In response to a national survey of its members, Capricorn found that 51 per cent of respondents said lack of qualified staff topped the list of challenges facing the automotive industry.
“The problem is particularly acute for panel and paint, tyre and suspension and for larger/chain workshops,” the report said.
“While pay rates are up, there’s an acknowledgement that creating a positive workplace culture can be as important to attracting and retaining good staff as financial incentives.”
In Capricorn’s second State of the Nation survey, it said it was vital to build “a pipeline of talent to address a skills shortage in the automotive industry”.
Capricorn Group CEO David Fraser said the industry was dynamic and evolving and the fact that cars were “literally computers on wheels” made it an exciting career “especially if you’re into gaming and coding.”
“However, the automotive industry as a collective, needs to have a serious conversation about how it plans on creating a pipeline of talent to address future labor shortages,” he said.
The report found that 44 per cent of respondents said changing technology was the second most challenging issue, while 37 per cent nominated difficulty in attracting young people to the industry.
On the upside, the report found there were many positives in the industry such as making customers happy, the joy of problem solving and finding a passion working with vehicles – work-life balance was a problem, largely due to a shortage of skilled labor.
“Thanks to government support, 39 per cent of Capricorn’s members currently have an apprentice in their business but many still believe their business is too small to take on an apprentice, which is often just not the case,” Mr Fraser said.
“Our members have been working an average of 24 years in the industry and running their own workshop for 17, so now really is the time to consider succession planning, and part of that may include considering taking on an apprentice.”
Between 2016 and 2020, the number of graduate apprentices in the automotive and engineering trades fell 23.2 per cent.
“Our report found that two thirds of members have never been approached by a TAFE-like institution looking for an apprentice, yet three out of five members have been approached by someone who is seeking to start an apprenticeship, so there’s a clear imbalance there,” Mr Fraser said.
“There’s a lot of government support and registered training schemes available for businesses to access, so if you’ve ever considered it, now is the time to bring on an apprentice and if you’re a young person looking for an exciting career take a look at the automotive industry.”
Capricorn said that from October 1, 2021, the existing Australian Apprenticeships Incentives Program (AAIP) will be replaced with a new, simplified and streamlined incentives program for employers of apprentices and trainees called the Incentives for Australian Apprenticeships (IAA).
The IAA was scheduled to start in 2020, but delayed because of the pandemic. Final claims for payment must be lodged by June 30, 2023.
The program will offer a range of incentive payments to employers during the period of an employee’s apprenticeship and is available to employers of any size, industry or geographic location.
“It’s clear that many of our members are in a positive position where they need or would like to take on apprentices and, given the government support available to do this, there’s never been a better time to start planning for the future,” Mr Fraser said.
Capricorn, which represents more than 23,000 automotive members throughout Australia and New Zealand, commissioned research company TKP to conduct the survey.
The majority of Capricorn’s members run mechanical workshops (72 per cent), a smaller number also operate panel and paint (seven per cent), auto electric (six per cent), commercial truck (five per cent) and tyre and suspension (four per cent).
By Neil Dowling
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