Understanding the Middle-Skill Workforce in the Connected & Automated Vehicle Sector

Abstract

The movement of people and goods – the mobility industry – is rapidly expanding and evolving to include new forms of package delivery, mobility as a service (MaaS), the deployment of autonomous vehicles, and more. Within this industry, the connected and automated vehicle (CAV) sector is reimagining how an automobile moves and interacts with its environment. Innovations include new technologies in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), such as predictive control on multi- lane roads, as well as the research and development of driverless vehicles. The testing and design of CAVs are concentrated within Southeast Michigan. The region strongly supports this activity through its combination of public and private automotive research & development centers, test facilities, numerous well-known research universities and community colleges, as well as hundreds of employers in the automotive industry.

This research report explores the workforce supporting CAVs in Southeast Michigan, specifically looking at the development and evolution of middle-skill jobs. While most reports on the CAV sector workforce focus primarily on highly-skilled engineer and design jobs, there is a growing need to understand middle-skill jobs, such as technicians. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, technicians in the automotive industry inspect, maintain, and repair cars and light trucks and work on traditional mechanical systems and increasingly advanced electronic and electrical systems. Technicians in the CAV sector have evolving duties which are rooted in technician responsibilities and are expanding into software, data systems, cyber-security, and systems-level duties, as this report will further explore.