At first glance, it would seem that the automotive and aerospace industries have very little in common. Both are in the business of getting people from A to B but for many people, that’s where the similarity ends.

Much of the popular imagination, certainly as it relates to career opportunities, tends to view the automotive industry through the narrow lens of parts manufacturing and assembly line work. 

Aerospace, on the other hand, seems more outward looking and innovative, concerned with pushing the frontiers of scientific discovery, the development of missile systems and, recently, incursions into the frontier of space by mega-wealthy private citizens. 

Dig deeper and you’ll find that both industries share many traits, offering leading edge career opportunities for skilled trades and STEM grads alike. 

The difference is that the automotive industry is a deeply ingrained – though perhaps insufficiently acknowledged – feature of the Canadian labour landscape. So, the career possibilities in the Canadian automotive category are deeper, wider – and far more accessible than those in aerospace.

Some top-of mind similarities 

To put the issue in broader context, here are just a few – there are many others – top-of-mind similarities between the two industries:

Advanced materials design and engineering

Making components light, inexpensive, efficient and malleable is key for both aircraft and road vehicle designers. Advanced materials, such as carbon fiber, were previously used only for aircraft. Today the automotive industry is using more carbon fiber in order to improve the environmental performance of vehicles when they are out on the road. Here’s a great piece on recent developments in lightweighting. 

High-rate production

The manufacturing techniques for the automotive industry are similar to those of aviation. Both industries use modular components and assembly along with large and complex supply chains. Although the volumes are not on the same level, the end goal is consistent: faster, cheaper and greener production. 

Technology integration

Several technologies developed to  assist pilots navigate aircraft have migrated into automotive features taking the form of adaptive cruise control, satellite navigation, parking automation, collision avoidance, lane departure assist, automatic lane centering, and so on. They are shared innovations.

As we state in our recent report Automotive Industry Labour Market Analysis: Automotive Technology Labour Market Outlook: “Technology has long played a critical role in the development and production of motor vehicles by Canada’s automotive industry. The importance of automotive technology has only grown in recent years as investments in new areas of innovation, such as autonomous vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells, promise to revolutionize traditional aspects of transportation.”

Categories of opportunity

Between now (2021) and 2030, available occupations within the automotive technology space encompass three broad categories:

1. Occupations related to engineering (including technologists and technicians).
2. Occupations related to computers and digital systems.
3. Managerial occupations with a technical focus.

As the report  concludes: “Total employment among the occupations of interest [mentioned above] is expected to reach 1.08 million workers by 2030. Total labour demand is projected at over 111,000 workers, while nearly 57,000 workers are expected to enter the workforce based on historic trends. Employers are thus expected to face a recruitment gap of nearly 55,000 workers between 2021 and 2030, the equivalent of hiring 6% of the workforce as of 2019.” 

Hiring requirements

Hiring requirements represent the demand for labour across employers in the economy and consists of two components:

1. Replacement demand – labour demand driven by the need to replace workers exiting the workforce due to retirement or death.
2. Expansion demand – labour demand driven by output growth in the economy.

An obstacle to progress

Based on the available data, while the outlook for opportunity in the Canadian automotive industry seems positive in principle, in practice there is an obstacle to progress – known euphemistically as “the brain drain.”

A 2018 academic study examined brain drain among Canadian graduates from STEM programs at the Universities of Toronto, British Columbia, and Waterloo. Summarizing the conclusions of the study, we found:

• One-in-four STEM graduates in the sample opted to work outside Canada.
• Geographic mobility was particularly high for technology-focused programs, with two-thirds of software engineering students leaving Canada after graduating.
• Over 80% of those in the sample who chose to work abroad moved to the US, citing higher pay, firm reputation, and scope of work as the main reasons they chose to start their careers outside Canada. 

It doesn’t have to be that way

It doesn’t have to be that way. Only last year the Toronto Star published an articulately written, upbeat article authored by Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) entitled The rebirth of the automotive sector makes Ontario the envy of North America.

We quote from the piece at some length because it captures not only the necessary spirit that the automotive industry needs to impart to potential recruits as a way to discourage them from seeking jobs elsewhere, it also cites the necessary evidence to back it up. 

Writes Mr. Volpe: “It’s no secret that I love cars. I like things with wheels, motors and sinewy designs that cheat the wind and stir the soul. I like cars that connect with each other and drive on their own. I love cars that take families on tours of fall colours, and cars that barrel through a winter storm like it’s a gentle breeze. I love cars that do big things but do that work in silence. All of them, a technology nerd’s dream. 

Every car made today has more lines of code than a Boeing 787, more moving parts than an RCAF F-18 (the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet is a Royal Canadian Air Force variant of the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft) and more technology in its front bumper than the fanciest phone in your pocket.

In so many cases, these vehicles are designed, crafted, engineered and built by over 140,000 passionate car people right here in Ontario. Our export-oriented automotive industry is some of the best evidence available that we have built a major 21st-century economy.”

Mr. Volpe’s remarks might be Ontario-centric, but the sentiment he expressed has the potential to galvanize an entire generation of potential recruits to work in any one of Canada’s major automotive manufacturing clusters – Vancouver, the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), Kitchener Waterloo-Cambridge (KWC), Windsor, Ottawa and the Greater Montreal Area (GMA). 

Conclusion

The Automotive Industry Labour Market Analysis: Automotive Technology Labour Market Outlook concludes:

“The labour market outlooks featured in this report clearly illustrate the demand for highly skilled workers to fill technical positions, both in the general workforce and within the broader automotive manufacturing sector specifically.

The outlooks also show the potential for automotive technology employers to face significant challenges in recruiting and retaining highly skilled workers.

Mitigating these challenges will be essential to maintain the broader automotive manufacturing sector’s continued success over the next decade and beyond.”

Flavio Volpe might not have said it quite like that but, however expressed, the Canadian automotive industry is on a high-tech upswing. The potential is enormous and the moment is now.

Find out more from FOCAL

The Future of Canadian Automotive Labourforce (FOCAL) Initiative is a collaboration of the Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition (CSTEC), the Automotive Policy Research Centre and Prism Economics and Analysis. 

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