The Motor Traders’ Association of New South Wales (MTA NSW) has welcomed the new NSW Premier, Chris Minns, saying it is eager to work with the new Labor government to achieve priorities highlighted during the election campaign. These include 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 electric vehicles (EV).
According to the MTA NSW, urgent action must be taken to help the automotive industry tackle a skills shortage through investment in training programmes.
“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 NSW can thrive in a sustainable and prosperous way,” said Stavros Yallouridis, Chief Executive of the MTA NSW.
“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.
“Our industry is made up of family-owned businesses who form the backbone of how our society gets from A to B, and we need to see a commitment from the state government to step up and invest in more programmes to ensure we have enough talent to sustain us now and into the future.”