Automotive Mechanical and Specialisation

Overview

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:

engine repairs
muffler, brake and exhaust repairs
brake and exhaust repairs
transmission repairs
LPG conversions
other repairs.

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 Automotive IRC's 2018 Skills Forecast.

All data sources are available at the end of the page.

IRC and Skills Forecasts

Automotive Light Vehicle Industry Reference Committee

Employment trends

Employment snapshot

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 2023.

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 slightly up until 2023, employment as Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories Fitters is expected to remain fairly steady.

Training provider type
Funding source

Commencements and completions
State and Territory

Training snapshot

Program enrolments decreased over the period between 2014 and 2016 but increased considerably in 2017. Program completion numbers decreased during the period 2014 to 2017. In 2017, over 90% of the qualification enrolments were at certificate III level. In addition, 90% of the enrolments were in the area of light vehicle/automotive mechanical technology. The main intended occupation for the qualification was Motor Mechanic (General).

Over a half of the training in 2017 was delivered by TAFE institutes, with a little under 40% being delivered by private training providers. About two-thirds of the subject funding was from government sources with a further 23% from international fee-for-service. International fee-for-service formed about 40% of the funding for subjects for private training providers. The majority of the students (70%) were from the three eastern states; however, 13% of students were from overseas.

Apprenticeship and traineeship commencements decreased somewhat over the period 2011–16 (from 8,525 in 2011 to 4,636 in 2016). However, they have increased slightly in 2017 to just over 5,000. Completions have decreased considerably since 2014. In 2017, completions were just over a half of what they were in 2014. The main intended occupation for the apprenticeships and traineeships was Motor Mechanic (General). A third of the apprenticeships were reported in New South Wales, with a further 23% in Victoria and 22% in Queensland.

For more data specific to your occupation, industry or training package, visit NCVER’s VET students by industry.

For more data specific to your region visit NCVER’s Atlas of total VET. If you are prompted to log in, select cancel and you will continue to be directed to the program.

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Industry insights

Industry insights on skills needs

The Automotive IRC's 2018 Skills Forecast indicates that technological change is impacting on the skill needs of this sector. In particular, new technologies in modern vehicles have made the servicing and repair of vehicles more complex.

The top five generic skills for the sector (together with other light vehicle sectors) according to the Skills Forecast are:

technology use and application
language, literacy and numeracy
design mindset/thinking critically/system thinking/solving problems
communication/collaboration including virtual collaboration/social intelligence
learning agility/information literacy/intellectual autonomy and self-management.

The Skills Forecast indicates that there is currently a shortage of Light Vehicle Mechanical Technicians in the sector. Demand for these skills is forecast to increase over the medium term.

The Directions in Australia’s automotive industry 2017 lists projected skill shortage numbers for the following occupations relevant to the Automotive Mechanical and Specialisation sector projected to 2018–19:

Light Vehicle Mechanic	14,799
Engine Re-conditioner	115
Tyre Fitter	821

Links and resources

Below is a list of industry-relevant organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.

Data sources and notes

Department of Employment, 2018, Employment Projections, available from the Labour Market Information Portal

by ANZSCO, selected occupations, employment projections to May 2023
- Motor Mechanics
- Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories Fitters
- Other Miscellaneous Labourers.

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.

Employment level by 4 digit ANZSIC
- 9419 Other Automotive Repair and Maintenance.
by ANZSCO, selected occupations
- Motor Mechanics
- Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories Fitters
- Other Miscellaneous Labourers.

Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET Students and Courses from the following training package or qualifications:

AUR Automotive Retail, Service and Repair Training Package
Automotive Cylinder Head Reconditioning
- AUR21512 - Certificate II in Automotive Cylinder Head Reconditioning
- AUR21516 - Certificate II in Automotive Cylinder Head Reconditioning
Automotive Tyre Service Technology
- AUR21912 - Certificate II in Automotive Tyre Servicing Technology
- AUR21913 - Certificate II in Automotive Tyre Servicing Technology
- AUR21916 - Certificate II in Automotive Tyre Servicing Technology
Automotive Underbody Technology
- AUR21212 - Certificate II in Automotive Underbody Technology
- AUR21216 - Certificate II in Automotive Underbody Technology
- AUR32512 - Certificate III in Automotive Underbody Technology
- AUR32516 - Certificate III in Automotive Underbody Technology
Light Vehicle/ Automotive Mechanical Technology
- AUR30405 - Certificate III in Automotive Mechanical Technology
- AUR30612 - Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
- AUR30616 - Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology
Other Automotive Mechanical and Specialisation Qualifications
- AUR21316 - Certificate II in Automotive Braking System Technology
- AUR21616 - Certificate II in Automotive Driveline System Technology
- AUR20705 - Certificate II in Automotive Mechanical
- AUR21005 - Certificate II in Motorsport
- AUR21011 - Certificate II in Motorsport
- AUR21012 - Certificate II in Motorsport Technology
- AUR21016 - Certificate II in Motor Sport Technology
- AUR21312 - Certificate II in Automotive Braking System Technology
- AUR21412 - Certificate II in Automotive Cooling System Technology
- AUR21416 - Certificate II in Automotive Cooling System Technology
- AUR21612 - Certificate II in Automotive Driveline System Technology
- AUR21712 - Certificate II in Automotive Exhaust System Technology
- AUR21716 - Certificate II in Automotive Exhaust System Technology
- AUR21812 - Certificate II in Automotive Steering and Suspension System Technology
- AUR21816 - Certificate II in Automotive Steering and Suspension System Technology
- AUR23402 - Certificate II in Automotive (Motorsport)
- AUR30911 - Certificate III in Motorsport
- AUR30912 - Certificate III in Motorsport Technology
- AUR30916 - Certificate III in Motor Sport Technology
- AUR31311 - Certificate III in Automotive Engine Reconditioning
- AUR31312 - Certificate III in Automotive Engine Reconditioning
- AUR31316 - Certificate III in Automotive Engine Reconditioning
- AUR31612 - Certificate III in Automotive Drivetrain Technology
- AUR31616 - Certificate III in Automotive Drivetrain Technology
- AUR32012 - Certificate III in Automotive Alternative Fuel Technology
- AUR32016 - Certificate III in Automotive Alternative Fuel Technology
- AUR32402 - Certificate II in Automotive (Motorsport)
- AUR32602 - Certificate III in Automotive (Motorsport)
- AUR40202 - Certificate IV in Automotive (Motorsport)
- AUR40302 - Certificate IV in Automotive (Performance Enhancement)
- AUR40305 - Certificate IV in Motorsport
- AUR40312 - Certificate IV in Motorsport Technology
- AUR40316 - Certificate IV in Motor Sport Technology
- AUR40405 - Certificate IV in Automotive Performance Enhancement
- AUR40412 - Certificate IV in Automotive Performance Enhancement
- AUR40416 - Certificate IV in Automotive Performance Enhancement
- AUR50202 - Diploma of Automotive (Motorsport)
- AUR50305 - Diploma of Motorsport
- AUR50312 - Diploma of Motorsport Technology
- AUR50316 - Diploma of Motor Sport Technology.

This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.

Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:

2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 program enrolments
2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 program completions.

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:

2010 to 2017 commencements
2010 to 2017 completions
2017 apprentices and trainees in-training October to December 2017 collection, by qualification and state and territory of data submitter.

Generic skills data have been extracted from the Automotive IRC's 2018 Skills Forecast.

Updated: 12 Dec 2018