Thank you, Marc.
Good morning everyone.
AIA and organizations like the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges are working closely together with governments to strengthen the domestic labour pool through improved training programs, including the Canada job grant, reforms to the EI system, and apprenticeship training, to name a few.
One of the ways we are connecting directly with the labour market and our community colleges is through the I-CAR collision repair training program. AIA has been managing the training program, I-CAR, for the past four years, delivering technical and process updating courses, which have been developed by the automotive manufacturers and suppliers, to the collision repair industry. AIA works with community colleges and technical institutes to deliver the program, and since 2010 more than 28,000 training seats have been delivered.
The success of this program has positively impacted employees, employers, students, trainers, community colleges, consumers, and insurers. We're also working to improve communication and information-sharing between our training institutions and the industry.
AIA is also working with the Association of Canadian Community Colleges to improve the quality of labour market information available to the industry leaders and policy-makers. Currently the automotive aftermarket is not being well served in this area. Specific information on industry skill requirements and labour supply and demand is critical to ensure that the sector continues to grow.
Labour market development agreements, LMDAs, are a strong tool in helping address the skills shortage. However, to promote the use of LMDAs to our members in industry, we need concrete data showing how they positively impact our economy as a whole and the automotive service and repair industry specifically.
One of the greatest challenges around the use of the current LMDAs remains awareness. Many employers don't know about the program or the eligibility requirements, and the application process can be both arduous and restrictive.
Further to that, the current LMDAs are not industry-specific. The development of LMDAs targeted to the automotive service and repair sector could be promoted to our members, with tools created to aid in the application and use of the programs, and thus directly impact their ability to fill vacant positions with skilled workers.
Initiatives such as these, along with the collection of more data, increased education around current available programs, and the creation of industry-specific LMDAs, would help address the severe labour shortage impacting the automotive service and repair industry in Canada today.
We thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to you, and we're happy to answer any questions you may have.