Boom (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Students from the wood department at PTS Boom in Antwerp constructed an obstacle course for miniature cars together with the EDUCAM sector organisation. The project aims to make the automotive sector appealing to youth through its creation.
Using funding from EDUCAM, students in the woodworking and automotive technology departments at PTS Boom built a mobile obstacle course for model remote-controlled cars. The project demonstrates automotive technology and career pathways for young people while trying to tackle labour shortages through nationwide STEM events.
Expanding on hands-on education principles, the course will begin at the PTS Boom open day on April 26 and then proceed to technology expos across the Netherlands.
“It was fun. It’s mainly to show people what we do here, and what the possibilities are within the sector”,
Says student Quinten Bril.
“We learn everything about automotive technology here that we can’t learn at home, and that’s how we work on our passion every day. I hope that everyone who has the same interest will follow the training.”
According to the school, there is increasing interest in the training, and that is necessary.
“There is a shortage of workers in our sector. That is why we want to attract young people with this project to follow training in the automotive sector,”
Says Luk Vandenhoeck, project coordinator at sector organisation EDUCAM.
What are the recent automotive market trends and workforce challenges in Belgium?
After facing a decline during COVID-19, the Belgian automotive market experienced major growth in 2023. The Mobility and Transport Ministry, together with the sector federation Febiac, recorded new car registrations in Belgium, demonstrating a 30% surge to 476,675 units, which became the highest figure since 2019 at 550,000 registrations. The market fell to 366,000 registrations in 2022, yet experienced a significant recovery last year.
During 2023, the widespread acceptance of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles became one of the leading industry changes. More than 48% of new car registrations went to electric vehicles, and the remaining 52% was split between plug-in hybrids at 21%, fully electric vehicles at 19.3%, and self-charging hybrids at 7.6%.
The market share for electric vehicles and hybrids increased substantially in 2023, as these vehicles captured nearly 50% of total sales, compared to an average of one-third in earlier years. Petrol vehicles captured 42.4% of the market share, while diesel vehicles fell to 8.9%.
The Belgian automotive market recovery faces a fundamental difficulty, which requires dealing with the skilled workforce shortage. Sector organisations and educational institutions identify this workforce shortage as a major issue, leading them to implement the PTS Boom obstacle course project to find and train new talent for automotive technology positions.
