Skills shortage impacts half of all Aussie workshops

INDEPENDENT research commissioned by the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) and research partner Fifth Quadrant has revealed the true extent of the skills shortage facing Australia’s automotive workshops.

 

But according to several workshop managers at both independent and franchised service centres around the country interviewed by GoAuto this week, it is not simply a matter of matching numbers to a role, but sourcing staff with both the aptitude and attitude required to maintain modern vehicles to sufficient standard.

 

According to the results of the nation-wide survey, one in every two workshops has lost a skilled technician over the past 12 months, with one in four reporting the loss of a master technician over the same time frame.

 

Similar rates of workshops with current vacancies were noted in the survey with 47 per cent of those interviewed saying they are currently hiring, and 31 per cent seeking the services of a master technician.

 

The numbers equate to a shortage of more than 40,000 workers across the automotive service and repair industry nationally or every workshop in the country being short one technician and one or two apprentices.

 

The AAAA says of those positions, roughly 27,000 require the employment of a qualified technician while approximately 13,500 roles would be suited to an apprentice.

 

According to the AAAA, apprentice turn-over and vacancy levels are higher than at any time in the past with nearly a quarter of workshops (22 per cent) reporting the loss of an apprentice over the past 12 months, and 29 per cent saying they are currently seeking to hire at least one apprentice.

 

“The skills shortage is our industry’s most pressing issue,” said AAAA director of government relations and advocacy, Lesley Yates.

 

“We invested in a ground-breaking industry wide survey to provide us clear data on what that these challenges look like at the individual workshop level, offer guidance on best practice to workshops, and to underpin our industry advocacy to government.”

 

Ms Yates said the industry wide skills shortage comes as the number of automotive workshops across the country has increased. Nearly 3000 additional automotive service and repair workshops have joined the market over the past two years (+11.5 per cent), bringing the total number to 27,620.

 

“The findings are very clear. Automotive service and repair is in demand; existing workshops are trying to maintain or expand their operation, while simultaneously, new workshops are starting up,” explained Ms Yates.

 

“These factors are decreasing the overall labour pool and placing pressure on workshops desperate to retain trained staff and attract new apprentices.”

 

Technician salary levels were another focus of the AAAA-commissioned survey, given what it says is “an area of conjecture within the industry”.

 

Overwhelmingly, and encouragingly technicians are being paid above award rates.

 

Master technicians earn an average salary of $83,000 excluding superannuation, while the average salary for a first-year apprentice is $36,000.

 

Ms Yates said that while salary levels do continue to present staffing challenges for workshops, the survey has shown that the use of non-cash benefits to entice and retain staff are being underutilised.

 

The results show that non-cash benefits at workshops, which include industry training opportunities, flexible hours, and the use of the workshop out of hours, are not offered by one in three workshops.

 

The AAAA says these opportunities are available at low cost and can play a role in staff retention strategies.

 

But according to the workshop managers interviewed by GoAuto, the difference between attracting staff and suitable staff is an ongoing challenge – and one that could bear potentially deadly results.

 

Queensland-based independent automotive workshop MotionMotive Automotive Services manager Stephen McKenna told GoAuto this week that the sourcing and retention of adequately trained staff is a growing issue that is facing businesses large and small.

 

“It is a big thing, and I know of a lot of workshop owners, particularly in larger cities, that are having issues with sourcing and retaining good staff. I know of workshop owners who have offered generous salaries and sign-on bouses to master technicians and still can’t get good staff – they are trying really hard,” he explained.

 

“It can be difficult, and we (MotionMotive) are lucky to have a great team that takes pride in their work. But I know of other business owners that say the shortage of staff is not the underlying issue – the shortage of good and qualified staff is the real issue.

 

“At the end of the day it is my business name the customer sees, and we need to deliver a very high standard to retain our valued customers. We simply cannot do that if we don’t have good staff – and I believe that is the hardest thing for a lot of businesses in the current climate.”

 

A Victorian-based service department manager for a large, multi-franchise dealership shared a similar viewpoint to Mr McKenna, but said he was unwilling to be identified for fear of criticism – or even retribution.

 

The service manager, who has over 30 years’ experience working with one of Australia’s best-selling automotive brands, said the level of training provided to those entering the industry is well below safe standards, and that the aging of highly skilled technicians is creating a void that may be impossible to fill.

 

“It is a multifaceted issue, but there are three key areas that really must be addressed with some urgency – the underwhelming apprentice pool, the shrinking qualified technician pool, and what we refer to as the visa pool, those on training-based and sponsored visas,” he explained.

 

“On the apprenticeship side, things incredibly difficult. The pool of talent is no longer there. I work closely with a major training provider and what we have learnt is that schools are not really talking to Year 10, 11 or 12 students about this industry as an option. As a result, we have a very low intake – it just isn’t on their radar.

 

“So, the apprentice format, as it is, is shrinking. We are doing all we can to attract new apprentices – paying above award wage, gifting toolboxes, paying for uniforms, paying for training, we are literally doing all that we can to try and bring new people into the automotive field. But it is a real struggle.”

 

Further up the experience ladder, it seems qualified staff are equally difficult to attract and retain.

 

Many technicians are moving to workshops that pay more or offer benefits that our contact says smaller businesses simply cannot match – and that balancing staff expectations with the realities of a busy service department is often a critical challenge.

