Throughout February and March 2025, we engaged in more than 200 consultations, including over 88 written submissions. The roundtables were attended by a balanced cross-section of our remit, with a majority of attendees representing an education pathway provider or industry (Figure 1).¹

The majority of the attendees were either managers or directors in their respective organisations, with a smaller representation from the executive and operational levels (Figure 2).² The balanced nature of the sample of attendees and respondents ensures robustness in the reporting and analysis undertaken by us in support of our workforce planning and research activities.

Below is a summary of key themes identified during the roundtables on a question level.ⁱ We have identified these themes based on stakeholder consultations and invite feedback towards themes or trends we may have missed or should direct greater focus towards.
  

Current skills shortages

• Electric vehicle repair and maintenance: With the rise of electric vehicles (EVs), there is a growing need for technicians skilled in diagnosing, repairing, and maintaining EVs. This occupation has only recently been recognised under the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, making it difficult to estimate workforce size and shortages. EVs high voltage poses hazards if handled by untrained personnel. 
  
  • Potential action: We plan to map skills and careers to develop training solutions for upskilling automotive technicians into EV technicians. It will also consider independent pathways for this role based on stakeholder engagement.
    
    
• Automotive electrician: These professionals maintain and repair electrical wiring and components in vehicles. As cars have a greater number of digital/electronic components, the demand for automotive electricians grows. These professionals are also well-positioned to upskill to EV technicians.
  
  • Potential action: We will map skills and careers to identify current and future training solutions for this transition underpinned by stakeholder engagement.
    
    
• Bicycle mechanics: This small but growing occupation is expanding as e-bikes gain popularity among younger generations.
  • Potential action: We will seek further information and conduct supporting research to address the emerging trend.
    
    
• Electrical isolation and depowering: Relevant to both automotive and mining sectors, this involves safely isolating and depowering high-voltage equipment. Delays in repair and maintenance often occur due to the need for qualified electricians.
  • Potential action: We are exploring restricted licensing options through stakeholder engagement to map and identify pathways that can alleviate this shortage.
    
    
• Communication skills: As occupations merge and evolve, many occupations come into greater contact with customers and act in an outward-facing capacity. Stakeholders have revealed that communication skills are highly desirable and functional in the automotive industry.
  • Potential action: We will provide a gap analysis to identify how these skills needs are currently being addressed in the system and explore pathways for more optimal solutions led by stakeholder engagement.
      

Future skills shortages

The ongoing digitisation and electrification of the industry, driven by net zero and decarbonisation efforts³, are creating future skills shortages in the following areas:

• Systems administration: As more vehicles become interconnected, the need for skilled administrators to manage and maintain these systems will grow.
  • Potential action: We will conduct a gap analysis to identify how these skills needs are currently being addressed in the system and explore pathways for more optimal solutions led by stakeholder engagement.
    
    
• Autonomous operations: The rise of autonomous vehicles and production facilities will require expertise in managing and operating these technologies.
  • Potential action: Stakeholder engagement to better understand the need for these skills and how these skills needs are currently being met in order to investigate potential training product solutions.
    
    
• Data analytics: Increased data sharing, such as communication between vehicles, will necessitate advanced data analytics skills to interpret and use this data effectively.
  • Potential action: We will continue to use stakeholder engagement to better understand industry needs followed by a gap analysis of training products⁴ to explore pathways to delivering these skills.
    
    
• Cyber security: Protecting the growing amount of shared data and interconnected systems from cyber threats will be crucial.
  • Potential action: Stakeholder engagement to better understand how these needs are currently being met and explore potential pathways for further development of relevant training products.⁵
      

How the automotive industry currently mitigates skills shortages

• Flexible work arrangements: The industry attracts workers transitioning from mining by offering flexible work arrangements, including a 4-day work week. This is particularly appealing to younger employees with families, improving well-being and retention. Stakeholders have also revealed that this is particularly useful for workers looking to transition out of FIFO roles and towards more stable career options with greater flexibility and time off.
  
  
• Overseas recruitment: Some employers rely on overseas recruitment, supported by the migration system, to fill various automotive sector roles. There are challenges with recognising and assessing overseas work experience and learning, however, that prevent the process from being seamless.
  
  
• Workforce planning: Strategies include flexible rostering, extended leave options (up to 12 weeks annually) and upskilling opportunities. Teaching apprentices social and communication skills helps them advance to management roles to fill in more senior-level vacancies. We will highlight success stories and diverse career options through case studies.
    

Future disruptors

• Ageing workforce: Ageing trends prevail in the automotive industry, particularly in more niche skills (i.e., fixing carburettors for classic cars).
  • Potential action: Further research to better understand demographic trends that can inform mitigation strategies.
    
    
• Cyber security⁶
  
  
• Recruitment challenges: The industry continues to face recruitment challenges; as a majority of employers are running smaller organisations, they are not able to leverage online recruitment platforms and rely on word of mouth or advertisements in the window recruitment strategies. This is particularly acute in the regions where the challenges associated with training and retention become multi-fold.
  • Potential action: We will continue to use stakeholder engagement to better understand evolving workforce needs and mapping skills requirements to enable stakeholders to undertake effective workforce planning.⁷
      
      

Research stakeholders would like to see

• Assessing skills shortages: The industry would like to see specific skill/occupation level assessments from us on shortages. This is an ongoing theme and will continue through the Workforce Planning and Policy team’s research and stewardship activities.
  
  
• Economic trends: We will provide extended analysis of how economic trends affect industries.
  
  
• Trends impacting the workforce: We will focus on issues like the aging workforce.
  
  
• Case studies: We will feature success stories and best practices in the workforce plan and bulletin.
    

Feedback from the roundtables was collected using interactive facilitation alongside in-depth discussion sessions with stakeholders and various follow-up channels. Feedback and notes collected from these mediums were then put through two separate analysis streams:

• Thematic analysis and coding: Stream 1 involved investigating reoccurring themes across the feedback collated. Once key themes were identified, feedback was binned to its respective theme to obtain resolution on key industry trends.
  
  
• Machine learning analysis: Stream 2 of the analysis involved running the collated feedback through a machine learning algorithm (powered by natural language processing) that identifies key themes. This was a second layer of analysis meant to reinforce the robustness of the thematic analysis and establish key industry trends.

Output from both streams was then collated to rank responses (on a thematic level) with the highest incidence. This allows us to be transparent about feedback that we have collated and organise responses based on industry priorities.ⁱ

Note: Potential actions are only indicative of how we could respond to the feedback we have received. These are subject to shifting priorities as relating to our remit, our instructions from Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, stakeholder consultations, and other safety and urgent industry needs and trends.