Automotive News Canada - March 2024 - 14

14
* MARCH 2024
2024 CANADA CONGRESS: TORONTO, FEB. 15
A changing industry, but the same old problem: Talent
HIRING
Panelists share ways
to reach and entice
the next generation
By GRACE MACALUSO
MANAGING EDITOR
ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFicant
challenges facing auto
employers is
recruiting young
talent as the industry
undergoes dramatic
change,
human resources
experts say.
Humber
Toronto
correspondent
" What keeps me
awake at night is
the next generation
coming in, " said
SPOTLIGHT
the skills required to be in the
industry and that they actually
want jobs, whether it's skilled
trades or on the production
line. "
HOST
Todd
Jacqueline Oliva, vice-president
of human resources at Stellantis
Canada.
" I want to ensure they have
Employers must " work
with this next generation so
they're excited about working
in automotive, " Oliva said at
the Automotive News Canada
Congress in Toronto.
Oliva was among four industry
experts on a panel devoted to
the sector's evolving workforce.
She was joined by Helena Byrne,
human resources manager at
McManes Automotive Group;
Jennifer Lennox, vice-president
of people and culture at dealAccording
to the Canada Congress
talent acquisition panel, grooming
from within, connecting with
schools and linking up with
Indigenous and Black groups are
key tactics for recruiters looking
to fill roles in a changing auto
industry. PHOTO: GIANCARLO PAWELEC
ership group AutoCanada; and
Kirk Merrett, director of human
resources and administration at
Hyundai Auto Canada.
Stellantis and South Korea's
LG Energy Solution are building
a $5-billion battery-cell plant
in Windsor, Ont., a joint venture
that will start production
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 throughout Canada, she
said. To reach young people, her
team has visited 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, "
she said.
SEEKING MORE THAN MEN
At Hyundai, recruiters aim to
expand and diversify the company's
talent pool, Merrett said.
" We still have many underrepresented
groups in automotive,
and we want the best talent, not
just men, and we're making great
strides in that area. "
Hyundai has linked up with
such groups as the BlackNorth
Initiative, which supports black
entrepreneurs in Canada, and
Indigenous Works, which has a
mandate to improve the inclusion
of Indigenous people in the
economy.
" They've been terrific partnerships
for us, " Merrett said.
At AutoCanada, Lennox said,
prospective employees " get a
good candidate experience, " of
SESSION 3
The evolving workforce
INDUSTRY NIGHTS
Helena Byrne
Human resources
manager,
McManes
Automotive
Group
Kirk Merrett
Director, human
resources and
administration,
Hyundai Auto
Canada
Calgary-based McManes
group, which owns 17 franchised
dealerships in Alberta
and British Columbia, hosts
such events as Industry Nights
to recruit employees, particularly
from the Southern Alberta
Institute of Technology, Byrne
said. The event also draws
McManes' managers.
" So you have to have that buyin, "
from the management team,
The event has panel discussions
allowing prospective
employees to ask questions of
McManes executives, Byrne
said.
Jennifer
Lennox
Vice-president,
people and
culture,
AutoCanada
Jacqueline
Oliva
Vice-president of
human resources,
Stellantis Canada
Co-op programs and internships
are another valuable
recruitment tool that allow both
parties to determine whether
they're a good fit, said Stellantis'
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, "
she said.
what it would be like to work for
the group, which owns 65 dealerships
in Canada and 18 in the
United States.
" Our biggest priority right
now is growing our own, " she
said. " 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.
Hyundai, meanwhile, has
conducted " discovery sessions "
designed to identify potential
candidates for future openings,
Merrett said.
" It's kind of like speed dating.
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, " he said. - ANC
Porsche chief: More supply means a rise in incentives
Financing costs
and the federal
luxury tax are also
factors as the brand
invests heavily in an
expanding electrified
product portfolio
By GRACE MACALUSO
MANAGING EDITOR
RISING NEW-VEHICLE
inventories coupled with high
interest rates are prompting
increased automaker
incentives
to help spur
Canadian sales.
" Things were
different at the end
of [2023] versus the
beginning of the
year; supply has
been addressed
across most OEMs,
HOST
Greg
Layson
Digital and
mobile editor
and with that has come incentives
again, " said John Cappella,
CEO of Porsche Cars Canada at
the Feb. 15 Automotive News
Canada Congress in Toronto.
" It didn't take long. I think
everyone was wishing
they didn't come back.
In the last six months,
we really saw an acceleration
in incentives. "
The federal luxury
tax, impacting
new vehicles costing
$100,000 or more, went
into effect Sept. 1, 2022,
and is also weighing on
sales, Cappella said.
" There was this situation
where the deals
that were done before it
was implemented were
being delivered. Now,
people are starting to
look at [the tax] and
say, 'That's a pretty big
bill' " - especially for
consumers in British
SESSION 4
Keynote
address
ages around the globe, Cappella
said. With increasing inventories
and higher interest
rates, " you've seen
those incentives come
back. "
John
Cappella
CEO, Porsche
Cars Canada
Columbia, which imposes a provincial
luxury levy.
MORE VEHICLES, MORE INCENTIVES
But the main push toward
incentives is the growing availability
of vehicles, which had
been constrained during the
pandemic-induced parts shortAsked
whether the
market was returning
to pre-COVID-19 normal,
Cappella said:
" Things are evolving
so quickly, you can't
even compare it to last
month now - 2019 is a
long ways away. "
The industry, he
said, is evolving faster
than ever.
" Think of all the different
cars that are
now on the market that
weren't even around
back then, [and] there's
electrification. There
are factors that I know in my
career I've never had to deal
with. "
Twenty years ago, an automaker
would target a segment
with one vehicle that came with
a few engine variants, he said.
" Now, you have the one car;
and you have the [internal com " I
think everyone was wishing [incentives] didn't come back, " said
Porsche Cars Canada CEO John Cappella, right. " In the last six
months, we really saw an acceleration. " PHOTO: GIANCARLO PAWELEC
bustion engine] version, the
hybrid version, that battery-electric
version; and you haven't
factored these things in what
you're going to sell a year or two,
five years from now. That's a lot
more complex, " Cappella said.
The different technologies
require automakers to invest a
lot more in product development.
" For brands like [Porsche],
we're not going to abandon the
internal-combustion engine overSEE
YOUTH PAGE 18
" That means getting a proper
interview, getting back to them,
letting them know how important
they are to us, " Lennox said.
Automotive News Canada - March 2024

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