the event of a defect or problem with a device, it depends on the availability of a technician. For some companies this can mean a loss if the machines are idle for too long. The companies that outsource technicians usually also provide these profiles with a company car, because they need to be able to travel to customers to carry out maintenance and repairs. This in turn puts extra pressure on companies with production units that do not require relocation. The total reward package therefore differs per sector.”
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And what about the salary?
“Our world is changing and that has an impact on the supply and demand of certain functions or profiles,” says the SD Worx expert. “That is why it is also important to have a well-founded wage policy that responds to this. A maintenance technician with a blue-collar status has a median fixed salary of 3,085 euros gross per month – regardless of sector and region – excluding premiums and other benefits. In the pharmaceutical and chemical sector, this amount can rise to 3,550 euros gross per month on the median, excluding premiums and other benefits.”
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2024-02-19 08:31:00
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