10-15 years back Automotive was a booming field in Canada. But now its too expensive to build cars in Car.

The ALL in cost of making a car in Canada for the Big 3 , Ford, GM and Chrysler i.e the average pay of the Canadian Unionised worker is $ 60/hr !! ..this inludes their present salary anf future benefits and liabilities like pensions, healtcare costs etc etc.

In the meantime the average salary of making the same car in Mexico for GM, Ford and Chrysler is $ 5/hr straight salary and if you include the ALL in costs like pensions, benefits etc its only $ 8/hr.

Even making the car in US is cheaper than Canada..so most plants have closed down or have reduced capacity in Canada and moved to either US or Mexico or even China.

Plus the onslaught of Japanese and Korean cars like Toyota , Honda, Nissan , Kia , Hyundai etc have greatly reduced the demand for the North American cars like GM, Ford, Chrysler.

The Japanese and Koreans hardly make cars in Canada but sell cars over here for cheap and capture the market. They are flooding the market, but NOT investing and producing much in Canada.

Just 10 yrs back you would have had a great career in the Automotive industry in Canada, but today not so much. The existing jobs are protected by the car unions and No new jobs are being created in that field, so you are pretty much screwed..the existing people won't quit or get fired as they are protected by their unions and they have it good and laughing all the way to the bank.

Some are being offered good buy out packages and severances going into thousands of dollars just to reduce the bloated workforce . Some are taking it as its a huge lump sum amount and then changing their field through Second Career programs etc. So mostly through forced retirement or voluntary retirement ( with very good buy out packages and severances ) , jobs are being eliminated NOT created in the automotive industry.

rajcanada - Agreed! I did search job portals for jobs in my field & jobs did exist. They still do. I thought that's a positive. But I only started applying after getting PR. That's when I realized that Employers don't respond unless one is in their city of employment.

I resigned only coz my wife got opportunity in Toronto & I'm the Prime/Main applicant, which means she can't enter Canada without me. Anyhow, I'll look into the License thing!

Can you please suggest CD users working in this field?

Delhite- Thanks for the detailed, useful info. Your reply is very reaffirming for newcomers.

I'm flexible to work in Sales or Service adviser or any Technical job in Auto-industry. I also have some experience in Diesel Generator industry.

Do check your PM

adamthorat - Not sure if I should thank you or despise you I'll take ur msg positively.

I don't mind the income disparity as long as I have a decent job. Moreover, what you have mentioned is related to Production job, whereas my role is related to after-sales like training the Technicians, auditing dealership, Dealer Development etc.

Automotive is a cyclical industry. It goes up fast and comes down fast.
Automotive is a fast paced, and an aggressive industry.

In other words, to succeed reasonably, you need to have very good communication skills, soft skills, and an assertive personality. Otherwise, you will be sidelined very quick (unless the position involves day to day repetitive role with limited interaction with people).

OEMs (ex: Ford, Chrysler, GM) tend to hire a good number of contract employees - either direct contract or via a third party. This allows them to limit their offering of benefits (pension plans, health plans, etc) and downsize at a moment's notice. After you land, you should explore contract employers who place individuals at client sites.

Aerotek, Kelly Services, MSX are a few recruiting agencies (examples) who place contract employees. While Aerotek and Kelly are recruiters and shed responsibility once they place you, MSX tends to hire someone and place them at client sites. Wages and benefits are then controlled by MSX.

The above operate both in Canada and the US, or only in the US, but place clients in Canada in Cdn $ and benefits.

There is another firm I recently came to know - The Productivity Team, LLC. This firm is located in Michigan and they hire and place candidates in Canada. I believe they have a presence in Mississauga.

Someone I know who recently graduated from U of Windsor received a call from the Productivity Team based on his LinkedIn profile. He now has an offer with them with client site at Ford.

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Dimple2001

You should have waited until your wife's job was transferred to Toronto before booking flight tickets. At least one person having confirmed job is better than both hunting for jobs.

Demand in software QA job market is for people who can write automation scripts.

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Give free food http://www.thehungersite.com ||

I did receive a mail from Kelly. When I sent my resume n details, I got a reply that they need people who are already in Toronto. I replied that I'm ready to fly to Toronto immediately if they schedule an interview, but no response from them after that. Faced similar issue with some other Employers.

Now that I'm flying next week, I will pursue all the contract employers you mentioned. Many thanks!