AUSTRALIA’S 320,000 automotive workers are being overlooked in the national skills and migration debate and are now demanding support as the government remains focused on buildings and construction trades.

The Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA) said automotive trades were “the hidden workforce” behind mining, construction, agriculture, transport and everyday mobility.

MTAA executive director, Bruce Billson

It is now calling on the federal government to recognise automotive retail, service and repair as critical areas of workforce need, particularly as debate over skilled migration “continues to focus heavily on building and construction trades”.

MTAA executive director, Bruce Billson, said the debate risked overlooking very the skilled tradespeople who keep other sectors of the economy functioning. 

“When we talk about who keeps Australia moving, we need to think beyond the building site,” Mr Billson said. 

“Mining trucks don’t service themselves. Construction equipment doesn’t maintain itself. Agricultural machinery doesn’t repair itself. And the more than 22 million registered motor vehicles that Australians rely on don’t look after themselves either. 

“Behind these sectors are automotive technicians, diesel mechanics, panel beaters and auto electricians making it all possible, and we simply cannot find enough of them.”

His comments come as the MTAA submits its 2026 Industry Skills Shortages Survey to Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) as part of the 2026 ‘occupation shortage list’ consultation.

The survey shows that:

• More than 90 per cent of employers describe recruitment as difficult or very difficult 
• 75 per cent say recruitment is harder than three years ago 
• The industry vacancy fill rate is 48 per cent, well below JSA’s 67 per cent shortage threshold 
• Average applicants per vacancy have fallen from 8.2 in 2024 to three in 2026 
• 38 per cent of vacancies remain unfilled 
• 68 per cent of employers expect shortages to worsen over the next 12 months 

“These are not marginal numbers. This is an industry employing more than 320,000 Australians and facing persistent, widespread workforce shortages that are getting worse, Mr Billson said. 

He said that the government’s focus on construction workforce needs, driven by the National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million new homes, was understandable but incomplete. 

“Electricians, plumbers and carpenters have rightly received significant attention,” he said.

“But the excavators, cranes, trucks and vehicles that make construction sites function also need qualified technicians to maintain and repair them. 

“The same applies in mining, agriculture, transport and logistics. If you can’t keep the equipment running, the work stops.” 

MTAA’s submission to JSA identified persistent shortages across key automotive occupations, including motor mechanics, diesel technicians, automotive electricians, panel beaters and vehicle painters. 

It also presented evidence that occupations currently classified by JSA as ‘no shortage’, including agricultural mechanics, tyre fitters and tow truck drivers, are experiencing recruitment conditions consistent with significant workforce shortages. 

MTAA is calling for shortage classifications and migration settings to better reflect current labour market conditions, including appropriate access to skilled migration pathways for automotive occupations where demonstrated shortages exist. 

The workforce crisis is compounded by weaknesses in the domestic training pipeline: 

• Almost four in 10 apprenticeships for automotive and engineering trades workers are not completed within six years 
• 43 per cent of employers say current training pathways are not producing suitable workers
• Only 10 per cent believe existing training pathways are adequate

The MTAA said that the growing technical complexity of modern vehicles, including electrification, advanced driver assistance systems and high-voltage diagnostics, was further widening the skills gap. 

Electrified vehicles accounted for 48.4 per cent of new vehicle sales in July 2026, accelerating demand for technicians with new-technology capabilities. “The automotive industry offers delicious career opportunities for tradespeople and technicians that are essential to keeping the nation moving,” Mr Billson said.

“But on current policy settings, there is no credible path to meeting the workforce and skills needs of our economy and communities. 

“We need a dual strategy: stronger domestic apprenticeship pathways backed by the necessary training investment and incentives, turbocharged by a targeted skilled migration program to fill immediate gaps and workforce shortages for the foreseeable future. 

“One without the other won’t solve this. Skilled migration is a necessary short-to-medium-term measure, but it must complement, not replace, a properly resourced domestic training system. 

“It’s time this significant automotive workforce challenge was recognised in the migration and skills policy debate as a national priority,” Mr Billson said.