Page 10 - Australasian Paint & Panel Nov-Dec 2022

NEWS
10
PAINT&PANEL
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2022
WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
SKILLED
COMPASS
ELECTRIFIES
MIGRATION
RECOGNISES
SHORTAGES
COMPASS IS OFFERING ANOTHER IN-
dustry first, the ability to offer replace- ment EV’s across the whole country.
Several ‘firsts’ over the years include; the first company to offer a national so- lution to replacement vehicles, the first company to have Hybrid Camry’s on their fleet, the first to offer motorbikes and commercial vehicles across the country. Compass was also the first re- placement vehicle company to enable partners to book via online portals.
James Frape, CEO of Compass said: “We have been watching closely the de-
velopment of EV vehicles in other parts of the world and waited patiently — as we would have liked some earlier — as stock arrived in Australia.
"We can now supply these specific vehi- cles in the form of Tesla Model 3 & Y and Polestar 2 across the country to those who need it most. We shall be shortly comple- menting this further with the introduction of MG ZS EV as well. EV drivers purchase these vehicles for a specific reason, and they don’t want to end up in a vehicle which uses petrol after an accident, espe- cially when it wasn’t their fault.”
THE RELEASE OF THE PRIORITY SKILLED
Migration Occupation List (PMSOL) – re- veals what the automotive industry has known for years: that supply of workers to fill trade positions across the automotive industry is critically short says VACC.
This announcement means the Federal Government has finally acknowledged mechanics and skilled technicians are in short supply and should be added to the priority of skills needed for Australia.
“Skills shortages affect many indus- tries, highlighted by the 12-month jump from 153 to 286 occupations officially ‘in shortage’, according to the latest PMSOL.“The automotive sector, howev- er, has been particularly hard hit with 38,700 positions unfilled across Austral- ia,” said VACC’s Geoff Gwilym.
The situation is severe for light vehicle mechanic positions, with 23,904 posi- tions unfilled. Unfilled positions in heavy vehicle mechanic (2,995), auto- motive electricians (1,790), body repair (1,710), refinish (1,650) and spare parts interpreters (1,380) also remain critical. VACC recognises the updated list is a step in the right direction.
“The acknowledgement by the Alba- nese Government that automotive posi- tions remain in short supply is a promis- ing start. VACC is hopeful this will inform future iterations of the PMSOL,” said Gwilym
WORLDSKILLS WIN
AUSTRALIA’S BELLA TURISSE WON A ME-
dallion of excellence at the WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition for Car Painting. The event was held October 18- 22 at College 360 in Silkeborg, Denmark.
Thirteen of the world’s best young painters competed during four intensive
days, with each completing specific tasks. A set of tailored webinars were used by the painters using refinish products, processes and color retrieval solutions from Glasurit. Ffinalists were trained in a hybrid format with information avail-
able on Glasurit Know-how.