THOUSANDS DESCEND ON AUTOCARE 2023

Proudly sponsored by mycar Tyre and Auto, the Brisbane show was held across the 9th and 10th of June

Autocare 2023 has delivered on its promise of being Australia’s largest automotive training event, with huge crowds, world class training and a spectacular trade show.

Across the 9th and 10th of June, Autocare 2023, 2,471 technicians, apprentices and workshop managers from across Australia descend on the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre to learn and grow their career, and invest in their future business success.

“Autocare has been a resounding success, and is a testament to our incredible industry,” Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Charity, said.

“We brought together the best trainers, developed a programme of the most in-demand topics and built an impressive trade show with Australia’s best brands.

“The success of Autocare has shown the important role the event has to promote and foster the future of our most valuable resource, our people.

“The event was buzzing, there was a positive atmosphere, and it was so great to see everyone come together and celebrate our industry.

“Our delegates will take the valuable learnings from Autocare and apply that to their own business, and their work servicing and repairing vehicles, and arm them with the knowledge to be prepared for the future.”

The Workshop Management sessions sponsored by Repco Authorised Service gave attendees the latest information and advice to increase their workshop efficiency, sustainability and profitability. Sessions covered the future of the aftermarket, the race to find and keep top talent, emerging vehicle technology opportunities, relationship building, customer service excellence, digital marketing, cyber-security, mastering difficult conversations, business planning and environmental sustainability.

Renowned US diagnostics expert Brandon Steckler headlined a list of Australia’s best local trainers for the comprehensive Technical Training program sponsored by Auto Tech.

The program of sessions gave technicians new techniques to efficiently diagnose, service and repair the latest vehicles, and prepared them for the EV future.

Topics included hybrid and EV servicing, Pass Thru technology, EV safety, high-voltage battery management, oscilloscopes, EGR systems, fuel injection systems, exhaust aftertreatment, diesel specific diagnostics and more.

Free to those in the automotive trade, the incredible Autocare Trade Show was a perfect complement to the training programs.

Visitors experienced the latest tools, technology, equipment, and services, showcased by 100 of the best brands in the country.

Free training sessions on the Training Stage sponsored by Marlin Tyre and Mechanical Workshop Software provided trade show visitors valuable learnings covering important topics related to both workshop management and technical training.

Networking was another central component of Autocare.

Delegates enjoyed daily lunches sponsored by Warren and Brown Tools and on Friday night, the Networking Event sponsored by SmartPay offered another fantastic chance to gain new contacts, and do business.

A new initiative at Autocare for 2023 was the inaugural National Light Vehicle Modification Summit.

The Summit, sponsored by Anstel was sold out and was a ground breaking event for the vehicle modification industry.

The event attracted vehicle modifiers from across the country, who came together to collaborate and influence national vehicle standards.

“On behalf of the AAAA, I would like to thank our event sponsors, exhibitors, our incredible speakers and most importantly everyone who attended Autocare and made it an event to remember. Bring on 2025!” Stuart said.

For more from the AAAA, visit www.aaaa.com.au

DO YOU KNOW WHAT DRIVES YOUR EMPLOYEES?

It is now impossible to talk within or outside of our industry without talking about the labour shortage, it is all-pervasive

This ubiquitous topic dominates every conversation including workflow, customer relationships, work life balance, future planning –it is all dominated by the drive to find staff and the horrifying prospect of losing staff.

The need to retain is now equal to the ongoing race to find skilled labour.

We have less than one person for every vacancy and that means that if you recruited someone in the past three months – well done you, but you created a problem for someone else.

The race for talent is now genuinely a ‘race.’ And while it is worst for service and repair – that is the sector feeling the most pressure – really, no section of our industry is immune.

The shortage affects the whole automotive industry, auto manufacturing, parts interpreting, distribution, retail, and fitment.

The drive to keep good employees is on and right now is exactly the right time to check in with talented and valued staff on their level of satisfaction and general happiness at work.

It feels like the only option is a conversation about paying more, but it is not.

The research tells us that a lower-than-expected salary can be a disincentive.

But if you pay a fair rate – one that reflects both the industry rate and the skills and expertise of the employee – then the payrate alone will not drive an employee to seek greener pastures.

Below average pay does become a disincentive to stay, but the benefits of a higher salary can be short lived and are not the key to ongoing loyalty.

The recent apprenticeship survey and salary benchmarking research have revealed a lot of non-salary issues.

We will release the full salary and benefits survey results over the next month, but we are already extracting some gems and advice on retention. Commonly valued non-salary benefits include use of tools and equipment for employees to work on their own cars (use of the workshop after hours), training (especially on new equipment, ADAS and diagnostics), employee discounts, and friends and family offers.

The survey results will provide some more data on the prevalence of these offers but don’t wait for that, it is worth considering right now.

It is a good time to think about what is offered in addition to financial remuneration and importantly, are these benefits well-known and widely available to everyone, or are they a ‘sometimes’ or ‘depends’ arrangements. Let’s talk about what makes people happy in their work in automotive service and repair.

The Auto Apprenticeship Survey tells us that it is more than pay.

It is often about the quality of training, it is about the team relationships, and it is about exposure to a variety of vehicles and technologies.

Fourth year apprentices what to see more training and sometimes feel that they are treated as though their training is done, but they feel that it is a lifelong pursuit.

Fifty percent of fourth year apprentices also want to know more about business management.

Women apprentices are more likely to report good team relationships and negative responses to their career choices from family and friends. By the way, women are more likely to change employers, with 25 percent moving during their apprenticeship comparted to the 11 percent average.

Meanwhile, mature apprentices – technicians that made different choices straight out of school and then changed their career – have some interesting attributes.

They are more likely to be loyal to the auto sector for the longer term and they are very interested in new technology, including Electric Vehicles and Alternate Fuels.

The point there is that what drives employee happiness and their choice to stay or go are as different as they are, and the challenge is to find out what drives them and if this lever can be used for retention.

Understanding this can be the difference between a long-term commitment, and a decision to stay until a better offer comes along.

The questions we asked 600 apprentices can be a guide to a conversation at the workplace – are you happy here? Is this the job you thought it would be? Apart from a salary rise, what else would you like to do or learn?

Another question to ask is “what can we do to improve teamwork in our workplace,” because an investment in that one attribute will pay the highest dividend.

We know this because the research shows that teamwork is so important to all employees regardless of how old, what gender and what other career options were considered or pursued, with the quality of teamwork reported as being a key factor in the overall happiness score.

To find out more about the research, visit www.aaaa.com.au/news/automotive-apprentice-survey-results