A role of MTA Queensland is to provide leadership and influence, with the support of others, to achieve outcomes that benefit the automotive value chain and society.

There have been two recent events at which we have progressed understanding of the significant technological and innovative changes occurring in the automotive value chain. These were Carmageddon 3 and Training fora.

Eden Spencer, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Block 2, speaking at the MTA Queensland’s Carmageddon 3: New World Mobility symposium said: ‘Technology is changing the world. Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity – not a threat’. And that was Carmageddon 3’s purpose – for presenters to address the digital and mobility disruptions and impacts and the opportunities to emanate from the new technologies to benefit business, consumers and society.

Welcomed by MTA Chairman Paul Petersen, the expert presenters and the facilitated panel discussions on mobility, new technologies and electric vehicles, ensured the audience of stakeholders and MTA Queensland members had much to absorb and participate in. The Federal Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews, who opened Carmageddon 3, commented on the significant changes in automotive since the first steam car driven in Brisbane in 1902, drawing attention to the ACE-EV Cargo electric van – which was assembled at MTA Queensland’s workshop – the Tesla, Jaguar and Hyundai electric vehicles and the Hyundai hydrogen motor vehicle exhibits surrounding the audience.

In a nutshell, it was a day for the audience, comprising members, Industry, academia, government, and enthusiasts to gain understanding from the experts of the significant mobility and technological transformations underway and the social, economic and environmental benefits. It is envisaged the Carmageddon symposiums will continue to be the primary platform to inform on the emerging technologies, products and services relevant to the automotive industry. Thank you to each participant for generously sharing your expertise and to the MTA Queensland team for your unity of purpose to deliver a successful Carmageddon3.

The diary

WorkCover stakeholder meeting
Regardless of the Carmageddon 3 signature event, the MTA Queensland wheels keep turning and diary obligations met. I attended WorkCover Queensland’s Towards 2022 update for key stakeholders by the Chief Executive Officer Bruce Watson who overviewed the provider’s accident insurance strategic direction and the progress against those strategies. One of the strategies is partnering with stakeholders, which include industry organisations.

It is mandatory for Queensland employers to hold a WorkCover accident insurance policy. On behalf of the Association I agreed to work with WorkCover to assist in extending its information to members, host new programs that would benefit members and collaborate when necessary on matters relevant to the automotive value chain.

Skills Fora

As a consequence of our submission to the Skills for Queensland discussion paper and a subsequent Future of Work Skills and Industry summit, I attended the Vocational Education Training’s (VET) consultation process on the Industry Engagement framework. In several submissions and at various fora, we have stated the need for, and the importance of, effective engagement between industry and government. At present this is not the circumstance. At this stakeholder meeting, I continued to make the case that automotive should be recognised in the framework as a ‘key industry area’ to increase industry input into the automotive VET apprenticeship and traineeship system.

I stressed automotive was on the cusp of significant transformations driven by innovation, emerging technologies and automation with electric vehicles. These will demand a cohort of workers with skills in digital literacy, automation, innovation and artificial intelligence to service, to maintain or repair electric vehicles. At the same time, the automotive labour market will need skilled workers to service, maintain or repair the current range of internal combustion engine vehicles for the next two decades or so. In view of the skills demand and the need for collaboration, I urged the establishment of an Automotive VET Industry Advisory Organisation and to recognise ‘automotive’ as a key industry. MTAI General Manager Paul Kulpa expressed similar views at a recent Jobs Queensland workshop on the Future of Work in Queensland to 2030.

Skills discussion

All industries are preoccupied with skills demand and supply and this was evident from the discussions that emerged from a Construction Skills consultation to which I was invited. There was a consistency in views expressed that the workforce must have the skills for industry at present and that the workforce of the future will require higher levels of skills and different skill sets. The challenge for training organisations is to supply employers with the skills required both now and into the future. In the discussion, I offered as an example MTA Queensland’s leadership in preparing automotive for the digital and technological changes, and the strategies and systems in place to ensure that the industry has the trained workforce to meet its skills demand now and into the future.

Annual Australian Health Care Week

I was invited to participate in the Annual Australian Healthcare Week’s Cross Industry Panel Discussion: Driverless Cars in Healthcare – for Better or Worse. On the panel with me was Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Professor Michael Milford, Chief Investigator, Australian Centre for Robotic Vision. The purpose of the Panel was to discuss the role of autonomous vehicles in the health care sector with an audience comprising health professionals and academics. The Annual Australian Health Care Week is the largest healthcare event in Australasia and in every aspect was amazing in its content and extent.

QUT’s Future Cities: Transport infrastructure for the future

QUT’s Science and Engineering Faculty hosted a Future Cities: Transport infrastructure for the future event on the key challenges facing policy makers in understanding how smart infrastructure will address resource constraints and enhance connectivity, liveability, productivity and resilience. I was pleased to attend to hear the viewpoints and engage in discussions on the technologies that will power future infrastructure and the disruptions putting pressure for smarter and more innovative resources and assets.

I was particularly interested in the discussion and viewpoints of Volker Richter (BMW Germany) on what Queensland needs to do in order to be ready for changes in transport. He spoke openly about the need to collaborate with competitors and of their recent $2 billion investment to finalise level 4 & 5 automation – Volker’s point is that the tech will be here. My focus has been on educating business and motorists about the pending technology, an issue in which we have engaged with government agencies and stakeholders to express viewpoints relative to the automotive value chain and the need for serious pilot programs.

Queensland Automotive Trades Scholarship

Elliott Lemmon, the MTA Institute 2017 Apprentice of the Year has been awarded the first Australian (Queensland) Automotive Trades Queensland Overseas Foundation (QOF) scholarship. The award, was presented to him by QOF’s patron, the Governor of Queensland His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey at Parliament House. The scholarship enables Elliott to travel internationally to experience emerging technologies and bring the knowledge gained back to the Australian/Queensland market. He is negotiating a position as a technician with a race team in China which will be vastly different to his volunteering experience with the MTA Queensland Race Team.

Congratulations Elliott. It is a significant achievement to be selected as the winner of both the MTA Queensland Apprentice of the Year award and the QOF Automotive Trades scholarship. The MTA Institute, trainers and employers alike take pride in Elliott’s success.

And the last thing

Transport logistics have preoccupied my mind each time I get into the car with the growing number of grandkids – maybe I do keep the ‘soccer dad’ car after all! The most recent addition is Asher, the third little man who, at the time of writing this column, is three days old.

Until next month, as Henry Ford, the industrialist and the founder of the Ford Motor Company said ‘execute ideas with enthusiasm, as it is the bottom of all progress’.