Report looks at auto industry's HR situation

A new report entitled Competing Without a Net: The Future of the Canadian Automotive Industry has been prepared by the Council for Automotive Human Resources. It was released at the APMA conference last week in Hamilton, Ont., and covers companies involved in automobile assembly, truck and bus assembly, parts manufacturing; and the tooling segments of the automotive industry. 

“The automotive marketplace is constantly changing and its workforce must change with it”, said John Mavrak, executive director of CAHR. “While having a skilled workforce will not ensure the survival of the industry, the absence of such a labor market will ensure the demise of its competitive advantage.  Canada’s automotive labor market must remain leading edge”.

As suggested by the title, Canadian firms are “competing without a net”.  Many of the industry’s traditional competitive advantages have disappeared or been significantly reduced. The report outlines the current and future environment within the Canadian automotive industry; describes the impacts of technology on human resource requirements; assesses the labor supply and demand and the formation of an automotive labor market including training requirements to ensure workers have the most current skill sets; and identifies human resources policies and practices and how they can maintain a talented, flexible and innovative workforce.