DRIVE35 ignores aftermarket skills, warns IMI
The Institute of the Motor Industry has urged the government to include collision repair skills as part of its DRIVE35 initiative.
DRIVE35 is a £4bn funding programme for the automotive industry. It aims to drive innovation in electric vehicles, battery technology, and recycling.
However, the IMI has warned that without investment in skills as well manufacturing and development, the government’s vision for the automotive sector could fail.
Nick Connor, CEO of the IMI said: “There appears to be a continued myopic view of the automotive industry, with manufacturing and the associated supply chain receiving all the attention. Yet again, there’s no recognition that there needs to be a skilled workforce to service and maintain the new automotive technologies.
“We were encouraged by the announcement made by Andy Burnham when he first took office that his government would focus on vocational and technical skills. But we remain concerned that there is a misunderstanding about the scale of the automotive skills gap beyond the factory gates – and how this could seriously undermine the government’s ambitions.
“It is critical for road safety – and for a fairly priced automotive market – that there is a skilled workforce accessible across the UK.”
The IMI says that without urgent action the automotive skills gap could widen and put motorists and technicians at risk.
It is calling for further action to recognise automotive repair skills, such as embedding workforce capability into policy design, supporting large-scale upskilling of the existing workforce, and ensuring clear, recognised competence and safety standards for work on safety-critical, high-risk and security-sensitive vehicle systems across the sector.
Connor said: “Vehicles are changing faster than at any point in history and the people who maintain, repair and recover them must be demonstrably competent.
“With the right investment in people as well as technology, the UK can lead the way, but skills must be treated as a core part of the infrastructure.”
