Labour Market Research –Automotive and Engineering Trades

TasmaniaDecember quarter 2017

Labour Economics Office Tasmania

Department of Jobs and Small BusinessPage 1

Occupations in cluster / Rating
3212-11,12,13 / Motor Mechanics / Recruitment Difficulty
3241-11 / Panelbeater / Shortage
3243-11 / Vehicle Painter / Shortage
3222-11 / Sheetmetal Trades Worker / No Shortage
3223 – 11,13 / Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers / No Shortage
3231 / Aircraft Maintenance Engineer / Shortage*
3232-11,12,13,14 / Metal Fitters and Machinists / Recruitment Difficulty
233-13 / Locksmith / Shortage*

* Occupation(s) assessed at the national level, separate rating not available for state/territory.

Key issues

  • In 2017 employers across the automotive and engineering trades occupations reported they filled the smallest proportion of vacancies since 2008. Employers received on average fewer applicants and fewer suitable applicants for vacancies when compared to the last ten years.
  • Nearly a third (31 per cent) of employers reported they did not attract any suitable applicants for their vacancies and 44 per cent of all employers had unfilled vacancies.
  • A number of employers across the occupations noted it was difficult to attract suitable applicants due to a decrease in the pool of qualified tradespeople and number of apprentices.

Figure 1. Proportion of vacancies filled (%), average number of applicants and suitable applicants per vacancy (no.),Automotive and engineering trades, Tasmania, 2008 to 2017

Source: Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised. Note: Occupational coverage varies over time series.

Survey results[1]

  • The Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised found that 55 per cent of vacancies for automotive and engineering trades worker advertised in 2017 were filled, which is lower than the 73 per cent from the year before.
  • Structural steel and welding trades recorded the highest proportion of vacancies filled (100 per cent) a similar result to 2016, while motor mechanic occupations recorded the lowest (37 per cent), a decrease from 81 per cent in 2016.
  • Tasmanian employers were generally able to fill vacancies for metal fitters, sheetmetal workers, structural steel and welding trades workers, however difficulties were reported filling vacancies for machinists.
  • Skill shortageshave been evidentin Tasmania forparticular automotive repair and maintenance trades for a number of consecutive years, including vehicle painters and panelbeaters. A shortage was also reported for diesel mechanics.[2]

Source: Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised

Note: There is a break in the time series of the average number of qualified applicants per vacancy at July 2017 due to a change in the methodology.

  • Employers reported receiving an average of 3.1 applicants per vacancy, which is lower than the previous year (5.5 per cent) and continues a decline from the high of 10.9 applicants in 2013.
  • Employers indicated there was an average of 0.7applicantper vacancy considered suitable, a decrease from 2.0 applicants in 2016 and the lowest reported during the last ten years.
  • Structural steel and welding trades occupations recorded the highest average number of suitable applicants per vacancy whilst the automotive trade occupations recorded the lowest with less than one suitable applicant per vacancy.
  • Overall, 15 per cent of employers reported they did not have any applicants for surveyed vacancies.

Automotive Trades

  • The proportion of vacancies filled for vehicle painters and panelbeaters has marginally increased whilst motor mechanics (general) and diesel mechanics have experienced a decrease.
  • Employers seeking panelbeaters and vehicle painters experienced an increase from 2016 with60 per cent of vacancies for panel beaters filled (compared with 50 per cent in 2016) and 40 per cent of vacanciesfor vehicle painters filled(compared with zero in 2016).
  • Employers seeking motor mechanics (general) were able to fill 60 per cent of surveyed vacancies (a decrease from 86 per cent in 2016), whilst employers seeking diesel motor mechanics filled 25 per cent of surveyed vacancies (a decrease from 67 per cent in 2016).

Engineering Trades

  • Employers seeking workers for the engineering trades occupations had a variety of experiences.
  • The proportion of vacancies filled for sheetmetal workers was 56 per cent compared with 43 per cent in 2016. This result was heavily influenced by a small number of large recruitment exercises; when excluded the proportion of remaining vacancies filled increased to 80 per cent.
  • Shortages emerged for recruiting qualified metal machinists, with the majority of vacancies remaining unfilled; however, employers were generally able to fill vacancies for fitters.
  • Across Tasmania there were some differences in employers’ recruitment experiences for the automotive and engineering trades; the proportion of vacancies filledwas lower in metropolitan areas (52 per cent) compared with regional areas (60 per cent), whilst the results reported for the average numbers of applicants and applicants considered suitable were very similar.

