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For
immediate release
CAHR
Releases Study on Addressing Skills Shortage in
the Automotive Industry
Toronto, Ontario — September 29, 2005 —
The Board of Directors of the Council for Automotive Human
Resources (CAHR) are pleased to release their report addressing
apprenticeship and the skills shortage in the Canadian
automotive industry. "Running Near Empty"
is available at www.cahr-crha.ca.
Industry, labour, academia and government agree that based
on current trends, Canada will be facing a crisis due
to the looming shortage of skilled trades over the next
10 years. "Running Near Empty" is just
one of CAHR's many actions to ensure this does not happen,
and that the Canadian auto industry remains globally competitive
and profitable.
John Mavrak, Executive Director of CAHR says "Apprenticeship
programs are a proven way to ensure a supply of future
skilled workers".
Key findings in CAHR's report indicate:
1. Skilled trades supply:
1/3 of companies interviewed had, or expected to have,
trouble recruiting skilled workers.
2. Support for workplace-based
training: at most companies,
apprentices start contributing a net positive return
within 1 to 2 years from start of training.
3. Attraction and
retention strategies:
employers attract and retain skilled workers by offering
competitive salaries, attractive working conditions,
and recognizing their contributions.
4. Educational system:
high schools need to offer more opportunities to acquire
technical skills needed to enter an apprenticeship.
5. Female apprentices/journeypersons:
women are seriously under-represented in apprenticeship
and journeyperson careers.
6. Training costs:
reforms are needed to reduce the cost of apprenticeship
training, or to share the training burden more evenly
by encouraging more companies to train apprentices.
7. Need for sectoral
initiatives: there are
a number of strategic areas where the sector can work
together as a whole to address the skills shortage,
such as informing public policy development related
to apprenticeship.
From its beginnings in 1904, the
automotive manufacturing industry has been the engine
that drives Canada's economy. As Canada's largest industrial
employer, 1 in 7 jobs are tied directly or indirectly
to the automotive sector. It accounts for 12% of manufacturing
GDP, 25% of manufacturing trade, and employs over 150,000
people in automotive assembly and components manufacturing,
and in almost 334,000 in distribution and aftermarket
sales and service.
CAHR was formed based on the recommendations of the Canadian
Automotive Partnership Council (CAPC), a sector-led group
launched in 2002 by business leaders from the Canadian
auto industry, the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW-Canada),
government, and academia. CAHR promotes collaboration
by industry, labour, academia, and governments to address
human resource requirements at all levels of the auto
manufacturing sector. The Council's activities will help
workers and employers by creating solutions that are tailored
to the industry's needs and enhance the global competitiveness
of the Canadian automotive manufacturing industry. CAHR's
"Running Near Empty" report was funded
by the Government of Canada's Sector Council Program.
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Contact information:
John Mavrak
Executive Director
195 The West Mall, Suite 516
Toronto, ON M9C 5K1
Phone: (416) 621.2614
Fax: (416) 621.5926
Email: info@cahr-crha.ca
| To
download CAHR's "Running Near Empty" - click
here |
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