We estimate there are 13,600 vacant skilled positions at Member workshops across Australia and New Zealand. On average, each vacancy is taking six to eight months to fill.
That’s just Member workshops - the true scale of the problem facing the wider industry may be far greater.
In March this year, the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) calculated there was a shortfall of one technician for every automotive workshop in the country - and it expected that shortfall to rise by more than 6,000 technicians over the next five years. In the same month, there were 1,500 job ads for mechanics in New Zealand.
By extrapolating the responses from Members, it’s possible to estimate the following:
Across the automotive aftermarket, few vacancies are easy to fill quickly. Most roles are taking at least six months to fill. Some are taking more than nine months.
Overcoming the challenges posed by the skills shortage might seem like a steep hill to climb. But climb it we must.
In other sections of this report, we look closely at: