Throughout last year, we talked to dozens of automotive manufacturers about their workforce challenges. Many conversations were punctuated by ongoing concerns around shortages related to skills trades and a general dissatisfaction with the apprenticeship system.

Based on what we heard during our regional consultations and through earlier research done by Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition (CSTEC) and the Canadian Manufacturers’ and Exporters (CME), employers in the automotive manufacturing sector clearly face significant challenges with filling vacancies for industrial electricians, millwrights, tool and die makers and other skilled trades.

Although apprenticeship is a post secondary pathway that depends on the participation of employers, only 19% of skilled trades employers participate in apprenticeship training (CAF, 2018). The challenge is especially acute for small and medium sized employers which typically find the apprenticeship system very complex to navigate, and often lack the time and human resources required to train and supervise apprentices.

Canada’s automotive manufacturers are not alone in facing a skills trade shortage along with real challenges with our apprenticeship systems. Manufacturers in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom are facing similar problems.