Talent: Mexico’s Advantage in North America’s Auto Sector
STORY INLINE POST
By Francisco Nicolas Gonzalez | Executive President -
Tue, 08/26/2025 - 06:00
In every industrial transformation, the engines of change have been capital, technology, and strategic policies. However, in the current reindustrialization process driven by the United States, there is a factor emerging as the true catalyst for success: human capital.
Replacing the plants installed in Mexico and Canada with new operations on US soil would require more than infrastructure, investment, and time. It would demand a volume of technical talent that simply does not exist at such a scale in the United States today — and that would be extremely difficult to generate in the short term.
The United States' bet to reindustrialize its economy in strategic sectors is bold, but it will not be sustainable if it omits the most critical variable: people.
This talent shortage is not exclusive to the United States; it is a global phenomenon affecting nearly three out of every four employers worldwide[1] — a percentage that has grown rapidly in recent years. Between 2024 and 2033, US manufacturing will require 3.8 million new workers. Half of those positions — 1.9 million — could remain unfilled due to a lack of skills and applicants.[2]
These figures are not mere statistics. They represent the pulse of an industry that needs hands and minds that simply do not exist today at the necessary scale. Factors such as an aging population, declining labor participation, and high turnover rates worsen the situation. And while higher wages could attract local talent, this would cast doubt on competitiveness against regions with lower labor costs and readily available talent.
To this challenge we must add the accelerated transformation of job profiles. In advanced manufacturing, an estimated 40% of the skills required will change in the next five years[3], making it essential to anticipate needs, update training programs, and ensure that human capital can adapt to constantly evolving technologies and methods. The transition toward Industry 4.0 requires digital competencies, critical thinking, and leadership, as well as skills in simulation, enterprise information management, and cloud computing[4].
Mexico has a median age of 29[5] — compared to 38 in the United States[6] and 40 in China[7] — and adds nearly 2 million young people to the labor market each year, ready to be trained and specialized[8]. Our technical and professional education system produces around 400,000 technical graduates annually, the highest figure in the OECD[9], and more than 13,000 university graduates in fields directly linked to the automotive industry[10]. Of public university graduates, 37.5% belong to STEM areas[11], expanding the skills base in engineering, manufacturing, and information technologies.
This talent is the result of coordinated efforts between industry, academia, and government authorities. The Educational Council for Productive Transformation and Innovation (CETPI), made up of the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) and the Ministry of Economy, in coordination with INA, updates curricula, defines priority competencies, and strengthens schemes such as dual education and micro-credentials to align training with the sector’s needs.
Currently, 402 higher education institutions in Mexico offer 1,106 professional programs linked to this industry, with an enrollment of 115,519 students, more than half of them in the country’s central region[12]. This is complemented by upper secondary programs ranging from automotive mechanics and maintenance to electromobility engineering.
In the 2022–2023 academic cycle, more than 21,000 students participated in dual training programs with over 4,000 companies; 40% were women, reflecting progress in industrial inclusion. Eighty-one percent of companies agreed that graduates’ competencies meet market demands, confirming that Mexican talent development responds to the industry’s real requirements.[13]
North American integration is not limited to the exchange of goods; above all, it is an exchange of capabilities that sustains jobs on both sides of the border. Every production line operating in Guanajuato, Puebla, Coahuila, or Aguascalientes supports the continuity of plants in Michigan, Ontario, or Tennessee. In this sense, Mexican human capital is an indispensable condition for the success of the regional automotive industry.
Faced with a demanding environment — technological transition, new regulations, more complex supply chains — certainty is built by people. That is why strategy should not be measured solely in square meters, but in learning hours, credentials, standards, and career paths.
Without specialized talent, there is no production. Without production, there is no integration. And without integration, North America’s competitiveness weakens against regions advancing with scale and specialization, such as Asia.
Because what truly fills production lines is not bricks or steel, but people with experience, knowledge, and vision for the future. Investing in their training is the way to ensure that North America’s competitiveness does not stall. As Benjamin Franklin said: “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Today, much of that investment — and the region’s industrial future — is being shaped in Mexico.
Sources:
[1] Escasez mundial de talento 2025, ManPower Group.
[2] Deloitte analysis of data from US Bureau of Labor Statistics and estimates of private investments from Invest.gov.
[3] https://themanufacturinginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Digital_Skills_Report_April_2024.pdf
[4] https://themanufacturinginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Digital_Skills_Report_April_2024.pdf
[5] https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/947099/Talento_mexicano_2da_edicion.pdf
[6] https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/?=___psv__p_5267205__t_w_&ref=popsugar.com
https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2024-united-states-of-america
[7] https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/china-demographics/
https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2025-china
[8] https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/828154/talento-mexicano_esp.pdf
[9] https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/828154/talento-mexicano_esp.pdf
[10] https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/828154/talento-mexicano_esp.pdf
[11] https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/828154/talento-mexicano_esp.pdf
[12] Secretaría de Educación Pública
[13] https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/947099/Talento_mexicano_2da_edicion.pdf
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