Skill and workforce shortages. It’s an issue most industries are grappling with and Australian bus and coach is no exception. For many, however, these shortages are a reasonably new challenge. Unfortunately for our industry, skill and workforce shortages were something we were dealing with before the pandemic began… it just made matters worse.

In the twelve months to November 2023, the number of bus and coach drivers in Australia declined by 2,600.

A recently released report, compiled by Deloitte Access Economics on behalf of MTAA, paints a stark picture of the automotive sector struggle with skill shortages nationally; more than 2,000 vacancies were advertised in 2023, yet less than 800 were filled. The average industry fill rate is a dismal 39%, significantly below the 67% threshold that Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) set to designate an occupation as in shortage.

In general, the lowest fill rates were seen in technician and trade worker occupations. For example, among the occupations with the lowest fill rates were panel beaters (26%), diesel motor mechanic (27%), and vehicle body builders (27%).

At the BIC Secretariat, we’re spending an increasing amount of time advocating for urgent government action to address the skills and workforce shortages of our industry. This is a multi-pronged approach that looks at training and development, recruitment and retention, along with reimagining the workforce as we transition to zero emissions.

We’re working with unions and with government-appointed jobs and skills councils relevant to the industry, Industry Skills Australia and the Mining and Automotive Skills Alliance (AUSMASA). We’ll also be launching the joint APTIA and BIC Recruitment and Retention Project in July, which has an initial focus on drivers.

We all need to work together to address the skills and workforce challenge and keep Australia moving.

Roz Chivers
Executive Director, BIC