Finding suitable and qualified tradespeople has re-emerged as a major challenge for the automotive sector in South Australia. A 2011 skill shortage survey by the state’s peak automotive industry group, the Motor Trade Association found that 69 per cent of respondents had experienced difficulty in attracting suitable people. This compares with 57 per cent the year before.

On a positive note, there has been a considerable jump in the number of businesses which plan to employ an apprentice in the next 12 months – up to 47 per cent compared with 40 per cent the previous two years. About 80 per cent of members responding had employed an apprentice in the past five years.

“It is pleasing to see that nearly 30 per cent of the total number of people employed by members are apprentices,” MTA Executive Director John Chapman said.

“It would appear that businesses are now focussing on training apprentices given they have pulled back on plans to employ tradespeople,” he said.

“The issue is the lack of suitable applicants which is then followed by wage and pay issues.”
Mr Chapman noted that 94 per cent of businesses reported paying above award wages, performance benefits or bonuses.

The MTA’s survey also found that 75 per cent of respondents believed that higher wages and /or greater benefits would encourage tradespeople to stay in the industry longer.

“Our members continue to struggle to match other industries which seek our tradespeople – such as mining,” Mr Chapman said.

The structural issue remains within the industry that increasing wages is restricted by the industry’s ability to charge higher labour rates.

“The biggest challenge is that the growth in technology has caused a considerable growth in the cost of the equipment to repair vehicles,” Mr Chapman said.

“Businesses need to be able to charge a reasonable hourly rate to be able to support ongoing training for their staff.”

The MTA is lobbying the State Government for the formation of an industry training fund which will be supported by a small levy on vehicle registrations and be used to promote the automotive industry and to train secondary school students.