Shortage of EV trained garage staff predicted as ICE ban draws closer

There are almost 59,000 garage technicians now qualified to work on electric cars in the UK, but industry body, the Institute of the Motor Industry, predicts we’ll face a shortage of EV techs by 2030. 

By 2035, and based on the forecast increase in numbers of EVs on the road, that shortfall is expected to rise to 16,000 unless steps are taken to ramp up training. As it stands, the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars remains scheduled for 2035, although the new Labour Government did pledge to revert to the previous 2030 enforcement date in the run up to the general election. 

Around 24 per cent of workshop staff are currently accredited by the IMI to work safely with electric cars but the organisation which oversees industry training says there’s a postcode lottery when it comes to finding expert EV technicians in your local area. And the figures don’t correlate to numbers of EVs on the road either. In London and the South East, where 5.9 per cent of all cars are plug-in EVs, just 6.1 per cent of techs are EV trained.

The east of England has the highest rate of trained techs at 9.5 per cent, followed by the West Midlands and Scotland with 8.2 and 7.9 per cent respectively.

“There has been encouraging growth in the number of technicians gaining EV certification so far in 2024”, says Kevin Finn, executive chair at the IMI. “However, with the expected reinstatement of the 2030 ICE ban deadline by the new government, the skills gap remains. Automotive businesses urgently need to prioritise training more technicians so that the expected rising number of EV owners can find a local technician qualified to work safely on their vehicle.”

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