Eduardo Villasenor likes to take things apart and put them back together. It's one of the reasons he's pursuing a career as a car mechanic rather than his initial interest: mechanical engineer.

Ford is sounding the alarm about a looming crisis in its service bays, warning that thousands of high‑paying mechanic jobs are sitting empty even as vehicles become more software driven and complex.

Chad Wilson, general manager of Ford dealerships in Midland and Saginaw, says the struggle to retain repair technicians is among the biggest challenges facing car dealers, especially when automakers ...