Automotive
Across July and August 2026, AUSMASA engaged in over 150 consultations through our National Workforce Insights Report Roundtables, 1-on-1 consultations, and workshops. The roundtables were attended by a cross-section of stakeholders (Figure 1). Stakeholders were represented across the states and capitals, with in-person roundtables conducted in Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, and Melbourne. Feedback was collected through interactive polling alongside in-depth facilitated discussion. This article summarises findings on an industry level. We invite feedback from stakeholders on anything we may have missed or should explore further. This article also details potential actions that may be undertaken by any stakeholder to progress action relevant to the opportunity being discussed.1
How to get involved
You can get involved by writing to research@ausmasa.org.au.
Figure 1: Type of stakeholders AUSMASA consulted for the National Workforce Insights Report 2027
What is driving skills shortages?
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Apprenticeship attrition: In the AUR training package, apprenticeship commencements have fallen 10.4% from 2012 to 2025, and completion rates and completions have fallen 7.2% and 10.9% respectively from 2012 to 2021. With over 14,000 unfilled automotive apprenticeship positions, addressing post-commencement retention is critical to easing shortages.
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Potential actions:
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Investigate Apprenticeship/Traineeship Retention and Attrition, comparing high- and low-retention qualifications to identify transferable practices and support mechanisms
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Consult with employers, apprentices, RTOs, apprenticeship support providers and GTOs on the post-commencement experience to inform wrap-around support design recommendations.
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Image and attraction are the dominant causes nationally: image or attraction problems were most cited as the critical cause of skills shortages. Stakeholders linked this to school pathways, noting that career teachers need to be educated on the pathways available in industry, that VET must be promoted as a first choice rather than a plan B, and that visibility of career progression matters.
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Potential actions:
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Investigate image and attraction issues through the Automotive Career Pathways Project to identify perceptions and limitations within the industry
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Produce and promote such resources for schools, where there is a role for industry peak bodies to enable amplification of such resources.
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Retention and wages compound the attraction problem: after the apprenticeship or initial training, wages and career advancement are underlying causes, as recruitment in Automotive will compete with wages in other industries. This challenge is also acute for apprentices, where the automotive industry competes with industries that don’t have junior award rates or are generally able to afford higher wages.
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Potential actions:
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Further research on career attraction and retention through the Automotive Career Pathways Project
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Provide access to structured industry exposure for school students (work experience, tasters) so they can make informed training choices, reducing early training drop-out
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Enable flexible learning and work pathways to improve retention.
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What occupations are affected by acute shortages?
Shortages were identified across the breadth of the industry, including:
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Light and heavy vehicle technicians
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Auto electricians
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EV technicians
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ADAS and digital diagnostic skills
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Panel beaters (automotive body repair technicians)
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Spray painters and body repairers
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Heavy commercial vehicle technicians
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Motorcycle mechanical technicians
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Marine mechanical technicians
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Vehicle body builders.
Diagnostic skills were cited as being in short supply across the spectrum, from basic skills through to advanced fault finding.
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Potential actions:
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Develop training products to build capability in digital diagnostics, vehicle networking, and automotive cybersecurity, including but not limited to Machine Control Guidance (MCG) Technician pathways.
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Continue researching the underlying supply and demand dynamics affecting these occupations through collating evidence from the EV Skills Mapping Project and the Occupation Tracking research project.
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Technology and future skills
The following are the most relevant emerging technologies that will shape future skills demand:
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Digitalisation of diagnostic tools
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Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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Electrification
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Tablets and smartphones.
Stakeholders identified battery cell replacement and environmental and climate control systems as EV and electrical competencies missing from the current skills mix.
Potential actions to address these emerging needs and to enable faster speed to market for new training and delivery:
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Integrate digital technologies into pre-apprenticeship training
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Targeted and modular programs to adopt technology and upskill trainers
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Encourage OEMs to provide RTOs with access to relevant technology under various sharing agreements
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Ground technology training in fundamental diagnostic methodology.
In order to make automation and electrification skills accessible to mid-career workers, stakeholders supported the ideas of;
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Industry-led skill sets with flexible access and recognition pathways
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Recognition of prior learning (RPL)
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Post-trade skill sets that are commercially viable for RTOs and valued by workers through CPD
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Visibility of career progression and pathways for new and recent entrants
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Leveraging simulation-based training (as an introductory insight and practice, but not as a replacement for the full operational experience).
Gaps and opportunities in the training product landscape
What industry would change about the training system?
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Faster training package updates (opening packaging rules to enable reskilling, sub-trade categories to enable skills transitions)
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Reducing duplication (better use of prerequisites within and across qualifications, streamlining across adjacent industries)
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Hands-on learning (workplace experience in trade qualifications, reduced theory burden at Certificate II level, funding training rather than assessment)
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Supporting the training workforce (better trainer pay, more employer input into product development, and structured industry exposure for school students to reduce early drop out).
AUR training product feedback
AUR10120 Certificate I and AUR20720 Certificate II in Automotive Vocational Preparation: Valued as a taster and school subject equivalent, but confused with trade-level Certificate IIs, with limited credit transfer. Stakeholders want emerging technologies, including BEV electives and ADAS awareness, reduced knowledge theory, and more industry engagement for pre-apprenticeship learners.
AUR30620 Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology: Requires updates to core units. Stakeholders identified outdated references (such as ALDL and Holden-related terminology in electrical units) and proposed a prerequisite unit covering common safety content to remove repetition.
AUR31120 Certificate III in Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology: The phrase heavy diesel is widely used and can be misleading. AURTTA118 operates as a capstone diagnostic unit, and its language and requirements need clarification. It sits at the top of the diagnostic skill progression, pulling together fault-finding skills built up in earlier units, but unlike those units, it is system-agnostic and strategy-focused. Stakeholders want the unit's intent, its position in the delivery sequence, and its evidence expectations made explicit, so that it is delivered as an integrating capstone rather than a standalone unit competing with the system-specific diagnostic cores.
Retention and inclusion
Pay and conditions remain foundational, but stakeholders emphasised workplace culture, recognition, flexibility, professional development, and visible career pathways, including sideways progression, as the factors that retain skilled workers.
On diversity, stakeholders called for mentoring and support early in careers, culturally safe workplaces, education of industry on the benefits of diversity, telling diversity stories, basic amenities, and support for neurodivergent learners and workers.
Next steps
Feedback from the roundtables was collected using interactive facilitation alongside in-depth discussion sessions. These findings will inform our 2026–27 Workforce Insights Report and training product development priorities. We thank all attendees for their contributions and welcome further input at research@ausmasa.org.au.
About the author
Dr Aneeq Khan
Dr Aneeq Khan is Senior Manager, Workforce Planning and Policy at AUSMASA, overseeing our research, workforce planning, and policy functions. Dr Khan is an experienced research leader who has managed quantitative and qualitative research projects across industry, academia, and for government.