One of the biggest challenges facing auto sector employers is recruiting young talent as the industry undergoes dramatic change, say human resources experts.
“What keeps me awake at night is the next generation coming in,” said Jacqueline Oliva, head of human resources at Stellantis Canada. “I want to ensure they have the skills required to be in the industry, and that they actually want jobs whether it’s skilled trades or on the production line, the whole host of jobs in our industry.”
Employers must “work with this next generation so they’re excited about working in automotive,” Oliva said during the Automotive News Canada Congress in Toronto Feb. 15.
Oliva was among four industry experts on a panel focusing on the sector’s evolving workforce. She was joined by Helena Byrne, human resources manager at McManes Automotive Group, Jennifer Lennox, vice-president, people and culture at AutoCanada Inc., and Kirk Merrett, director, human resources and administration, Hyundai Auto Canada Corp.
Stellantis and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution are constructing a $5-billion battery-cell plant in Windsor, Ont., a joint-venture that will start production later this year and ultimately require about 2,500 employees.
With 18 months to go before the plant is fully operational, Oliva and her team are casting their net within Windsor and throughout Canada, she said. To reach young people Oliva’s team has “spent a lot of time” visiting colleges, universities and elementary schools promoting automotive careers.
“We’re talking with guidance counsellors, with parents, and letting them know that auto plants aren’t dark and dirty, but very bright and clean, and we get to make awesome products.”
At Hyundai, recruiters are aiming to expand and diversify the company’s talent pool, said Merrett. “We still have many underrepresented groups in automotive, and we want the best talent, not just men, and we’re make great strides in that area.”
Hyundai has established linked up with such groups as the Black North Initiative and Indigenous Works, he said. “They’ve been terrific partnerships for us.”
Lennox said prospective employees at AutoCanada “get a good candidate experience” of what it would be like to work for the Edmonton-based group, which owns 65 dealerships in Canada and 18 in the United States.
“Our biggest priority right now is growing our own. So, getting out there, connecting with young people just getting into the industry to tell our story and making sure every single person that applies with us gets an experience that lets them know they are valued,” said Lennox. “That means getting a proper interview, getting back to them, letting them know how important they are to us.”
Calgary-based McManes group, which owns 17 franchised dealerships in Alberta and British Columbia, hosts such events as its “Industry Nights,” to recruit employees, particularly from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, said Byrne. The event also draws the group’s dealer managing partners and department managers,” she added. “So, you have to have that buy-in,” from the management team.
The event also includes panel discussions allowing prospective employees to ask questions of McManes executives, Byrne said.
Co-op programs and internships are another valuable recruitment tool that allow both parties to determine whether they’re a good fit, said Oliva. “Probably, at least in my lifetime, this is the time where candidates are sizing up a company because they have the choice of plentiful opportunities.”
Hyundai, meanwhile, has conducted “discovery sessions” designed to identify potential candidates for future openings, said Merrett.
“It’s kind of like speed dating,” he said. “We have a number of our managers and candidates lined up, and they get to size us up and get a sense of what our culture is by talking to a number of people, and we do the same. And we identified a number of people that we’ve eventually hired from those sessions.”
