That's because the industry and in particular light vehicle side of it treats people like **** and pays **** all, I get paid more driving a desk in a very nice climate controlled air conditioned office selling stuff to the same people as me but who still fix cars - and I'd get paid more still if I transitioned out of automotive into something similar in a different industry.
Until that changes all the kids doing apprenticeships are going to go the path of construction trades where the money is actually decent, the overheads are lower if you go the self employed route and you have all the benefits that they get on construction sites, or they'll go onto university.
In my Year 12 group, out of 140 of us who finished, only 10 went onto apprenticeships (and two of us automotive trades
)
I just took on a new kid at work and he's getting paid more than a qualified light vehicle mechanic in Melbourne and has absolutely zero experience in the automotive industry, has the right attitude though and a passion for cars - why would you push this kid into an apprenticeship for? No 4 years of slave wages, no providing tens of thousands worth of your own tools and no getting dirty for **** all.
The automotive 'skills shortage' is a joke, was being handled by abusing 457 visas and treating them terribly because if they complain they'll get sent back home - COVID put a stop to that pretty quick. I've been on the skills shortage list for a decade yet the wages haven't done too much improving in that time.
Its a sunset industry, the profit margins are all taken by the people up the chain leaving nothing for the workshop which means nothing for the guy/girl turning spanners (or the owner of said workshop)
Probably worth it in a mining state where the wages are more competitive, somewhere like Melbourne that a service based economy, don't bother is my advice to any young ones reading this.
Its kinds like maths based sciences like engineers being poached by the finance industry where there is better coin and conditions on offer, they have transferable skills - seen that happen a couple times at work.
The 'cream' of a high volume automotive workshop (servicing) is going to disappear when EV's become prominent and your service items are rotors and pads which now hardly wear because of regenerative braking.
I liken automotive to hospitality - you do it for the passion and the love of it cause you sure as **** don't do it for the wages.