Female mechanics on the rise

Online car garage and repair marketplace, WhoCanFixMyCar.com, has revealed that the number of female mechanics working in the UK has risen by 125% since 2011, and now accounts for almost 10% of the workforce.

The site will be launching a female mechanic awareness scheme in partnership with its garages, to celebrate International Women’s Day and encourage more women into the field.

WhoCanFixMyCar.com asked its garage network if they employed any women as mechanics, and if so how many. Almost a tenth (nine per cent) of the garages and repair centres answered that they employ a female mechanic, compared to just under four per cent in 2011.

93% of garages surveyed indicated a positive impact from their female mechanic team, demonstrating the value of female mechanics.

In response to the survey results and to coincide with International Women’s Day on the 8th March, WhoCanFixMyCar.com will be launching an awareness scheme for young girls and women, by working with its network of 11,000 garages to find them opportunities.

Alistair Preston, co-founder of WhoCanFixMyCar.com, said, ‘A recent statistic showed that there are now more female drivers on the road than male in the UK, so I’m not surprised to see that the number of female mechanics is also growing – it’s something we’re delighted to see and it should be actively encouraged.

‘We also see time and time again that key decision makers within these businesses are female. They are helping support and grow these businesses as much as anybody.

‘What our research shows is that change is happening. There is absolutely no reason why women can’t forge a great career within the industry, they just need the opportunity and encouragement, which is why we’re working with the garages on our platform to employ female apprentices.

‘We’re confident that with this approach, in another couple of years we’ll see the number of female mechanics increase again’.