KEY research into automotive careers has found respondents are generally positive about their work, but inexplicitly hesitate to recommend automotive as a career.

Automotive industry employees also revealed their uncertainty about the future of the auto industry.

This suggests more clarity is needed from the industry about career prospects as well as the diversity and variation of employment opportunities open to current and future employees.

These were some of the unusual – and in many ways unexpected – responses to the 2026 Australian Automotive Workforce Pulse survey by automotive industry platform mechanic.com.au.

The findings from the Pulse now form the foundation of the Australian Automotive Workforce Benchmark, which is an ongoing platform designed to track workforce experience, deepen understanding of the people behind the industry and provide a stronger evidence base for the decisions that shape its future.

Mechanic.com.au CEO Ryan Davis told

mechanic.com.au CEO Ryan Davis told GoAutoNews Premium that aspects of the survey were widely understood by the industry.

But he said there were some things “that really popped out at us”.

“Just the ambiguity in the industry, such as ‘what does the future look like?’,” he said.

The survey asks respondents about recommending the automotive industry as a career and if they believed strongly enough in the career to tell somebody else to choose it.

Mr Davis said the responders saying, ‘I love my job (but) I wouldn’t recommend it to other people’ attitude was an interesting paradox.

“It shows there’s uncertainty around the future of the industry. Where’s it going? What is my job going to look like in 10 or 20 years?,” he said.

“These are the things that aren’t being talked about. For me, that was a big response that really stood out.”

Mr Davis said the survey could be valuable for industry associations and other stakeholders as well as in supporting government advocacy.

“But even for private business, such as fixed operations in a dealership or a small independent workshop, the report has solid information to ensure employees are optimistic about their work and their future,” he continued.

“I think it would be very valuable for an employer to know what their employees are thinking about their job and their future.

“‘Would they want to own the business one day?’ or ‘Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years time?’.

“The answers will give direction to the employee and employer and open up career pathways that in many cases, are obscure in the automotive industry.

“We’ve got a pretty good idea of what the future of automotive looks like in Australia, but I think when you then have those conversations with the dealership at a fixed ops level, with an independent workshop with a technician, there’s a lot more obscurity in terms of them not knowing what is open to them.

“It’s important for people to understand there is a future for them in automotive, even if the work looks very different to what it does today. With that change comes a lot of opportunity and excitement.”

Mr Davis said career clarity was only part of the picture. The research also showed that pay, work-life balance, respect from management and team environment all feature strongly in how people assess an employer.

Separately from the Pulse findings, Mr Davis said his broader conversations with industry representatives, employers and employees often returned to the question, “What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing at the moment?” 

“In those conversations, attracting and retaining staff comes up again and again,” he said. 

“There’s a number of organisations around Australia that are doing a lot of great work in this space – OEMs, dealerships, the aftermarket sector, motor trade associations and so on – which are all moving in a positive direction.

“But I think one thing we don’t do great as an industry is to work together and collaborate like many other industries. 

“So, mechanic.com.au came up with the GearUP Auto Careers initiative, with the aim of showcasing automotive to young people and career changers. 

“That involved doing a road show, attending major career expos, and talking to high school students, teachers, career counsellors and others considering a move into the industry.” 

Mr Davis said that technical roles like mechanics are very different to the old stereotype.

“The work is increasingly clean, technical and high-tech,” he said.

“For people who aren’t interested in technical roles, there are many other careers across automotive that they often don’t know exist.”

He said that women are currently heavily underrepresented in automotive. 

“Those exploring the industry for the first time may not initially see a place for themselves, but once they understand the breadth of roles and opportunities available, we see genuine interest,” he noted.

He said that the survey was about getting  information out to as many people in the industry as possible (mechanic.com.au/wave1).

“It gives the industry – whether it’s a small business, a mobile mechanic, a dealership, an industry association – an element of complementary evidence about what’s already out in the industry,” he concluded.