Stavros Yallouridis, the CEO of Motor Traders’ Association NSW has reflected on the announcements in tonight’s Federal Budget and provided the following comments.
The automotive sector is a crucial driver of the economy and as our industry undergoes a once-in-a-century transformation towards electric vehicles, we are urging the Federal Government to acknowledge the critical role our industry will play in this transition.
While we are encouraged by the Federal Government’s commitment in the budget toward electric vehicles and their investment in a national charging infrastructure along with the training of our emergency service workers, we are disappointed that our workforce has not been identified for any funding to put towards training the thousands of auto workers who will need to be upskilled to safely and effectively handle and repair EVs.
The transition to electric vehicles will be challenging for the small businesses that make up our auto industry as they are already operating on very thin margins and there is a significant amount of capital investment required in retooling, purchasing charging infrastructure and the upskilling of their employees.
Our industry is currently facing a shortfall of approximately 38,000 skilled professionals, and this shortage is only going to be exacerbated with the rollout of EVs and without the government putting their hand in their pocket, our industry is going to be left severely underprepared to meet 2030 targets.
The current electric vehicle targets are missing key steps that could actually see Australia go backwards. To increase EV adoption without accelerating the training required to safely service these vehicles, our transition will simply not work.
While we are supportive of the funding allocated to improve completion rates in the automotive sector, our model is already aligned with this objective and we are working closely with the Australian Apprenticeship Support Networks to deliver better outcomes across our training but there is a fundamental flaw in the reliance on TAFE, where some apprentices are waiting 6-12 months to be signed up. Private RTOs and GTOs need additional funding to be able to better complement TAFE to ensure improved outcomes across the board.
