Employment and training snapshot
The census data indicates that in 2016 across all industry classes that have relevance to the Automotive industry there were just over 390,000 people employed. This figure is prior to the closure of the car manufacturing plants which will have some impact on this number.
The report, Directions in Australia’s automotive industry: an industry report 2017 forecasts some decline in numbers in the industry through to 2018–19, the end of their forecast period. They also calculated that 88% of the decline in numbers in the industry is a direct result of the closure of car manufacturing plants in Australia.
It should be noted that some of the industry classes used to calculate the employment number from the 2016 census include activities that may lie outside of the Automotive industry, so the total employment number should be seen as indicative only. The precise industry classes used to calculate the employment number are shown in the data notes. More information on employment is shown in the sector pages.
There were 60,770 program enrolments across the two automotive related training packages in 2018, down from approximately 68,830 in 2018. The vast majority of enrolments were in the Automotive Industry Retail, Service and Repair Training Package. There were also close to 16,700 program completions and roughly 9,440 subject only enrolments reported in 2018, and both program completions and subject only enrolments declined between 2017 and 2018.
As with program enrolments, the vast majority of apprentice and trainee commencements and completions were in the Automotive Industry Retail, Service and Repair Training Package. In 2018, there were about 11,610 commencements and a little under 5,590 completions. Apprentice and trainee commencements increased slightly between 2017 and 2018, while completions declined during the same period.
For further breakdowns of the training data, please visit the sector pages.
Industry insights on skills needs
Consistent change and evolution of technology in the Automotive industry means the technical skills required to keep pace are a key focus for the sector. Industry consultation and previous research, as highlighted in the Automotive IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast, identifies significant skills demand in the industry for the following:
- Fault diagnosis skills
- Mechanical and electrical repair skills for modern vehicle systems, including semi-automatic driving technologies like:
- Park assist
- Lane departure warning
- Autonomous emergency braking.
The Automotive IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast identifies three key opportunities and challenges for employers and learners in the industry, including:
- Outdated public perceptions discourage enrolments: Industry feedback has suggested that outdated perceptions among learners and misinformed career advisors that industry job roles are highly manual, labour intensive and not requiring high order thinking is affecting the supply of quality learners. These perceptions have become increasingly untrue over the past ten years with the growing complexity of motor vehicles, components and diagnostic tools, along with tighter regulatory standards for service and repair work.
- Employer dissatisfaction with diagnostic skills training: Presently, inconsistent diagnostic skills among graduates who have completed certificate III level qualifications are being reported by employers. This presents the opportunity for the Training Package to increase its focus on building and developing these skills in learners.
- AUR learners benefit from high levels of full-time employment: Recent survey data suggests 83.5% of AUR Training Package graduates were in employment by May 2018 as opposed to 44.1% of all VET graduates. This strong learner and employer engagement presents opportunities for the Training Package.
In addition, three key drivers have been uncovered in the Automotive IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast as underpinning long-term change in Australia’s Automotive industry. These drivers for change are identified as an evolving economic environment, changing technology and shifting consumer preferences.
The evolving economic environment covers a range of factors affecting small businesses, including increased equipment costs due to ever changing technology, difficulty accessing technical repair information due to a reluctance among dealerships to share important product documentation, and prevailing skills shortages. Another economic factor is increased activity from key users of commercial vehicles, such as construction and mining, leading to forecasted strong jobs and skills demand in heavy vehicle-related sectors over the coming years.
Some of the key areas being impacted by changing technology in the industry include motor vehicles becoming increasingly complex as their share of electronic components increases, therefore leading to more sophisticated service and repair roles, while relationships with suppliers and customers are becoming more digital. Each of these factors leads to a need to ensure workers and learners are adequately skilled, re-skilled and up-skilled so they can remain up to date with the latest motor vehicle technology.
Shifting consumer preferences have led to an increased demand for larger, greener and more fuel-efficient cars, increasing use of a greater variety of transport options such as car-sharing and ridesharing services, and a decrease in vehicle servicing requirements coupled with increasing competition within the industry. Skill sets must evolve along with consumer preferences so that technicians are able to diagnose, service and repair all types of vehicles on the road, as well as increasing commercial acumen and relationship management skills in order to be successful in the increasingly competitive vehicle service and repair market.
Expanding on the rapid technological evolution within in the Automotive industry, is the Chapter 4: Manufacturing and Value-Chain Activities: Opportunities and Challenges report which highlights that traditional automotive businesses have already begun pursuing opportunities in electric vehicle component manufacturing and assembly. The report also identifies other growth areas within this sector for the Australian economy, including charging infrastructure manufacturing and installation, battery manufacturing, recycling, repurposing and related mining and processing activities, and electric vehicle research and development.
In addition, the 2018 report Inquiry into Electric Vehicles by the Parliament of Victoria’s Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee noted that some of the skills needed for manufacturing electric vehicles and their component parts are transferable from conventional automotive manufacturing. However, in a submission by the VACC to the inquiry it was recommended that a certificate III level apprenticeship qualification should be created that deals with the service and repair of electric vehicles. The Committee noted that there could also be vocational qualifications for electric vehicle manufacturing.
The report, Directions in Australia’s Automotive Industry: An Industry Report 2017 also points out future skill needs of the industry in light of changes in technology, and in particular the greater uptake of electric, connected and autonomous vehicles. This has implications for upskilling in areas such as the software, coding and programming of these vehicles. There will also be a need for skills related to specialised functions in these vehicles.
The sector pages provide more information for individual sectors.