Autocare panel talks recruiting and retaining technicians in 2023

As we continue to negotiate the aftershocks of 2020’s COVID-19 outbreak, the automotive repair and service industry’s enduring shortage of skilled technicians remains a key disruptor – especially as around a third of the 1.5 million people who left Australia during the pandemic have not returned.

During a panel session entitled The Race to Find and Keep Top Talent in Your Workshop at the recent Autocare convention in Brisbane, Fifth Quadrant strategy and insights director Ben Selwyn told attendees that Australia is “short one technician for every single workshop in the country”.

Mr Selwyn also explained that the automotive repair and service sector also lacks enough apprentices to meet future demand, with an estimated shortage of 12,000 to 13,000 apprentices compounded by low apprentice completion rates.

While recruiting overseas technicians can help supplement local hiring in the short term, AutoRecruiter and Konnecting Migration managing director Fred Molloy warned that international recruitment should ideally supplement an overall hiring strategy as it has its risks, requires planning at least six months in advance and comes with up-front costs.