Aftermarket October 2022

W ith universities starting back in late September, over the last couple of weeks hundreds of thousands of young people have been streaming into an array of educational institutions across the country, in what is the biggest internal migration in the UK, and it happens every year. While this is seen as a rite of passage, the game has changed over the years. Today, most of those who take on higher education will be accruing huge debts in the process, with little to show for it at the end except for a piece of paper to hang on the wall, and the prospect of throwing themselves into the merciless bearpit that is the graduate jobs market. Some of us still have the scars 20- plus years later. Meanwhile, it could hardly have escaped your attention that this sector is running with a skills shortage. The industry offers many opportunities, but we seem to struggle with an image problem, and perhaps a lack of understanding on the parts of those who could come in over what we can offer. In fact, we are losing people, as techs get tired of the lack of opportunity for advancement, and low pay. What can be done to boost entrance into the sector? Equally, how can we get people to remain in the industry? Shrinking workforce IMI CEO Steve Nash said: “Our industry faces its biggest skills challenge of the last two decades. While we’ve been lobbying to address the shortage in qualified EV technicians, our latest Automotive Sector Employment report worryingly showed that the UK’s lack of EV skills are just the tip of the iceberg. A culmination of the EV revolution, the pandemic, decreased immigration and fewer people of working age, are exacerbating a skills crisis that, in truth, began many years ago. Alarmingly, our new data predicts that there will be a staggering 160,000 open vacancies in our sector by 2031. The role most in demand is the vehicle technician, which accounts for 16% of those predicted vacancies. “An ageing population is, of course, a significant contributor to the dilemma and that brings into sharp focus the job, as a sector, we need to do to attract young blood. To understand why we are failing to attract youngsters starting their career journey, we conducted a ‘Perception of the Automotive Sector’ survey as part of our Diversity Task Force project last year. The results are interesting and concerning in equal measure, but definitely provide some useful steers for what the industry needs to do to bring in the next generation. “Over 1,600 school-aged children and young people from schools and colleges across the UK and 448 youth influencers, including career professionals, participated in the research. Over half of 16-18 year olds said they had a clear career plan, with those aged 11-16 saying they are particularly concerned about making the world a better place with comments made about improving the environment, better safety in the automotive sector and 8 AFTERMARKET OCTOBER 2022 BIG ISSUE www.aftermarketonline.net NICE WORK, IF YOU CAN GIVE IT? With higher education a costly business, why is the automotive sector still not able to attract people into the industry or keep them?