Unsuitable applicants

  • Employers from the automotive and engineering trades reported similar reasons for considering applicants unsuitable for a vacancy.
  • The primary reason applicants were considered unsuitable was the lack of relevant trade qualifications.
  • Some qualified applicants were considered unsuitable because applicants’ skills and experience did not match the specific vacancy requirements.
  • Other reasons applicants were considered unsuitable were due to theirinability todemonstrate specific experience, to pass a trade test, or they were not considered an appropriate fit for the business.

Demand and supply trends

Automotive Trades

  • Over the year to November 2017 employment in the Tasmania automotive repair and maintenance sub-industry increased by 3.3 per cent, and over the previous ten years to November 2017 employment increased by 63.2 per cent.[3]
  • According to the ABS Motor Vehicle Census, Tasmania recorded an increase of 2.6 per cent in the number of vehicles registered from 2016 to 2017 and an increase of 8.7 per cent compared to 2012.
  • Motorcycle registrationsincreased by 20.3 per cent between2012 and 2017.
  • Petrol engines remained steady over the five years to 2017 at 1.1 per cent whilst diesel engines recorded an increase of 45.5 per cent.[4]
  • The main demand determinant for panelbeaters and vehicle painters is vehicle accident rates.
  • There were 10,934 heavy vehicle and light vehicle accidents in the year ending 2016.[5] This figure was around 6.5 per cent higher than the annual average for the previous five years.[6]

Engineering Trades

  • Employment of engineering tradespersons in the manufacturing, mining and construction industries has increased over the year to June 2017 (19.6 per cent, 4.4 per cent and 20.1 per cent respectively). Over the previous ten years to November 2017, employment increased in both the mining and construction industries (75.5 per cent and 24.6 per cent respectively), whereas employment in the manufacturing industry decreased by 20.6 per cent.[7]
  • Recent demand for engineering trades has been mixed with stronger activity in the construction industry being offset by a decline in manufacturing.
  • The inflation adjusted value of total building and engineering construction work done in Tasmania increased by 12.4 per cent over the year to June 2017.[8]
  • By comparison, National Accounts data show that Tasmanian manufacturing activity (inflation adjusted gross value added) contracted for the fifth consecutive year in 2016-17.[9]
  • While actual expenditure in Tasmanian manufacturing in September 2017show similar results to same period in 2016, longer term data indicates investment in the manufacturing industry is decreasing.[10]
  • Over the five years to May 2022 employment in Tasmania for the manufacturing industry is projected to decline by 1.0 per cent, whilst the mining and construction industries are projected to grow (1.1 per cent and 6 per cent respectively). This compares to a projected growth of 5.6 per cent across all industries within Tasmania.[11]

Vocational education

  • The number of automotive and engineering tradespersons completing their training in the twelve months to June 2017 was 47 per cent lower than the annual average for the previous five years.[12]
  • Automotive trades completions (94)were45 per cent lower than the 2012 (172) and 24 per cent lower than June 2007 (123).
  • Engineering trades completions (117) were43 per cent lower than the 2012 (207) and 29 per cent lower than June 2007 (165).[13]

Labour Economics Office Tasmania

Department of Jobs and Small BusinessPage 1

[1]The methodology underpinning this research is outlined at Skill Shortage Research Methodology | Department of Jobs and Small Business - Document library, Australian Governmentand can also be accessed by the QR code.

[2]Diesel mechanics are a specialisation under the ANZSCO classification 3212 Motor Mechanics with the code 3212 -12.

[3] Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force, November 2017, Department of Jobs and Small Businesstrend data.

[4]Australian Bureau of Statistics,Motor Vehicle Census, Australia, 28 July 2017,Cat.no. 9309.0.

[5]Data for vehicle accident rates for Tasmania were sourced from the Tasmanian Government, Department of State Growth.

[6]Department of State Growth, Crash Data, Tasmania, unpublished.

[7] Source: ABS, Labour Force, November 2017, Department of Jobs and Small Businesstrend data.

[8]Australian Bureau of Statistics, Construction Work Done,Cat. no. 8755.0, Table 08, Value - Construction Work Done, Chain Volume Measures (latest release).

[9]Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian National Accounts: State Accounts, Cat. no. 5220.0, Table 07. Expenditure, Income and Industry Components of Gross State Product, Tasmania, Chain volume measures and current prices, latest release.

[10]Australian Bureau of Statistics, Private New Capital Expenditure and Expected Expenditure, Australia, Cat. no. 5625.0, TABLE 11B. Actual and Expected Capital Expenditure by Industry - Tasmania: Current Prices $; Sep-2017 (NB: estimate has a relative standard error of 10% to less than 25% and should be used with caution).

[11]Department of Jobs and Small Business, Labour Market Information Portal, 2017 Employment Projections.

[12] Data sourced from the National Centre for Vocational Research (NCVER).

[13] National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), Apprentices and Trainees, March 2016 estimates.