Skills audit for the automotive industry in the City of Hume and the City of Whittlesea
One such study is Skills audit for the automotive industry in the City of Hume and the City of Whittlesea (April 2010), prepared for two Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Melbourne’s North. Each LGA is the home for a range of automotive manufacturing companies.
The key task in the research was to conduct a skills audit in Hume and Whittlesea, focusing on the automotive industry sector, because of the industry’s importance as a major employer in the region. The study included an exercise in modelling the economic impact (including employment) of Ford closing its manufacturing operations in Australia (scenario modelling of plant closures). Such a closure was subsequently announced.
In a detailed survey as part of this study NIEIR conducted face-to-face interviews with the executives of 33 automotive manufacturing companies (including Ford) based in the Cities of Hume and Whittlesea.
The report considered both industry and residential employment with a focus on the automotive industry. The report provided case studies about managing significant adjustments to labour markets and discussed alternative strategies for employment.
Benefit to client
For the Cities of Hume and Whittlesea a key concern is to measure the capacity of its residential population to adjust to changes in employment and skills demand. The report enabled managers in the Cities of Hume and Whittlesea to understand the implications of likely changes to the region’s manufacturing industry on the local economy, and particularly on local employment. This enabled our clients to discuss these implications with State Government, local training organisations, the manufacturing companies and local industry bodies, assisting the process of planning for change rather than becoming a victim of that change.
