The provincial government’s recent commitment to significantly expand trades-training funding is welcome news at a pivotal moment for British Columbia’s economy. With billions in new investments planned over the next three years, the Skills for the Future initiative marks a positive and forward-looking step toward addressing labour shortages, strengthening pathways into the trades, and building a more resilient workforce across the province.
For the New Car Dealers Association of BC (NCDA), this commitment represents an important opportunity. Our sector supports nearly 30,000 family-supporting jobs and generates close to $17 billion in annual retail sales each year. Dealerships in every region of the province – most of them small and family-run, depend on a steady pipeline of trained automotive technicians to keep British Columbians safe on the road. The new skills plan is a chance to get ahead of a challenge that has been growing for years.
But to succeed, the plan must clearly reflect the realities of a rapidly transforming auto sector.
The nature of vehicle servicing has changed dramatically. British Columbia is moving quickly toward electric, connected and software-defined vehicles, and while this shift represents enormous environmental and economic opportunity, it is also reshaping the skills required to support it. Today’s technicians must be as comfortable with digital diagnostics, battery systems and electronics as they are with traditional mechanical tools. Increasingly, the vehicles arriving in dealership service bays are computers on wheels – requiring expertise in software troubleshooting, advanced sensors, power-management systems and high-voltage components.
Across the province, the demand for these advanced skill sets is growing faster than the supply of trained workers. Thousands of technician positions will need to be filled in the coming years, particularly outside major urban centres where local dealerships are essential for ensuring timely service, warranty work and customer safety. Without enough technicians, service wait times increase, business capacity struggles, and consumer confidence erodes – especially for families exploring the transition to electric vehicles.
That is why it is essential that the province’s skills plan not only include the automotive trades, but elevate them as a clearly identified priority area as implementation begins.
Several practical steps can help ensure the plan delivers results. First, curriculum and apprenticeship pathways need continued modernization, with stronger integration of high-voltage safety, electronics, diagnostics and software-based systems. Second, regional training capacity must grow so that students in small and mid-sized communities can train and find jobs close to home – strengthening local economies and improving retention. Third, industry–education partnerships should be expanded to allow dealers, manufacturers and post-secondary institutions to design real-world, job-ready training programs that reflect the vehicles on the road today.
Finally, the plan should support ongoing upskilling for existing workers. Even highly experienced technicians must continually adapt as vehicle technologies evolve. Flexible, accessible training opportunities will help ensure BC’s current workforce can keep pace with change.
The government’s commitment to doubling trades-training funding is a promising step, and the NCDA strongly supports this direction. But the scale of technological change in the automotive sector means that technician training must remain front and centre in the plan’s next phase. Aligning training supply with employer demand is not only a workforce priority—it is essential to maintaining the province’s economic competitiveness, supporting consumer confidence and preparing British Columbians for emerging opportunities in a fast-evolving mobility landscape.
Our industry looks forward to working collaboratively with government, post-secondary partners and training providers as this important plan moves ahead. By ensuring automotive technician training receives the sustained focus it requires, we can strengthen communities, support good jobs and help British Columbia lead confidently into the future of transportation.
Blair Qualey is President and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of BC. You can email him at [email protected]
