Taking place on 9-10 June 2023 at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Autocare will host hundreds of workshop owners and managers who want to take their business to the next level. Attendees will learn from the largest collection of industry experts ever seen in Australia, who are tackling the most in-demand topics, including the skills shortage.

Australia has an estimated skills shortage of 30,000 technicians, and workshop owners across the country are desperately trying to attract and retain workers. Businesses that understand the current recruitment landscape can capitalise and will be well-prepared for future growth and success.

To address the huge industry demand for guidance on this issue, Autocare has created a dedicated session ‘The Race to Find and Keep Top Talent in Your Workshop’. This session will provide crucial insights and tactics into how to improve retention and recruitment through real-world workshop examples and the latest industry research. The impact of EVs and how technology is changing the future employment pool will also be explored, plus what the industry can do to increase the automotive recruitment pipeline so businesses aren’t competing with each other.

“If you are experiencing staff vacancies, facing additional pressure on your team, or are turning away new customers, this Autocare session is critical to attend. We face a unique, challenging and changing skills environment. Traditional job ads and terms and conditions are no longer enough, and workshops need to ensure they are putting their best foot forward to attract staff,” said Lesley Yates, Director of Government Relations of the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA).

The session will be hosted by automotive and recruitment experts including Peter Rogers, National Manager of Repco Authorised Service (RAS); Ben Selwyn, Director of ACA Research; Fred Molloy, MD & Registered Migration Agent of AutoRecruiter & Konnecting Migration; Gabrielle Clift, Technician at Highfields Mechanical; and Lesley Yates, AAAA.

“Our latest research into staff recruitment and retention paints a clear picture of the challenges that workshops across the industry are facing in delivering to the expectations of apprentices, but also highlights the best-practice techniques being utilised by industry leaders to support apprentices and deliver innovative and engaging training throughout their journey. These findings can help other business owners better understand the market, and provide a clear direction of what is and isn’t working to find and keep talent,” said Ben Selwyn, Director of ACA Research.

The session will form part of Autocare’s comprehensive Workshop Management Program designed to increase workshop efficiency, sustainability and profitability. Other valuable topics include: the future of the aftermarket, customer service best practices, relationship building, digital marketing, cybersecurity, the customer of the future, mastering difficult conversations, business planning and environmental sustainability.

The Workshop Management Program is complemented by a dedicated Technical Training Program for technicians and features sessions on EV servicing and safety, advanced diagnosis techniques, Pass Thru technology, oscilloscopes, fuel injection systems, diesel diagnostics and much more.

A feature-packed Trade Show with over 100 of Australia’s best brands, a training stage and a networking event will complement the training programs, offering a complete solution to take your automotive career development, skills and business growth to the next level. Review the full training program schedules and secure your tickets to Autocare at autocare.org.au

*2023 Autocare Convention Autodata Travel Voucher Promotion Terms and Conditions apply.