This page provides information and data on Automotive Mechanical Specialisation, which is one component of the Automotive industry.
The Automotive Mechanical and Specialisation sector provides light vehicles with service, diagnostic and repair work. The sector also conducts work on:
Nationally recognised training for the Automotive Mechanical Specialisation industry sector is delivered under the AUR – Automotive Industry Retail, Service and Repair Training Package.
For information on other automotive related industry sectors, visit the Automotive cluster page.
Information sourced from the most recently available Skills Forecast, the Automotive IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast.
All data sources are available at the end of the page.
The Automotive IRC was not required to submit an annual update to their 2019 Skills Forecast during 2020. As such, the version published in 2019 remains the most recently published Skills Forecast for this industry.
Automotive Light Vehicle Industry Reference Committee
Please note: any employment projections outlined below were calculated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics prior to COVID-19.
The main industry class related to the Automotive Mechanical and Specialisation industry sector is Other Automotive Repair and Maintenance.
Please note however that this industry class also covers other activities besides work relevant to the Automotive Mechanical and Specialisation sector, so the numbers shown here should be seen as indicative only.
According to the 2016 census data, there were 65,673 people employed in Other Automotive Repair and Maintenance compared with 59,603 in 2011. The main employing occupation in this sector is Motor Mechanics, and in 2016 this occupation formed a little under 60% of employment in this sector. Employment in this occupation is expected to decrease slightly up to 2024.
Occupations in this industry class that are also relevant to the Automotive Mechanical and Specialisation sector are Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories Fitters, and Other Miscellaneous Labourers (the Mechanic’s Assistant component) but only form a small component of this industry class. While employment for Other Miscellaneous Labourers is projected to increase by around 9% up until 2024, employment as Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories Fitters is expected to remain fairly steady.
Program enrolments in Automotive and Mechanical Specialisation-related qualifications increased from approximately 20,610 in 2018 to 23,650 in 2019. Program completions have increased from around 4,950 to roughly 5,530 in the same period.
In 2019, most of the qualification enrolments were at certificate III level (96%) with 94% of the enrolments in the qualification cluster of Light Vehicle/Automotive Mechanical Technology. The main intended occupation for the qualification was Motor Mechanic (General).
The delivery of training in 2019 was mainly split between private training providers (54%) and TAFE institutes (41%). Overall, 46% of subjects in Automotive and Mechanical Specialisation-related qualifications were Commonwealth and state funded, with international fee-for service accounting for 43%.
The highest proportion of program enrolments in 2019 for this sector was by students from overseas (32%), followed by students residing in New South Wales (20%), Queensland (18%) and Victoria (16%). Over a third of training was delivered in Victoria (36%), followed by 23% in New South Wales and 22% in Queensland.
Apprenticeship and traineeship commencements and completions have decreased overall between 2010 and 2019. Commencements declined from roughly 4,970 in 2018 to around 4,670 in 2019. Completions increased slightly between 2018 and 2019 (approximately 2,440 and 2,620 respectively). The main intended occupation for the apprenticeships and traineeships was Motor Mechanic (General). One third of training was reported by New South Wales (33%), followed by Victoria (23%) and Queensland (22%).
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The Automotive IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast ranks a list of generic skills in order of importance for each industry sector. The top five ranked generic skills for the Light Vehicle sector (which includes Automotive Mechanical and Specialisation) are:
There is significant skill demand for fault diagnosis and mechanical and electrical repair of modern vehicle systems, including semi-automatic driving technologies such as park assist, lane departure warning and autonomous emergency braking. As a result, the Automotive IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast highlights that the technical skills required to keep pace with constantly changing and evolving technology is a key focus area for the sector. In addition, as motor vehicles are becoming more advanced, the diagnostic equipment used to maintain them does as well, leading to more sophisticated service and repair roles. It is expected that the rate of technological advancement in the Automotive industry will be faster than ever before in coming years, meaning the workforce will have to continually up-skill and re-skill to remain up to date with the latest technology in motor vehicles.
Another factor impacting on vehicle service and repair, as identified in the Automotive IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast, is a shift in consumer preferences which is being felt across the following areas:
Below is a list of industry-relevant research, organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.
Directions in Australia’s automotive industry: an industry report 2017 – Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce
Association of Australasian Diesel Specialists Inc (AADS)
Australian Association of Progressive Repairers
Australian Motor Body Repairers Association (AMBRA)
Australian Tyre Dealers and Retreaders Association
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries
Institute of Accident Assessors (IAA)
Institute of Automotive Mechanical Engineers (IAME)
Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA)
Society of Automotive Engineers Australasia (SAE-A)
Department of Employment 2020, Employment Projections, available from the Labour Market Information Portal
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017, 2016 Census – employment, income and unpaid work, 2006 Census –labour force TableBuilder. Findings based on use of ABS TableBuilder data.
Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET Students and Courses from the following training package or qualifications:
This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.
Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:
Total VET students and courses data is reported for the calendar year. Program enrolments are the qualifications, courses and skill-sets in which students are enrolled in a given period. For students enrolled in multiple programs, all programs are counted. Program completion indicates that a student has completed a structured and integrated program of education or training. Location data uses student residence. Subject enrolment is registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a module, unit of competency or subject. For more information on the terms and definitions, please refer to the Total VET students and courses: terms and definitions document.
Low counts (less than 5) are not reported to protect client confidentiality.
Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. This can lead to situations where the total sum of proportions in a chart may not add up to exactly 100%.
AUR Automotive Retail, Service and Repair Training Package apprentice and trainee data has been extracted from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, including:
Generic skills data have been extracted from the Automotive IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast.
