Automotive skills shortage exposed in new European report
A new report is calling for urgent action after highlighting the extent of the automotive skills shortage across Europe.
Produced by The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association and talent company Adecco Group, the report claims that digitalisation and electrification have completely changed the skills requirements.
‘The Race to reskill: Speeding up the European automotive workforce transition,’ identifies rapidly increasing demand for software engineering, battery technology and advanced data analytics, but falling demand for traditional skills.
However, it has warned that automotive businesses are not taking the necessary steps to retrain and upskill their workforces.
Skills Toolkit
To address this, it has introduced the Automotive Skills Implementation Toolkit, a practical set of solutions and policy measures designed for immediate application.
It calls on automotive employers to invest in strategic workforce planning and embrace flexible learning, authorities to shift funding from established curricula to clear job transition pathways, and policymakers to develop co-ordinated and stable policies.
Complete transformation
Denis Machuel, chief executive officer of the Adecco Group, said: “The shift from internal combustion to electric vehicles is less an evolution and more a complete transformation of the workforce, and it’s happening at speed.
“Our findings clearly show that the primary barrier isn’t a lack of training content – it’s the operational delivery. If the industry and policymakers don’t move from reactive hiring to proactive, regionally coordinated workforce planning, they risk losing both crucial manufacturing capacity and millions of skilled workers.
“The race is on, but we must align our velocity in the right direction.”
Long-term approach
Sigrid de Vries, director general of ACEA, added: “Europe’s automotive transition is an industrial, skills and competitiveness challenge for the entire ecosystem. Keeping value chains, jobs and innovation anchored in Europe requires a long-term approach that links regions, industry and education through sector-based solutions.
“This landmark analysis provides actionable recommendations to move from reactive responses to proactive workforce planning.
“The next phase must focus on scaling initiatives that can deliver real impact to empower workers through lifelong learning and strengthen regional cooperation, ensuring no region is left behind in the green and digital transition.”
