Australia’s automotive skills shortage has shrunk from almost 22,000 unfilled jobs in 2013 to 16,359 in 2014, according to the 2015 Automotive Environmental Scan report from Auto Skills Australia (ASA). The report also says 40.6 per cent of 500 survey respondents were experiencing a skills shortage, eight per cent down on 2013 and the lowest … Continue reading Skills shortage shrinks but fewer businesses hire apprentices
There may be media-fuelled public resistance to R1234yf history in Germany – not to mention the refusal by Mercedes-Benz to adopt it and Volkswagen Group’s commitment to CO2 as a refrigerant – but government figures reveal that there are already half a million cars on German roads with the new gas coursing through their air … Continue reading 500,000 cars using R1234yf in Germany
On August 24, 2015, the deadline elapsed for expressions of interest to form the Skills Service Organisations (SSO) that will replace Industry Skills Councils (ISC) such as Auto Skills Australia (ASA) under the Abbott Government’s vocational education and training (VET) reforms. Regardless of the outcome of the tender process that will create a set of … Continue reading VET reform gathers momentum as contestable model kicks in
Focus on ‘regulatory impost’ rather than rife lawbreaking Queensland Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Anthony Lynham has requested the Petroleum and Gas Inspectorate to set up a working group that will review the regulation of hydrocarbon refrigerants and find ways of “reducing the regulatory impost of compliance without compromising safety”. Minister Lynham wants the … Continue reading Spotlight on Queensland hydrocarbon refrigerant regulations
AUSTRALIA’S Federal Government has committed to phase-down HFCs like R134a as part of the announcement of its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for 2030. The overall target is a 26 to 28 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 compared with 2005 levels, and Refrigerants Australia estimates that the HFC phase-down component and complimentary measures … Continue reading Aussie HFC phase-down is go
SALES of electric cars in Australia are pretty slow, with just 142 of the 670,735 vehicles registered so far this year being purely battery driven, and another 1588 being hybrids. But according to Energy Supply Association of Australia (ESAA), take-up of electric vehicles – as well as those running on natural gas – could still … Continue reading A million electric and natural gas vehicles in Oz by 2025?
RECENT improvements to Autodata’s online system include individual wire colouring on the interactive wiring diagrams and a module providing instructions for safely raising vehicles fitted with variable-height suspension systems. Existing Autodata customers and VASA members who have used our member-exclusive SightGlass Tech bulletins will know of the lettered colour-coding system that has been used for … Continue reading Autodata adds colour wiring diagrams, jacking mode module
STANDARDS Australia has proposed the adoption of five ISO (International Standards Organisation) standards for refrigerants and refrigeration systems and is seeking comment from industry until September 1 at http://tinyurl.com/meoyjbt. Under the proposals, AS/NZS 1677.1 Refrigerating systems, Part 1: Refrigerant classification and AS/NZS 1677.2 Refrigerating systems, Part 2: Safety requirements for fixed applications will be superseded … Continue reading Incoming ISO refrigeration standards for Australia & NZ
THE Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) has launched an online incident reporting system designed to monitor the performance of the Agreement on Access to Service and Repair Information for Motor Vehicles that was signed at the end of last year. Because the agreement is based on voluntary Codes of Practice and industry cooperation, AAAA executive … Continue reading AAAA launches repair data sharing incident portal
THE Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has again turned its attention to and identified a range of concerns with capped price servicing offers, according to the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA). Sweeping changes to capped price servicing programs have been recommended by the watchdog (which took action against Kia Motors in February) to ensure … Continue reading Video: Capped price servicing
