The last couple of years have been hard on service departments and independent workshops across the country as skills-based mechanical training receives fewer and fewer entries into TAFEs every year.
It’s a problem the state-based motor trades associations have been trying to resolve, but in the meantime, dealerships and repair/service businesses are having to – sometimes desperately – find staff to pick up the tools at whatever the cost.
Australian automotive tradespersons placement agency Techs On The Move, is launching a new Candidate Pool service to the industry.
The business aims to provide an efficient method to source experienced tradespeople for Australian automotive employers, offering a new Candidate Pool digital search tool which speeds up the review and selection process for matching suitably skilled staff to the needs of dealerships and workshops country-wide.
Founder Gavin Stocks says staff calibre is virtually turn-key, so to speak.
“Our tradespersons are highly experienced, have great communication skills, and are ready to make a difference as soon as they arrive,” he says.
“We focus our search in international markets where the standard of training most closely matches Australia’s and since we started in 2010, we’ve been placing experienced overseas tradespeople with Australia’s most desirable automotive employers,” he explains.
Stocks says Candidate Pool potentials are screened and prepared with the knowledge for working in Aussie service departments.
“They understand what it takes to succeed in Australia, we know our clients are looking to build service teams where results and culture are important,” he says.
“The Candidate Pool digital search tool makes it simpler and more cost-effective for our clients to staff their workshops; we’ve also opened some additional services to make the tricky task of migration easier on all fronts for our clients.
Candidate Pool offers potential employers a short biography and video interview with a selection of vetted and prepared candidates who can be searched for using various criteria, including particular brands or manufacturer experience and training, as well as their current and other selectable characteristics.
Unlike a range of talent-finding employment agencies, Stocks has tailored the business to specialise in the automotive and transport industries, meaning staff understand not only the sights and smells of an engine bay, but also the emerging changes in vehicle and diagnostic technology.
Tradespeople listed in the Candidate Pool database may be already in Australia or are keen to move here from abroad.Candidates can be shortlisted and contacted directly, with no need for any formal introduction via the business itself.Desired candidates can be sent a contract directly, with personalised and competitively priced migration services available as necessary.
According to Stocks, there are no extensive recruitment fees or on-going guarantees with a 12-month subscription, nor are there limits to how many candidates are contacted or hired through the programme.Clients can review a sampling of qualified and migration-ready candidates for an investment comparable to most Australian jobs’ boards.
Stocks says candidates can to be hired directly and subscriptions can be spread across a dealer group operating in multiple places.
The business allows multiple user access and rewards businesses that can scale their investment and amortise the cost.
According to the company, hundreds of tradespeople have been successfully placed within the Australian automotive and transport industry, regularly suppling candidates to large national and multi-franchise dealers and workshops.
“Despite the introduction of the Skilling Australians Fund levy, sourcing international tradespersons through Techs On The Move can be more cost-effective than it was beforehand,” Stocks adds.
The Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC) says there are 30,000 jobs waiting for young apprentices.
“Automotive trades have been in a skills shortage for at least a decade, possibly two,” VACC chief executive Geoff Gwilym says.
“The Australian government and community told our young people universities were the place to go; I would argue that wasn’t the right idea, we should’ve said, ‘based on where you want your career to go, make a choice about your higher-education vocational options’,” he explains.
“We have to find those 30,000 people who want to come into the industry as apprentice mechanics, managers, sales people, panelbeaters – we have to find them, but we have to send a very strong message to parents and schools to get them to re-engage with the automotive industry,” Gwilym advises.
“Automotive apprentices are generally employed for their entire life and are employed quicker than university students, they also learn and grow on the job,” he continues.
Gwilym says and automotive apprenticeship is also a potential opportunity to run their own business.
“We have to find a way to get those messages through and we’re giving it a lot of thought and action over the next six months to find those 30,000 kids,” he adds.
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