Is it worth the expense and effort of sponsoring techs?

Let’s face it – sponsoring automotive tradespeople from abroad is an expensive process that requires commitment and patience. The upfront cost is tough to swallow and looks horrible in a monthly budget, and that’s sometimes enough to dissuade managers and human resources people in the automotive industry from going ahead, even if they know that there’s insufficient resources available on the local market to get the workshop humming. The risk of sponsoring an under-qualified person also poses concerns, and the complications of the visa process can be bewildering.

International sponsorship will never be everyone’s cup of tea, but here’s a few things to consider if you’re on the fence:

• If you’ve got big lead times and empty bays, you need techs. Having work booked for weeks in advance is great for business confidence, but lead times of more than a week have a proven negative impact on customer retention and satisfaction
• Further to this point, if the work exists but you’ve got non-productive bays for lack of the right techs, you’re missing income straight to the bottom line. You’re already paying the rent on the space and the equipment but you’re earning none of the profit, which means you’re missing thousands of dollars per week, let-alone how this stacks up over the course of a typical 4 year visa term if you had a sponsored tech on hand
• How’s the depth of experience in your workshop? Our technicians coming from overseas typically have years of experience highly relevant to different roles or manufacturers, and there’s few things we enjoy more than service managers telling us their new recruit is leading the way. Even if you’re doing a great job of attracting apprentices (which is fantastic), do you have the right people around to support them?
• Love the impact quality training can make in your workshop but frustrated by the cost? What if you could hire in a manufacturer or specialist certified technician from abroad that brings all the benefit without the training expense and time away from the workshop?
• Our Candidate Pool presents migration-ready tradespeople who understand exactly what they’re facing in coming to Australia. It’s not a collection of random CVs, and as registered migration agents we’ve thoroughly vetted them all to ensure they’re suitable for Australian employers. They’re motivated and enthusiastic for new challenges, and often inject a boost of positivity into our client’s workshops when they’re well supported

Keen to know more about how international resourcing of skilled tradespeople can drive your workshop and aftersales results in the right direction? By all means give Nat Richards a call on 0429468754, or drop him a line at nat.richards@techsonthemove.com.au