As baby boomers exit the workforce, the automotive industry will be left struggling with a capacity issue that requires our immediate attention
Anumber of industries in this country face the significant challenge of recruiting young men and women to address the issue of baby-boomers leaving their respective workforces — and the automobile sector is no different.
In the next ten years, it is anticipated the auto-industry will need over 20,000 new hires to fill anticipated job openings, whether those be in management, sales, or are technical in nature.
On a national level, the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) is promoting industry opportunities through its interactive Cars and Jobs website (carsandjobs.com) that provides information on job opportunities in communities across the country.
Like other provinces, we also create awareness of career pathways available to young people, and highlight education grants that are available for those wishing to pursue a career in the automotive industry.
In spite of these actions, our sector faces significant challenges in addressing the number of mechanics and technicians required to meet the needs of our members today, much less the needs of tomorrow. The fact that we are already starting to see recruitment efforts for mechanics and technicians from outside our borders speaks to a capacity issue that is already upon us.
To that end, we are working to develop a strategy that will establish how we can better attract young people to the profession, how we might improve education and training opportunities, and how we might ultimately lay the groundwork for industry, dealers, government, and training institutions to forge a path forward in a collaborative manner.
As an industry, we need to do what is within our power to ensure sustainability. In the short term, that largely means having the required workforce levels to address the needs of vehicles with combustion engines. But an increasing priority is the skilled technicians who can tend to the maintenance and repairs associated with battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel-cell electric (hydrogen) vehicles.
A dealership may be successful in selling automobiles, but if that same business isn’t able to perform maintenance and repairs on those vehicles because it doesn’t have access to staff who are trained in the technical requirements necessary, that dealership has a problem.
Meaningful change is not going to occur overnight and there is no single solution. However, we know the discussion must begin with an honest assessment of why more younger people are not pursuing this vocation in greater numbers.
We need to explore if more introductory training opportunities in the K-12 system are part of the solution. And we must examine if there are synergies that can be created between dealerships and training institutions in the form of coops or internships.
Beyond everything else, we hope that the development of a strategy will serve as a wake-up call and serve as a catalyst for change. The work is just beginning — but if it leads to the creation of a talent pool that generates greater certainty and flexibility for dealerships and the industry as a whole, it will have been well worth the effort.
