Evidence of skill shortages in the automotive repairs and service trades

Introduction

Employers in a number of critical economic sectors have been reporting increased difficulties recently in securing the necessary skills in their industries.

The automotive trades are among those sectors experiencing difficulties in recruiting and retaining the right skilled people. This report is one of a series of reports prepared by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) and sets out to look in more detail at where shortages may be occurring through analysis of a range of data. In doing so, it looks first at what the common underlying factors giving rise to shortages might be. There are also factors which are specific to particular occupations and trades and this is especially true of the automotive repairs and service trades where changing skill requirements and the stock of vehicles are key determinants of shortages.

In developing appropriate industry or sector-based responses to skill shortages, it is necessary to first ascertain:

• To what extent do skill shortages exist in terms of the types of skills in short supply and the areas where they are in short supply?
• What are the underlying causes of the shortages that exist?

With respect to underlying causes, skill shortages in the trades can arise from:

• an inadequate number of people entering trade training
• a high attrition rate during the training period, which means not enough people are completing trade training and attaining the qualifications necessary for highly skilled/technical work in the trades
• a high separation from the skilled trades workforce once people are qualified; due to a variety of reasons, such as low demand for skills, declining industry employment prospects or better careers and conditions being offered in other industries/sectors
• an insufficient level of activity by the existing trade workforce in upgrading skills once initial qualifications have been attained
• a failure in the provision of training to ensure that the quality and relevance of training provision is keeping up with rapidly changing skills needs in the workforce
• a combination of the above

The automotive repairs and service trades present different challenges to the causes outlined above with an industry that is rapidly changing and moving to increased computerisation and component part manufacture. In addition, the segmentation of the industry into large corporate businesses and very much smaller independent operators is also having an impact on the kind of workforce needed and skills in demand. The industry reports that these changes are not readily understood or promoted among young people looking for new career opportunities.

It is likely, therefore, that the most pressing causes of skill shortages are those related to upskilling of the automotive repairs and service workforce and attracting suitable new entrants to that workforce, in line with changes experienced within the sector.

In this report, available evidence about patterns and trends in trades employment and training in the automotive repairs and service trades is reviewed in order to gauge the nature and extent of any skills shortages in these trades. NCVER has prepared this report using information supplied by NCVER, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business (DEWRSB).

The automotive repairs and service trades include:

• motor mechanics
• automotive electricians
• panel beaters
• vehicle painters
• automotive electricians
• vehicle trimmers
• vehicle body makers