The demand for and supply of skills in the automotive repairs and service trades in Australia were examined to identify skill shortages in the industry. Special attention was paid to the following items: (1) the industry's demand for skills (employment levels; growth; and prospects); (2) the supply of skills to the industry's existing work force (new apprenticeship patterns and trends; training undertaken through nonapprentice pathways; migration as a source of automotive skills; skills wastage from the automotive occupations); and (3) employers' recent experience of skill shortages (vacancy growth and employers' experiences and perspectives). Skill shortages were reported throughout the automotive repairs and service trades. The reported shortages were attributed not to traditional causes of skill shortage such as high levels of separation from the trades, low take-up of apprentices, or low levels of stock of skills in the work force. Rather, they were attributed to rapid changes in technology and the other skills now required by the sector and the currency of skills in the existing trade work force. It was suggested that the answer to skill shortages in the sector lies as much in recruitment and delivery strategies as in actually replacing and retaining the skills of the existing work force. (Contains 21 tables/figures/boxes.) (MN)