Vacancies in aftersales are highlighting the rising want for technicians, mechanics and electricians certified to work on EVs

The newest report from the Institute of the Motor Trade (IMI) exhibits that the automotive aftermarket continues to face a number of challenges throughout the employment panorama.

Publish-pandemic restoration patterns, technological advances and altering buyer behaviour are all contributing to emptiness charges bucking the nationwide development and remaining excessive at a charge of 4.3 vacancies for each 100 staff. The speed is 43% above the typical for all sectors.

Because the IMI’s UK Automotive Emptiness Overview report confirms, solely the hospitality sector has a better emptiness charge and that sector is seeing important enhancements in recruitment which suggests its emptiness charges are prone to fall beneath that of automotive inside the subsequent few months.

Steve Nash, CEO on the IMI commented: “The hole between vacancies in automotive and all different UK sectors highlights the multitude of distinctive and ongoing challenges we face. With our sector at the moment going through round 23,000 vacancies, it’s vital that every thing is finished to encourage extra job seekers to contemplate a task in automotive.

“The IMI’s ‘There’s Extra to Motor’ marketing campaign is already spreading the phrase in regards to the wide selection of alternatives for college leavers, apprentices and profession changers. Since launching final Summer season, we have now already reached tens of millions of people, lots of whom have by no means held an automotive position. Nevertheless, the truth is that, even with such a excessive degree of success, it takes time for that to translate into lowering the emptiness charge.”

The IMI believes the shift in automotive expertise – EVs and ADAS – has additionally intensified the challenges confronted by the sector, with 52% of job postings in January 2024 in search of Car Technicians, Mechanics, and Electricians.

Emma Carrigy, analysis supervisor on the IMI, added: “The correlation between tendencies in emptiness charges and job postings within the sector illustrates a posh state of affairs, outlined by technological evolution, shifting shopper preferences, and the continued problem of bridging the talents hole. Automotive is in transition, in search of to deal with the talents hole and adapt to future mobility wants concurrently, to keep up a profitable and thriving workforce and prosper on this new panorama.”