Opportunities for those with a post-secondary diploma or degree: engineers, technical, managers

This is the first of a two-part blog. It is an interpretation of industry-validated occupational supply and demand analyses, forecasts and competency profiles for occupations in Canada’s automotive sector.

The content of both blogs is based on a FOCAL paper entitled Automotive Industry Labour Market Analysis: Post-Secondary Education Report, one of the most comprehensive dissections of entry level opportunities in the Canadian automotive industry available.

Our goal is to supply enhanced regional labour market information that will support colleges, employers, policy makers and other stakeholders. This will help them take steps to address competency shortages and other labour market challenges in the Canadian automotive sector.

Canada has strong educational institutions to support careers and occupations in the automotive industry. As these blogs illustrate, Canada has no shortage of programs for students interested in pursuing an engineering, technical or management professions in the automotive industry. In the second part of this series, we’ll address career opportunities for those in skilled trades.

Engineers, technical workers, managers

This blog post provides an overview of the post-secondary education programs that provide a labour supply for the automotive sector in Canada – specifically for those qualified in the category we define as Engineers, Technical and Managers.

The opportunities are considerable and the range of programs vast. Simply by clicking on this Automotive Industry Labour Market Analysis: Post-Secondary Education Report link

you will be taken to a document that breaks down the employment possibilities in a series of comprehensive and easy-to-read charts – an example of which is displayed below.

The pace and range of change

These charts – along with many others – present opportunities by geographical region, job categories and more. They demonstrate one compelling truth: the opportunities and range of learning channels available through Canada’s education system are vast, including excellent opportunities to learn in a college or university environment.

Many of these jobs – especially those in the engineering, technical and management category — will require what are commonly described as “soft skills” such as complex problem solving, critical thinking and communication.

The automotive industry increasingly requires more computer and communication skills than physical strength. Commonly referenced auto sector jobs such as assembly worker or service mechanic are rapidly changing.

Software giants such as Microsoft, Google and Oracle are impacting the way vehicles are being manufactured and the kind of people needed to manufacture them. Technology has long played a critical role in Canada’s automotive industry, but never more so than now. 

Recognizing the new reality in the automotive industry

The importance of automotive technology has only grown in recent years as investments in new areas of innovation, such as vehicles, electrification, batteries and hydrogen fuel cells promise to revolutionize traditional aspects of transportation. Consider the automobiles being built today. The range is astonishing and includes:

• Battery electric vehicles (BEVs)
• Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs)
• Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs)
• Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)
• Internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs)

There is a new reality in the automotive industry that is opening the door to increasing demand for well-trained engineering and technical workforces specializing in robotics, AI, sensors, telecommunications, new materials and advanced manufacturing processes.

From machine tools to automotive production regions

From its original origins in the early 1900s, Canada’s automotive sector started with a simple machine shop. As the charts carried in the Automotive Industry Labour Market Analysis: Post-Secondary Education Report display, the sector is now comprised of a national network of automotive production regions.

There are eight key automotive regions in Canada which the FOCAL project looked at: Windsor/Sarnia; London/Stratford-Bruce Peninsula; Kitchener-Waterloo/Barrie; the Golden Horseshoe; Eastern Ontario; the Greater Montreal Region; Winnipeg; and Vancouver. 

Let’s look at the numbers

This growth translates into a wide range of opportunity for the engineering | technical | management category. According to recent statistics from Reviewlution:

• The automotive industry contributes over $19-20 billion to Canadian GDP
• Canada was the 12th largest vehicle producer in the world in 2019
• 1.9 million vehicles were produced in Canada in 2019
• Canada is responsible for 13% of vehicle production in North America
• Auto industry wages contributed $8.7 billion to the Canadian economy in 2019

In a nutshell, according to FOCAL’s research, the Canadian automotive manufacturing sector directly employs more than 188,000 people, with another 22,000 experts in automotive technology. 

Public Policy Forum reports on the role of micro-credentials

Ontario alone (Ontario is admittedly Canada’s auto industry powerhouse) is home to powerful and innovative post-secondary research, including a commitment to the development of micro-credentials. 

Micro-credentials are rapid training programs offered by colleges, universities and indigenous institutes to help people retrain and upgrade their skills to find new employment.

We have written about the micro-credential phenomenon in a recent post, but it’s worth repeating. According to the Public Policy Forum, numerous Canadian provinces are now funding micro-credential programs at colleges and universities. In its 2020 budget, the Ontario government pledged nearly $60 million over three years to support the development of micro-credential programs.

It also expanded coverage of the Ontario Student Assistance Program to include roughly 600 micro-credential programs, making it the first province to do so, and its 2021 budget it provided an additional $2 million for the development of a “virtual skills passport” to digitally track learners’ credentials and share them with prospective employers. Plus:

• The British Columbia government has invested $4 million to fund 24 micro-credentials in high-demand occupations
• Alberta’s Bow Valley College has partnered with IBM to create the country’s first IBM Skills Academy to offer short technical certification programs for careers in the IT industry
• Quebec and Saskatchewan are also funding micro-credential programs at post-secondary institutions

While many of Canada’s other provinces are playing micro-credential catch-up, Ontario still leads the charge. As reported in Manufacturing Automation last year:

“The Ontario government is investing $9.3 million in 11 training projects to help approximately 2,000 students and job seekers prepare for auto and advanced manufacturing careers. The funding will support projects from a range of organizations, including auto manufacturers, industry associations, training providers and public universities and colleges.

The training projects range from hands-on learning opportunities for students in co-op or internship settings to short-duration college courses that help laid-off workers learn to operate high-tech machinery or gain credentials for jobs in the auto or advanced manufacturing sector.”

Conclusion

As we state in the Automotive Industry Labour Market Analysis: Post-Secondary Education Report, our research indicates that 188,000 jobs are dependent on the sector. Our preliminary work also indicates that included in those job numbers are over 28,000 senior management, engineering and other jobs with a technical orientation.Among the charts embedded in the Automotive Industry Labour Market Analysis: Post-Secondary Education Report you will find:

• Post-secondary education and training programs offered by publicly funded universities and colleges.
• Programs/courses offered by private career colleges that match key occupations in demand in the broader automotive sector.
• That list of programs and courses includes institution name, program name, and occupations by automotive region for key occupations in engineering | technical | management category.

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. 

Funded by the Government of Canada, you can find out more about us on our website and follow us on Social Media – LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and through our newsletter.