Automotive Industry Has a Plan to Address its Labour Shortage
Prince George, B.C.- “The grey tsunami that seems to be rolling through most industries has not neglected our sector” says Blair Qualey President and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association.The automotive sector is taking action to turn that tide.
Facing labour shortages due to retirements of baby boomers, and the advances in technology in the sector, Qualey says there are plenty of opportunities “Technology is really driving a lot of change, not only in the vehicles our members sell, but also how they are fixed, how they’re sold.”
The image of a shop mechanic has changed says Qualey “It’s a very different picture. Most people with a new car, if you lifted up the hood, there’s no way you’d want to get in there and do a little ‘do it yourself’ as many of us used to do back in the day. They are rolling computers these days cars and trucks, they are complex beasts and you really need to know what you’re doing to fix those. To add to it, we have electrical vehicles coming and ones that drive themselves. In a very short period of time we’ve gone from carburetors to self driving cars.”
Just as is the case with most sectors, he says trades are in demand in the automotive industry “Service technicians , folks that are repairing vehicles, that’s one of the biggest challenges, but that’s not to say we don’t need people in other areas as well.”
“To be very frank our industry has done a very poor job in making people understand how quickly and how much our sector has changed in a short period of time” says Qualey. Automotive sales have hit record highs in the past couple of years, “We’ve really become a profession, and I don’t think we’ve done a great enough job to tell people ‘hey, there are some pretty exciting high tech jobs in what is now a very sophisticated profession’.
But that’s about to change, as this weekend the New Car Dealers Association, in partnership with the Automotive Retailers Association and the Province, will be attending TeenFest at the Civic Centre in Prince George (Saturday from 11 – 5) where those aged 12-18 can network, have fun, and get some information on careers they might like to pursue.
They will also be launching a program to get the word out to folks that there are good paying jobs available within the automotive sector.
That program will include the launching a special website, a one stop shop for anyone interested in opportunities in the automotive sector, whether it be with new car dealerships or other partners. Qualey says they will also be attending and working with schools that deal with automotive trades training “We are going to find any way we can to sort of stand on the rooftop and wave and say ‘yoo-hoo, over here, there’s some pretty exciting opportunities if you’re a young person trying to find some opportunities or what you want to do when you grow up, and even if you’re an older person who wants to figure out what to do when you grow up.”
Qualey says the new car industry in BC generates about $11 billion dollars in economic activity each year “We employ, directly and indirectly 36 thousand people in the province , and one in 7 jobs in this country is somehow connected to the automotive sector” says Qualey “It’s bigger than film and television in B.C. which everyone kind of thinks is a big industry in British Columbia, and automotive is as big if not bigger than that.”
Editor’s note:
article has been revised to correct Mr. Qualy’s affiliation.
Comments
Yes but once the trade deal harper signed comes to life we will lose hundreds if not thousands of jobs in the auto industry.. that is why the loser set tens of millons away to pay for this glorious stupidity.
Who signed it? Newsflash! It was signed by the Federal Liberals…
Canada has signed on to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which creates the largest trading bloc in the world. The federal government will also spend billions of dollars to support Canadian farmers as part of an accord that will have immediate implications on the election campaign.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement in Ottawa Monday morning, calling it a “historic day for Canada” that will have significant long-term benefits for the economy.
From October 5, 2015…
Can you read? He locked us into it..
I can read but apparently you can’t. But don’t worry, here’s a video of the signing for you:
globalnews.ca/news/2497741/canada-has-signed-the-tpp-now-should-we-ratify-it/
Axman, you still cannot read. From your own link.
“Minister of International Trade, Chrystia Freeland signed the agreement Thursday morning in New Zealand. She’s assured Canadians that signing the 12-nation trade agreement doesn’t mean Parliament will ratify the deal.”
There is no deal, Parliament has to approve it first. It’s similar to signing a traffic ticket … does not admit guilt, just that you received it.
If anyone knows what it says, such as that Canada will take it to Parliament and examine it in the process, let us know. As always, the media releases are useless, especially when it comes to something that is complicated
Wasn’t signed on October 5th. You can argue until you’re blue in the face but you can’t alter the fact that the TPP was signed by the current Federal Government under the leadership of Bob Rae. Or whoever the heck’s pulling Trudeau’s strings.
I’m sure there’s lots of Harper stuff you can keep ranting about, this just isn’t one of them.
From Government of Canada website “On February 4, 2016, TPP Ministers signed the TPP Agreement in Auckland, New Zealand. The Government of Canada is committed to being transparent, open and consultative with Canadians on the TPP. As part of this commitment, the Government of Canada has already consulted and will continue to consult Canadians, as well as undertake full Parliamentary debate.”
Harper signed the memorandum of understanding – which was not binding. Trudeau via his Minister signed, and Trudeau still has to get parliamentary approval. Notice the date. Pretty sure Harper wasn’t PM last Feb 4th.
