Demand for EV technicians intensifies

Vehicle technicians not trained to service electric vehicles (EVs) could be putting themselves at risk, warns Autotech Recruit, as the gap between the number of EVs entering the market, and technicians fully trained to service them, widens.

Autotech Recruit has witnessed a rise in demand for temporary technicians trained in electric vehicles.

‘Over the last 12 months alone, demand for EV trained technicians has risen significantly.’ Explained Autotech Recruit MD Gavin White. ‘However, this increase is largely unsurprising when you see the jump in numbers of electric and hybrid vehicles on the road today.’

While electric vehicles still only represent around 2 per cent of total light-duty vehicles on the road, sales in the last five years have risen by 97% with 200,000 vehicles expected on the road by the end of this year.

However, while manufacturers of EVs are beginning to push the dealerships to send its technicians on relevant EV training courses, many independent garages are either shying away from servicing these types of vehicles or bringing in temporary technicians who can.

Gavin continued, ‘It’s only a matter of time before somebody, without the right knowledge, puts a spanner in a high voltage area. Therefore we, as an industry, have a duty of care to not only ensure the safety of our vehicle technicians through training, but that our independent garages are fully proficient to deal with the inevitable influx.’