Gi Group | A glance at the Automotive Sector

Dear Members and Friends,

The China-Italy Chamber of Commerce (CICC) is pleased to share with you an article written by our member Gi Group:

The way we move around every day is changing, and so too are the manufacturing and related industries, opening up a swathe of employment opportunities across multiple levels. As individuals, we are surrounded by evidence of these shifts on a daily basis, both on the roads where we travel and in the headlines we read.

The slow but sure metamorphosis from the traditional combustion engine to an electric engine is happening, sparking a pressing need for updated skills and ultimately generating new roles in the workforce. The increased function of artificial intelligence, enhanced connectivity and up-to-the-minute technology in the vehicles we use is creating a new chapter when it comes to skills and the labour force.

But that’s not all. The need for new production plants in terms of capacity and location is becoming increasingly evident. Outdated plants are being converted to gigafactories, which compound complex supply chains into limited spaces that yield greater efficiency for global conglomerates. In doing so, companies invest in regions that are more receptive and perhaps desirous of redevelopment, as well as tapping into cultural traditions and skills ingrained in the local industrial heritage. The end result is improved environmental impact and better production processes, which lead to all-round sustainability for the environment and employee satisfaction.

This effective switch from a steel-working engineering perspective towards technology causes a supply chain shift and reduced emissions. This, in turn, bumps staffing requirements away from the traditional positions of mechanical engineers and plant workers towards AI and digital roles for white collars, while blue collars will move towards less physically demanding work and computer programming tasks. The latter signifies a step away from manual labour in favour of higher work-life expectations.

From now on, the emphasis will be on retraining automotive workers to acquire the skills necessary to reinvent themselves and stay relevant to the sector. It is the companies’ responsibility to invest in the retraining exercise, and universities and technical schools will prove invaluable in crafting courses pertaining to the revised skill requirements.

Our world is changing – and it is changing fast. By 2030, according to the IBM Institute for Business Value “Automotive 2030: Racing toward a digital future” report, it is expected that everyone will own 15 connected devices; up to 15% of new cars could be fully autonomous; and software will account for 90% of vehicle innovation. One of the principal future concepts will be based around the ACES acronym created by the Center for Automotive Research: Autonomous, Connected, Electric and Shared. Fully reworked supply chains will have to be constructed around the ACES concept when it comes to new materials, supply sources, organisational models and, of course, skill sets. Case in point: by looking at the words that constitute the ACES acronym, we see that there is no reference to any mechanical element whatsoever, which shows how these abilities are becoming less sought after.

 Digitalisation is our future, and skills across the industry are evolving across all professional levels. Industry 4.0 is key, mechanical roles are decreasing, and there is an upsurge in demand for engineers and workers specialised in AI and IoT, with a focus on data analysis.

The development of intelligent vehicles is essential for the Chinese automotive industry too, to be competitive on the global market. Despite a lack of clear business models and industry standards, China continues to be the world’s largest vehicle market by both annual sales and manufacturing output, with domestic production expected to reach 35 million vehicles by 2025. The strong support of the government to the sector is fundamental: recently, the Chinese government has taken important steps such as providing fiscal and taxation support, speeding up the elimination of obsolete diesel trucks, and optimizing secondhand vehicle trading channels.

The real core of the change, however, is not only digitization but the concept of transformation itself. If a company wants to achieve a real evolution, it must have the determination to make fundamental changes, dare to touch the existing main interests and overcome the deepest resistance. To face changes in a flexible way might be a little easier for China, which automotive industry, unlike foreign ones, doesn’t have yet a long history and mature operation methods.

GI Group Holding have honed in-depth knowledge of the automotive industry by working side by side with companies, understanding their needs and finding the most suitable profiles across geographic boundaries and cultures.

There’s no time like the present, and at this juncture for the automotive industry we can give you the power of choice with dynamic work opportunities in a range of global locations.

Gi Group

Gi Group is one of the world’s leading companies providing services for the development of the labour market. The Group is active in the fields of temporary and permanent staffing, search and selection, HR consulting and training, as well as in a variety of complementary activities.

Kind Regards,
The CICC Team