I mean, I get you blame Harper for all evil in the world, but this particular evil was signed and agreed to by PM Trudeau the second, not former evil incarnate PM Harper the First.
Harper was still in office on or about October 5, 2015 when the MOU was signed, if that is what it was.
“As part of this commitment, the Government of Canada has already consulted and will continue to consult Canadians,” … I suspect that the “consultation” was started by the Harper government, you know, the same people in the ministry offices that continue to work even under a new government. They do not exactly let thousands of people go and rehire new when a new government takes office.
gus, gus, gus.
Who signed it? The Federal Liberals signed it, not Stephen Harper as was alleged in the initial rant.
You even quoted, “… Chrystia Freeland signed the agreement Thursday morning in New Zealand….”
Harper did sign it first.. Trudeau just can’t rip of every stupid thing Harper signed.. Politics doesn’t work like that.. Was Trudeau in power on Oct 5th? If the answer is no.. Then zip thy lip.
Maybe Harper put away the money he tried to rip off seniors that the liberals are making sure they get the money owed..
Wasn’t signed on October 5th. You can argue until you’re blue in the face but you can’t alter the fact that the TPP was signed by the current Federal Government under the leadership of Bob Rae. Or whoever the heck’s pulling Trudeau’s strings.
I’m sure there’s lots of Harper stuff you can keep ranting about, this just isn’t one of them.
(The threading function here needs some work!)
FYI – Blair Qualey is President & CEO of the New Car Dealers Association. Ken McCormack is the President of the Automotive Retailers Association!
Other countries have signed the TPP as well! It still has to be passed in parliament into law. Modifications can be made before it becomes final.
Actually Canada has little to no choice in this matter! We simply can not exclude ourselves from this huge trading bloc and stand isolated on the sideline! As others get access to our markets we will get access to theirs. It is up to us to be smart and determined enough to take advantage of the situation. If we do not do that we have only ourselves to blame!
These various ‘free trade’ agreements, whatever their other advantages, will eventually fail. The more of them we enter into the faster will come the day of reckoning. The reason? How can EVERY country sell more to some other country, or countries, than they buy back from those places?
And while we can puff out our chests and state that while some will ‘win’ and others will ‘lose’, we’ll always be ‘winners’ because of various advantages we’re supposed to have, just WHAT, exactly, are we ‘winning’?
If we export more in the form of real wealth someplace than we receive back in alternate real wealth from there or somewhere else, which is the proposition we’re aiming for, we’re really becoming physically poorer not richer.
That we receive some other country’s money for the difference is of little real consequence, since THEIR money is only EFFECTIVE DEMAND for THEIR goods, not OURS. And if we spent it that way, would we then be able to buy their production in addition to what we buy of our own production? Or would we just still find that we’re going ever further into debt to do it?
These deals just mask a larger problem. one that will come back to haunt us, and the world that enters into them, with a vengeance. Solve the ‘money’ problem here FIRST, and then engage in trade that is of REAL advantage to us, not a phoney set-up designed to make a failing money system seem as if it still works.
Same olde same olde.
Show me a country which has no free trade agreement, either written or with a “shake of a hand” and I’ll show you China of 50 years ago.
Amazing what a bit of free trade does.
Germany exports 80% of its products. They would not be as well off as they are if they sold just to itself.
BTW, Germany’s minimum wage is 8.50 Euros. That is equal to US$9.25 and C$12.38 today.
At that rate we should be able to compete quite well, if we knew how. LOL
Can we make 80% of our manufactured products sold outside of Canada a goal for 2025? … Sure!! we can do that.
Can we achieve it? No way
Seems to me a lot of what’s being made in the automotive field these days was never designed to be fixed. Cars are built with a planned obsolescence, and the cost of extending that period is going to be too high for most people. With most no longer ever ‘owning’ their vehicles, just paying forever to continue to drive something, it’ll soon be more cost effective to just junk something that breaks down in anything other than a minor way, and transfer the (increased) payments over to something new. Coming regulations like ‘Air Care’, already in place in the Lower Mainland, will make that situation even worse. Countries like Japan already mandate that once vehicles reach a certain mileage, (and not a very high one), they be taken off the roads there. Such vehicles are then exported to other Pacific Rim countries, with some even showing up here now. A lot of what mechanics used to be able to ‘fix’ is now no longer either possible or practical to be fixed. They are essentially ‘parts changers’, and that’s about it. The same holds true with a lot of other modern devices that used to be fixable but now no longer are.
I may be wrong. I believe the “Air Care” program ended last year.
Something else to consider when it comes to vehicle manufacturing, is the increased interest in car sharing co-ops like Car2go, ZipCar and Modo. Obviously the interest is in larger urban centres, but as they increase in popularity, the need to buy a new/used vehicle goes down.
Just yesterday, Car2Go announced their 100,000th member in Vancouver since opening there in 2011. That’s 1 in 6 people, that might have been vehicle purchasers, saying to hell with the status quo. Their needs do not require them to have a car payment for a vehicle that sits in a parking space for the majority of it’s existence.
