Out with the old, in with the new. It's the motto of today's auto industry that's shifting gears and shifting workers.

"The auto industry has been changing for the last several years in terms of the technology incorporated in vehicles, and now the manufacturers are having to change the workers that they have," said Howard Dillman, chairperson of Transportation Technologies at Lansing Community College.

A recent Center For Automotive Research report says the big three is expected to hire nearly 60,000 salaried and hourly workers by 2011 and nearly 36,000 of those new workers will be hired in Michigan; of the new hires about 9,000 will be for engineering and technical positions.

So, the auto industry is recruiting students like Brandon Post, a second year student at Lansing Community College's Automotive Program who one day hopes to work at General Motors.

"This is new age; electronics," Post said.

Recruiters at General Motors say electronics and engineering skills will be especially important for the future hi-tech workforce that will build cars and GM's Lansing plants.

"It's so important that we have great facilities with great products like we do in Lansing, that they get top technical talent that's able to make sure that we have great quality vehicles coming out of those locations," said Mark Roberts, GM's Director of Talent Acquisition.

As the cars on the assembly line advance for fuel economy and aerodynamics to lower energy consumption, the workforce is trying to catch up. Roberts says Lansing's plants are looking for the likes of manufacturing, electrical and software engineers; capable and competent new workers to handle increasingly complex vehicles.

"We're excited about it and this new group of technical talent we're bringing in will help not only sustain the leadership but even increase it," Roberts said.

So just what will it take to land one of these jobs?

"We're typically looking for undergraduate or graduate engineering types," Roberts said.

But that's just the salaried positions, as for the hourly workers, career experts say companies like GM are stressing a well rounded skill set; from computer literacy to critical thinking that doesn't necessarily mandate post secondary education.

"It's this ability to learn to learn, to work in teams, to problem solve, to think creatively that they're going to be looking for, and you have to have demonstrated that by completing basic education, to read to write to work with computers, if you have education beyond that that's terrific, but I don't think it will be a prerequisite," said Doug Stites of Capital Area Michigan Works.

So for students like Brandon and his classmates testing engines and tuning them for correct speeds; It's those very skills that will take them from the classroom into a career.

"In the future all the stuff you learn here your going to be able to use out in the field, this is what they do," Post said.

Advancement in the auto industry; opportunity for Michigan.