This page provides information and data on the Automotive Vehicle Manufacturing sector, which is one component of the Automotive industry.
Automotive manufacturing traditionally had two components:
Nationally recognised training for Automotive Vehicle Manufacturing is delivered under the AUM - Automotive Manufacturing Training Package.
For information on other automotive related industry sectors, visit the Automotive cluster page.
For information on other manufacturing related industries visit the Manufacturing and Related Services cluster page, and the Food and Pharmaceutical Production 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.
The two relevant Industry Reference Committees are the Automotive Light Vehicle Industry Reference Committee and the Automotive Heavy Vehicle Reference Committee
Please note: any employment projections outlined below were calculated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics prior to COVID-19.
According to census figures, employment numbers in many transport related manufacturing sectors declined radically between 2006 and 2016. In total, in the industry classes represented, employment numbers dropped from 79,265 in 2002 to 44,906 in 2016. The largest two industry classes, Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, and Other Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing, have declined by a half or more over this period. Given the closure of car manufacturing plants in Australia, these numbers are expected to decline even further.
Employment projections to 2024 in occupations involved in this industry class are mixed, with slight increases expected for Vehicle Body Builders and Trimmers, Metal Fitters and Machinists, and Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers. Slight decreases are predicted for Production Managers, Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers, and Product Assemblers
Enrolments in Automotive Manufacturing-related qualifications have increased between 2018 and 2019, with approximately 520 enrolments recorded in 2019, up from 460 in 2018. Program completions have also increased slightly from roughly 100 in 2018 to 120 in 2019. The proportion of subjects delivered as part of a nationally recognised program has remained steady between 2015 and 2019.
The majority of program enrolments occurred at the certificate III level (92%) in 2019, which was within the Certificate III in Automotive Manufacturing Technical Operations – Bus, Truck and Trailer, and had the intended occupation of a Vehicle Body Builder.
In 2019, all training for these courses was delivered by TAFE institutes and almost all subjects were Commonwealth and state funded (98%).
Enrolments were mainly from students residing in Western Australia (35%), New South Wales (27%), Queensland (21%) and Victoria (17%) during 2019. Training was mainly delivered in Western Australia (35%), New South Wales (27%), Queensland (21%) and Victoria (18%).
After experiencing a period of steady decline, apprenticeship and traineeship commencements and completions both increased slightly in 2018 to 170 and 70 respectively. In 2019, commencements decreased slightly to roughly 150 and completions remained steady. The apprenticeships and traineeships had the main intended occupation of Vehicle Body Builder. The largest proportion of training was reported by New South Wales (37%), followed by Western Australia (30%), Queensland (21%) and Victoria (13%).
For more data specific to your occupation, industry or training package, visit NCVER’s VET students by industry. If you are prompted to log in, select cancel and you will continue to be directed to the program.
For more data specific to your region visit NCVER’s Atlas of Total VET.
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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 Automotive Light Vehicle sector (inclusive of mass passenger vehicle manufacturing) are:
In addition, the Automotive IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast also ranked a list of generic skills in order of importance for the Automotive Heavy Vehicle sector (inclusive of heavy vehicle manufacturing):
The Automotive IRC’s 2019 Skills Forecast highlights expected increases in the demand for commercial vehicles, largely fuelled by forecast growth in mining and heavy industry construction along with growth in heavy vehicle transport. In 2018 motor vehicle census data identified light rigid trucks as the fastest growing vehicle type, with year on year growth of 5.1%. To support this anticipated growth, the industry will need workers who have the relevant skills and knowledge in heavy vehicle related sectors.
Mass passenger vehicle manufacturing in comparison, however, has undergone a significant contraction. It is well documented in the Directions in Australia’s Automotive Industry 2017 report that Australia’s car and component manufacturing industry sector has been greatly affected by the closure of its car manufacturing plants, resulting in job losses in this sector. The report also mentions that there are still positive business conditions in Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing and Bus, Truck and Trailer Manufacturing. Much of this is due to expenditure by state governments (mainly Victoria and Queensland) on rail replacement buses and trams. Additionally, fire suppression systems need to be installed on buses, trams and trucks as a result of regulation.
The research overview The End of Car Manufacturing in Australia: What is the Role of Training? indicates that training of workers is a fundamental part of industry restructuring packages in light of closure of passenger vehicle manufacturing. This training:
The overview also points out that the training should focus on transferability of skills, support for developing foundation skills, and be age appropriate. The Transition of the Australian Car Manufacturing Sector - Outcomes and Best Practice: Summary Report finds that around 63% to 75% of workers undertook some form of formal training prior to closure, and many also accessed informal training offered by their employers including foundation skills, information sessions, digital literacy, financial literacy and resilience training.
The findings of the Australian Automotive Industry Report, which presents an analysis of the outcomes for the automotive supply chain, indicate that of those businesses that participated in the Automotive Transition Scheme, about 75% remain in business, albeit with reduced workforces. For example, the data suggests that the increased activity in ‘other automotive’ manufacturing has provided some motor vehicle automotive firms an avenue for diversification, particularly into ‘body and trailer’ manufacturing. There are also a number of automotive supply chain companies that have diversified into truck component manufacturing.
Below is a list of industry-relevant research, organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.
Australian Automotive Industry: Transition Following the End of Australian Motor Vehicle Production – Australia. Department of Industry, Innovation and Science
Directions in Australia’s Automotive Industry: An Industry Report 2017 – Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce
Transition of the Australian Car Manufacturing Sector - Outcomes and Best Practice: Summary Report – ACIL Allen; Australia. Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business
The End of Car Manufacturing in Australia: What is the Role of Training? – John Stanwick, Michelle Circelli, Tham Lu
Association of Australasian Diesel Specialists Inc (AADS)
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Australian Industry Group (AiGroup)
Automotive Products Manufacturing and Exporters Council (APMEC)
Bus Industry Confederation (Ozebus)
Commercial Vehicle Industry Association Australia (CVIAA)
Construction and Mining Equipment Industry Group (CMEIG)
Farm and Industrial Machinery Dealers Association of Australia
Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries
Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia
Institute of Automotive Mechanical Engineers (IAME)
Motor Traders’ Association of New South Wales (MTA NSW)
Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA)
Motor Trades Association of Australian Capital Territory (MTA ACT)
Motor Trades Association of Queensland (MTA Queensland)
Motor Trade Association of South Australia and Northern Territory (MTA SA/NT)
Motor Trade Association of Western Australia (MTA WA)
Society of Automotive Engineers Australasia (SAE-A)
Tasmanian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (TACC)
Tractor and Machinery Association of Australia (TMA)
Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC)
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union
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 th 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%.
AUM Automotive Manufacturing 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.
