MTA says more skills training needed in NSW

HEADS UP: The MTA says the incoming Labor government needs to act quickly to address automotive industry skills shortage in the state of NSW.

LOBBYING the new NSW Labor government commenced at 9.00am sharp the Monday after the recent election led by the Motor Traders’ Association (MTA) of NSW that has issued a statement of how it would like the new administration to deal with what it sees as ‘critical’ issues affecting their membership.

The MTA of NSW provides extensive industry information to its membership base, representing 28 different motor trades, including member forums and on-site visits. It assists members in the daily running of their businesses, as well as lobbying governing bodies to ensure a ‘robust and thriving automotive industry’.

In their precisely timed statement, the MTA of NSW welcomed the new state government into power while at the same time highlighting the work that it considers must be done to stem an automotive skills shortage.

The MTA of NSW has put a focus on this skills shortage that has afflicted the trade going back years and has won some concessions and assistance in the area from previous state administrations.

But it urges the incoming government to prioritise training programs for automotive skills as the industry faces a mass deficit of workers.

Addressing their concerns directly to new premier, Chris Minns, the MTA of NSW reiterated the need for urgent action to help the automotive industry tackle the skills shortage through investment in training programs.

The association said in a statement that it is “eager to work with the new government to achieve the priorities highlighted during the election campaign, including assistance for small and medium automotive businesses, delivery of effective on-the-job training packages, transitioning to new technologies, and the upskilling of automotive workers to safely handle and repair EVs”.

As an organisation that represents the interests of businesses and workers in the automotive sector, the MTA of NSW has, in the past, engaged with several MPs who have toured their headquarters and training facilities to see first-hand what is required to further specialised automotive training and to get a greater appreciation of the associations ambitions.

“The MTA NSW looks forward to working closely with the new government and all MPs to ensure that the interests of our members are well-represented and that the automotive industry in New South Wales can thrive in a sustainable and prosperous way,” said MTA of NSW CEO Stavros Yallouridis.

“Our industry is facing a major skills shortage, with a huge deficit of professional automotive workers in NSW. This shortage is only going to be exacerbated with the rollout of EVs, as close to 50,000 auto workers are required to be upskilled.

“The motor trades in NSW are made up of many family-owned businesses who facilitate how we get from A to B and we need to see a commitment from the state government to step up and invest in more programs to ensure we have enough talent to sustain us now and into the future.”

Mr Yallouridis emphasised that the MTA of NSW looks forward to continuing to engage with MPs on all sides of the new state parliament.