INNOVATING TO ATTRACT TALENT IN A SKILLS SHORTAGE

With most Australian industries impacted by an ongoing labour shortage, employers have had to think outside the box to recruit and retain staff.  Overall, 19 per cent of all occupations across the country are in shortage, according to the National Skills Commission’s 2022 assessment of skill shortages. However, in the technical and trade occupations, the situation is far worse, with 42 per cent in shortage.   

That means there are a lot of vacant workbenches in workshops across the country, and many short-staffed businesses struggling to keep up with demand.  

As part of initiatives to keep their industry ticking over, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have come up with a range of innovative programs to encourage young people to consider a career in a technical trade.

NATIONAL TECHNICAL SKILLS COMPETITION

One example is the Isuzu National Technical Skills Competition, which gives truck technicians the chance to travel to Japan to test their automotive know-how at an international level.  

The competition begins with a one-hour online qualifying test, usually completed at the technician’s home dealership.  

The tests are marked, and the top eight technicians and apprentices receive some generous prizes in the form of Milwaukee tools and a trip to Melbourne to compete at the next level.

“They put a lot of effort into sending me there,” said Louis Holt from Bendigo Isuzu, one of the finalists in last year’s competition.  

All contestants said their dealerships had given them time off their regular duties to sit the qualifier exam and to travel to Melbourne to compete in the national competition, an event that was useful for networking and meeting some of the senior staff at Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL).

NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

“You meet blokes on your level,” said Kaylem Brown from Canberra Isuzu. “You meet them, talk to them, get their numbers. Any dramas you have down the track, you can just call them and check in.”  

The practical challenges in the National Technical Skills Competition recreate some everyday faults that an auto mechanic would have to deal with regularly. However, the crowd of observers and judges surrounding each competitor creates a whole new level of pressure.  

“It’s weird how something so simple can be changed into a difficult issue when you’ve got stress behind you, people watching you, cameras on you,” said apprentice James Boyce from Black Truck Sales in Toowoomba, another of last year’s finalists.  James plans to take another tilt at the national competition this year. “My foreman got to go to Japan in 2012,” he said. “He always talks about what a great experience it was. That really made me want to put my heart out there and go for the gold and see what I could do.”  Fellow apprentice Tom O’Connor from Gilbert and Roach Isuzu Hexham in Newcastle is also fired up about the possibility of winning a trip to Japan. “It’s been really good to see where I could be as a tradesman next year,” Tom said. “And competing at that higher level, the I1 Grand Prix in Japan, would be really cool.”

MOTIVATING MOMENTS

For Kaylem from Canberra, the national skills competition and other training programs motivate him to continually improve his skills.  

“It’s great to keep you entertained and interested in what’s going on,” he said. “It keeps you wanting to learn about the product as well because there’s always going to be quizzes coming up with rewards and that sort of thing.” Australia current labour shortage is inextricably linked to the pandemic-related border closures of the past few years, which dried up the pool of international students and skilled migrants.  

With unemployment rate at record lows, the competition to hire and keep quality staff right now is fierce.   Skills programs such as this one could be the difference between finding the ideal employee for your business, or facing the prospect of an overworked, and probably unhappy, workforce, any of whom could be snapped up by a competitor at any moment.    

In the current climate, it pays to be an employer of choice, a company that offers a great working environment and a range of career pathways. Read about Isuzu Trucks’ second season of Supercars.