Only 25% of Gen Z Want a Fast Track. The Rest Want to Know the Next Step Exists.

The common read on Gen Z is that they're impatient — that they want a promotion every six months and leave when they don't get it. The largest recent survey says otherwise. In Deloitte's 2026 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, which polled 14,384 Gen Z respondents across 44 countries, only 25% said they prefer fast-paced career advancement. Forty-four percent preferred steady progress, and 21% said they'd move laterally to build skills.

That's a useful correction, because it changes what a dealership has to offer to win them.Steady progress with a visible next step is something a service department canactually deliver.

Is Gen Z actually impatient about promotion?

The data says no, but they do want to see where it goes.

The same Deloitte survey found 76% of Gen Z want a senior leadership role eventually. So the ambition is there — it just isn't on a two-year clock. What reads as impatience is more often uncertainty: a young employee who can't see the rungs assumes there aren't any.

Two other findings from that survey are worth holding onto. Half of Gen Z respondents named stress and burnout as a barrier to wanting leadership, and only 54% believed their team could maintain performance if a key expert left tomorrow.Both of those describe conditions people can see in a workplace within a few weeks of starting.

Are young people actually coming into the trades?

In growing numbers. Enrollment at vocational-focused public two-year colleges grew nearly20% between spring 2020 and spring 2025, reaching 871,000 students, according to the National Student Clearing house Research Center.

That's good news with a catch. The pipeline is bigger, and so is the competition for it. A newly certified tech can take that ticket to a dealership, an independent shop, a fleet operation, a municipality or an industrial employer — several of which offer predictable hours and a clearer training path than flat rate does in year one.

So the question isn't whether young people want this work. It's what they compare the offer against.

What does steady progress look like in a service department?

A dealership already has one of the clearest ladders in retail. Apprentice to B tech to A tech is a real progression with real money at each rung, tied to certifications that are recognized everywhere.

The part that's usually missing is that the ladder lives in the service manager's head rather than on paper. It's obvious to the people who climbed it and invisible to the person standing at the bottom.

Writing it down takes an hour:

•   The rungs, named — apprentice, B tech, A tech, diagnostic or EV specialist, shop foreman.

•   What unlocks each one: which certifications, which hours, which sign-offs.

•   Roughly how long each step takes for someone doing well.

•   What the pay looks like at each rung.

•   Who is responsible for getting them there.

That last line does the most work. A ladder with no name beside it is a wish.

What makes a first-year tech leave?

Usually not the money. Usually the sense that nobody is responsible for them.

Picture an apprentice eight weeks in. He's flagging a fraction of what the A techs flag, which is expected, but nobody has told him that. He's waiting on a hoist most mornings. When he gets stuck, he asks whoever looks least busy, and some days that's nobody. He's not being ignored — the shop is slammed, and everyone assumes someone else has him.

He isn't comparing this to a bad job. He's comparing it to the fleet shop his classmate went to, where a named mentor signs off his work every Friday.

The fix is structural rather than cultural: assign the mentor by name, give that mentor protected time, and tell the apprentice what good looks like at week eight so he can measure himself against something real.

One more thing worth knowing: 74% of Gen Z in Deloitte's survey use AI daily, up from 57% the year before. Your apprentice is looking up procedures on his phone. That's a habit to work with rather than against — just be clear about where the OEM procedure is the only acceptable answer.

Key takeaways

•   Only 25% of Gen Z prefer fast-paced advancement; 44%want steady progress and 21% will move laterally to build skills (Deloitte, 1,384 Gen Z respondents).

•   Ambition isn't the issue — 76% still want senior leadership eventually. Visibility of the next step is the issue.

•   Vocational two-year enrollment grew nearly 20% from spring 2020 to spring 2025, to 871,000 students. The pipeline is growing and so is competition for it.

•   A service department already has a real ladder. Writing it down is what makes it visible to the person at the bottom.

•   Name a mentor and protect their time. “Everyone helps out” means nobody owns it.

Where to start

Take the ladder that already exists in your service department and put it on one page — rungs, requirements, timing, pay, and the person accountable for each apprentice. Hand it to your newest hire and ask whether any of it is news to them.

Whatever they say is the actual finding. HR4 keeps certifications, training records and review history on the employee record, so the path a tech is on is visible to them and to the manager responsible for it. If you'd like a hand mapping your first version, we're glad to help.

FAQs

Does Gen Z expect fast promotions?

Mostly no. In Deloitte's 2026 Gen Z and Millennial Survey of 14,384 Gen Z respondents, only 25% said they prefer fast-paced career advancement. Forty-four percent preferred steady progress and21% were open to lateral moves. Seventy-six percent still want a senior leadership role eventually.

Are young people still entering the skilled trades?

Yes. National Student Clearing house data shows enrollment at vocational-focused public two-year colleges grew nearly 20% between spring 2020 and spring 2025, reaching 871,000 students. The pipeline is growing, which means dealerships are competing for those graduates against fleet, industrial and independent shops.

What keeps a first-year technician at a dealership?

Knowing who is teaching them and what the next step is. A service department already has a real ladder from apprentice to A tech, with real money at each rung. The difference is whether that ladder is written down and whether a specific person owns the apprentice's development.