 

“For master technicians and workshops managers, we’re now talking about salaries of $110,000 a year – and that’s very difficult to maintain. We have also had to reduce the hours we work and cut-back weekend work to promote a better work/life balance for our staff, but of course that limits the number of cars we can service, and the money that comes in the door,” he detailed.

 

“I am pleased that we’ve made the work/life balance better for our staff. But on the flipside, we have a high standard of expectation as well. We’re happy to say, ‘the pay is great, and we’re going to look after you’, but we must ensure that our customers are getting the highest standards of service possible.”

 

It is a tightrope walk our contact says is not only financially taxing, but one that places time pressures on the business as well.

 

“I have been doing this for a long time now, and one of the things that I can say has changed most is the amount of time spent managing people. As a fixed operations manager I would say I spend 70 per cent of my time managing staff and staffing needs,” he explained.

 

“The business isn’t just about cars and customers anymore, it’s about your people. It’s a different ballgame, and we do invest a lot of time in ensuring our staff are looked after and that we’re recruiting the right people for the job.”

 

During the interview with GoAuto, our contact said the third piece of the puzzle that is largely unacknowledged in the industry is the number of “grossly under-skilled” technicians entering the industry on training-based and sponsored visas.

 

He said that it is not only frustrating and costly to employ those who misrepresent their capabilities, but potentially dangerous as well.

 

“It may sound controversial, but there is a serious issue in the industry relating to visa technicians. We have an overabundance of grossly under-skilled technicians coming into the industry claiming to have Certificate III or Certificate IV levels of qualifications that cannot even perform the most basic of tasks that we get them to do,” he stressed.

 

“We have had so-called technicians come to us from training centres that cannot diagnose a blown fuse or recognise a Phillips-head screwdriver or a torque wrench. We have made complaints to RTO training authorities, and nothing is done about it. Something needs to be done.

 

“I have been in a management position for 16 years, and I can honestly say I’ve never seen the industry this bad. We are now paying a minimum of $70,000 a year, and for a good technician $95,000 a year – that’s just unreal. But with the ‘quality’ of staff coming into the trade we just must be very careful about who we hire because they are a danger to themselves, to other staff, and to our customers.

 

“The other way to look at it is from the financial side. A dealership has to make money to survive, and there is an expectation that a good technician should generate around $18,000 gross per month.

 

“If we are three technicians down, we’re tearing up $54,000 a month, and that simply isn’t sustainable – and in my view, a lot of that is what is driving this desperation for automotive workshops to employ those who don’t fit an acceptable industry standard.”

 

Our contact said the aging talent pool is yet another issue that is becoming more difficult to address. He said there is a lack of ‘passion’ among newer recruits that is difficult to instil, and one that adds further pressures to an industry facing an uphill battle.

 

“We’re a little alarmed at the lack of passion among some of the newer recruits. There just isn’t the love or care for the automotive industry, and there isn’t the attention to detail that our more senior staff possess,” he admitted.

 

“That (older) pool of talent is dissolving before our eyes – and it makes it very hard for a business to make the right decisions on behalf of our customers. I would hate to hire someone that is going to harm someone because they are not adequately trained.

 

“We’re talking about cars that people transport their families in, and if something goes wrong, someone could be seriously hurt, or even killed. When you have low-skilled people doing these technically difficult jobs, it is just a recipe for disaster.”

 

And it seems larger metropolitan service departments are not alone in feeling the pinch.

 

Regional Victorian-based director of The Garage Woodend & Kyneton, Andrea Matthews, told GoAuto she believes a distinct lack of investment in automotive training over the past 10 years has resulted in a noticeable deficit in adequately qualified technicians.

 

“It is hard for us to have confidence in the training that is delivered to apprentices in the current system. The lack of funding to automotive industry training over the past decade, means apprentices are obtaining their Certificate III on redundant technology and are arriving in workshops with little-to-no exposure to contemporary vehicles,” she said.

 

“Increasingly, that is also true of other more complicated systems, such as ADAS. These are complicated and potentially life-saving technologies that must be serviced by adequately qualified personnel, and what we are now finding is that these kinds of people are so highly sought after that attracting them, especially to a regional setting, is very difficult.

 

“It has been very costly for us. We have resorted to hiring a recruitment consultant to find properly qualified staff on our behalf. We are offering salaries of $90,000 a year and other incentives to attract and retain technicians with the right qualifications. It’s just what we have to do.”

 

Ms Matthews said she believes indentured training and a full four-year apprenticeship program would go some way to addressing the skills deficit found in those fresh to the industry, while providing employers with the confidence to employ someone at the start of their career.

 

“It is a double-edged sword in many respects. But the reality for many workshop owners, especially smaller workshop owners, is that employing someone who is inadequately trained is a substantial risk. It’s a broken system,” she stressed.

 

“There is a massive gap between those who are new to the industry and those who are highly experienced. There’s a middle tranche that doesn’t exist – and this means there are fewer people who can pass along that critical knowledge.

 

“I feel sorry for people who have spent thousands of dollars to get a Certificate III and who cannot find a job. But the reality is, the industry is looking for skills and hands-on experience.

 

“In my view, the industry needs to be licenced. It needs to be seen as a serious profession. Automotive technicians are highly skilled and passionate about what they do.

 

“We need to be training those that are new to this profession to appreciate that, because unfortunately a free Certificate III without real world workshop experience isn’t delivering the kinds of skilled people this industry needs.”