Research by the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) and researcher Fifth Quadrant adds that similar rates of workshops currently have vacancies for technicians, with 47 per cent currently hiring, and 31 per cent seeking the services of a master technician. 

Currently the automotive service and repair industry is short over 40,000 workers, consisting of roughly 27,000 qualified technicians, and 13,500 apprentices. This equates to every workshop in the country being short one technician, with one in two workshops short an apprentice. 

The AAAA’s director of government relations and advocacy, Lesley Yates, said the skills shortage is the industry’s most pressing issue.

Lesley Yates

“We invested in a ground breaking industry-wide survey to provide us clear data on what these challenges look like at the individual workshop level, offer guidance on best practice to workshops, and to underpin our industry advocacy to the government,” she said.

Contributing to the dynamic of the industry wide skills shortage is the significant 11.5 per cent increase in total automotive workshops since 2021. Nearly 3000 additional automotive service and repair workshops have joined the market in the last two years with a total of 27,620 workshops now operating across the country.

Importantly, apprentice turn-over and vacancy levels were also explored. The survey results show that nearly a quarter (22 per cent) of workshops lost an apprentice in the last 12 months, with 29 per cent currently seeking to hire an apprentice. 

“The findings are very clear. Automotive service and repair is in demand, existing workshops are trying to maintain or expand their operation, while simultaneously, new workshops are starting up,” Ms Yates said.

“These factors are decreasing the overall labour pool and placing pressure on workshops desperate to retain trained staff and attract new apprentices.”

The chief executive of the Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce and also the CEO of the MTAA, Geoff Gwilym, told GoAutoNews Premium that the survey shows the continuing and entrenched skill shortage in the automotive industry. 

“It’s been like that for at least two decades, if not longer. We had major skill shortages before COVID and subsequently, they just became more entrenched,” he said.

“The automotive industry still faces challenges around how it competes with, and beats, other industries to attract new people. And it’s not doing a bad job, by the way, because as this survey shows, there are still more automotive businesses being created year-on-year.

“That’s not surprising given the growing population and growing car sales. But while this is going on, all the labour available has now been employed.

“The recent move by the federal government to increase the temporary skilled migrant payment to $70,000 is, in my view, going to lead to a slow-down in the transition of skilled migrants into Australia.

“That’s because a lot of workshops just can’t afford to pay temporary overseas skilled migrants $70,000 on entry.

“The worst affected will be regional areas which already pay technicians less than their metropolitan counterparts.”

Mr Gwilym said the survey did not have a solution to the problem.

Geoff Gwilym

“I think that the state MTAs and VACC – which are together the biggest trainers and employers of automotive apprentices in the county – should continue to try and promote the industry, in schools and in the community.

“But putting people in schools to help promote automotive is a very expensive exercise and so is running campaigns, either on social media TV or radio, to try and attract kids and promote the automotive industry.

“Unless we can attract more kids into automotive – that would have ordinarily gone in either into another trade or to university – then we will continue to have the skill shortage.”

Technician salary levels were another focus of the survey, given this is an area of conjecture within the industry. 

Overwhelmingly, and encouragingly, technicians are being paid above award rates. Master technicians earn an average salary of $83,000 excluding superannuation, while the average salary for a first-year apprentice is $36,000. 

While salary levels do continue to present staffing challenges for workshops, the survey has shown the use of non-cash benefits to entice and retain staff are being underutilised. 

The results show that non-cash benefits at workshops, which include industry training opportunities, flexible hours, and the use of the workshop out of hours are not offered by one-in-three workshops. 

“These opportunities are available at low cost, and can play a role in staff retention strategies,” the survey said.

By Neil Dowling