Overall, these are smaller numbers now, but it shows the interest is growing, especially as larger centres get more densified, and boomers decide they don’t need a vehicle if they downsize to a condo with all the infrastructure within walking/metro distance.
In PG it would be a different scenario. I’m just looking at the bigger picture. As more people share vehicles, how long will this labour shortage last?
“But, contrary to what government documents and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have said, the local-content requirements for some auto components under the TPP deal are lower than advertised.
This is important because the agreement reached this week in Atlanta among Canada and 11 other Pacific Rim countries would eliminate Canadian tariffs on Japanese vehicles and make it easier for manufacturers to use offshore parts in cars. It would be a boon for low-wage Asian suppliers but a challenge for Canadian firms.”
www. theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/feds-omit-key-detail-of-tpp-deal-affecting-auto-sector/article26725640/
In other words, if you are going to be an automotive technician, specilize in fixing Japanese vihicles and repairing foreign parts in others.
“Qualey says the new car industry in BC generates about $11 billion dollars in economic activity each year.”
Can someone please define what that industry is.
Is it just retailers? Does the $11 billion include the cost to manufacture the car? If it does, then most of that money leaves BC and goes to eastern Canada as well as other countries.
Why is it called the “new” car industry? Are used car sales not included in that? Is the maintenance of cars included? How long is a car new? Till the warrantee is over and the purchaser has to pay for repairs? Is body work after crashes included?
Please someone, put a little meat on this $11 billion part of the topic so that we can see how much economic activity this industry generates in this province and how much economic activity it generates elsewhere.
Sort of like interprovincial free trade as well as supposed international free trade but I am sure there are some conditions on that international trade called duties, etc. as vehicles cross borders.
The real meaning of “TPP”…Transnational Protection Plan.
I didn’t know Harper kept up with the 250. lol
I would have to say you are going to need your automotive techs. to repair these vehicles for a while yet. All these autos,trucks etc are on warranty for many yrs. and they will not let you be a parts changer without diagnosing the problem first. Many times you are not just replacing parts.
I’ve read that a lot of millenials are not interested in owning cars, so why are all these auto dealership jobs going to be needed when car ownership starts declining?
I guess you could say that ownership is declining because the cost of buying is just sometimes to much and you and you will never get it paid off before it is worn out. I guess as long as you can make the monthly payments you will never have to worry about ownership.
gopg2015:-“Germany exports 80% of its products. They would not be as well off as they are if they sold just to itself. ”
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First of all, under the current financial conventions, they COULDN’T just sell to themselves, even if they wanted to. Neither could any other modern industrialised country. There is simply no way any of these countries could buy and fully pay for the sum total of their production over any given fiscal period from the total amount of incomes distributed in that SAME period. If they can’t do that in one fiscal period, can they then do it in the next one? Or the one after? Or the one after that? So then, when CAN they do it? They would ALL either HAVE TO try to export more than they import, and receive some other country’s money for the difference, or incur exponentially increasing, and increasingly unrepayable, debts. Or both.
And besides that, not every country wants to be a ‘Germany’. Most, I believe, would rather be themselves.
“Most, I believe, would rather be themselves.”
Yes, like Switzerland. They have been themselves for about 5 centuries. They are quite good at it.
Iraq, on the other hand has not been since someone invaded them.
Vietnam is finally themselves. They should teach Iraq how to do it.
Iran, well, they were themselves, but someone did not like how they were themselves, so they put a dictator in, the then got rid of him when they said to themselves this is not ourselves.
I mean, you want to go over case by case?
Pleas do not touch Israel. They are themselves, but it is a very special case.
We are talking economics and how to survive economically in a world without being a burden on the world. We are not talking culture and social constructs.
And furthermore… If Germany is so well off exporting 80% of its production, would it be even better off if it exported 100% of it?
It may very well be.
You are assuming they have no imports.
The trick is to make high priced items that takes specialized skills and import a lot of the lower tech stuff used to increase the quality of life.
Remember, when tourists go travelling outside their country, they take the money with them which they made and buy services and goods in foreign lands. They buy real estate as well.
It is called trade.
Some trade, like making high tech products and buying low tech products and services, is known as smart trade. :-)
I thought we were talking about labor shortages in the auto industry and technology changes that are needed to do the repairs.
Korea was once a united society and a single country! Then they came along and sliced it in half! Now look at if that was a good idea in the long run!
Tesla has an infinite mileage guarantee . They just weeks ago moved the free towing from 50 miles to five hundred mile free tow if the car breaks down and it’s fixed for free . How can they possibly do that with out going out of business ? Because break downs are rare . With only 18 moving parts and plug and play components repairs are dead simple . The ICE car has thousands of moving parts and high heat friction. Guess which business model works the best .
I wonder if there will ever be a tesla free charging station will ever come to PG . They are already across Alberta . Teslamotors.com
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