(c) Jason Katsaras – ABC Goulburn Murray -Topic: Automotive Industry

There are 100 cars in various states of repair at the back of Dave Roger’s workshop, as is usually the case.
The Wodonga panel beater says the last 12 months have been the hardest he’s endured in his 45 years in the business.
“Around Australia at the moment, there’s just not enough repairers to meet the demand of the cars that need to be repaired,” Mr Rogers said. “I don’t know what the answer is because there’s just not enough repairers going around anymore.

Mr Rogers said all areas of the automotive trade had become more technical as cars evolved and replacement parts had to be ordered from overseas. “These cars are so sophisticated — you have got to know what you’re doing and things take time.

Mr Rogers said he had been trying to find an apprentice for three years. “The industry is just not regenerating,” he said. “We visited a school for a school talk and the kid’s just weren’t interested. “I was at a meeting in Sydney before Christmas and there was 18 repairers in the room from around the country and everyone has got exactly the same issues.”

Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce chief executive Geoff Gwilym said the industry was not attracting enough young workers.
“Panel shops, general mechanics, dealerships, they all have problems with a skill shortage,” he said.
“It’s the same in Europe and in the US — there’s a big gap in the number of people that are coming into the automotive industry versus the number of people that we need.

In 2021, a Motor Trade Association of Australia report found 52 per cent of automotive businesses nationally were experiencing a shortage of skilled labour. The report, Directions in Australia’s Automotive Industry, found there was a skilled labour deficit of 31,143 positions nationally. Mr Gwilym said he expected that number to be even higher in a report due to be released this year.

“Close to half of Australia’s future jobs will have a VET pathway and more than 1.2 million new cars were sold in Australia last year — the most ever — which says to me that anyone training as a mechanic, or a panel beater can look forward to a long and secure career in their trade.”

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