UK facing electric car technician shortage unless government acts

The Labour government’s new training strategy body Skills England is being petitioned to urgently address a looming skills shortage in the electric car repair sector.

Thatcham Research, the UK-based not-for-profit organisation that leads on automotive safety, security and repair, recently produced a report outlining a risk of “rising insurance costs and the emergence of unrepairable vehicles” if the skills crisis is not sorted.

Thatcham says the backdrop of increasing vehicle complexity, driven by the auto industry’s focus on automation, connectivity and electrification, is exacerbating a critical shortage of training that’s widely blamed on limits to available funding for apprenticeships. 

The previous government’s Apprenticeship Levy means that all companies with an annual wage bill of more than £3 million must cough up 0.5 percent of their monthly payroll as tax, which the government redistributes through grants to fund apprenticeships. However the payouts are limited to £15,000 per apprentice, which Thatcham maintains is insufficient to cover the cost of training to the increasingly complex technical standards now required.

“The automotive sector is facing a perfect storm of rapid technological change, a reduction in upskilling and recruitment, and an ageing workforce,” says Thatcham chief executive Jonathan Hewett. “Revisions to apprenticeship levy funding must be addressed as a priority by Skills England and IfATE [the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education], unlocking funding to deliver much-needed technical training to the repair sector.” 

The organisation predicts that if Skills England – which takes over control of the Apprenticeship Levy from IfATE via a bill announced in July – fails to immediately increase the funding cap by 20 percent, and subsequently fails to keep abreast of inflation, the consequences will be dire.

“The new Labour government must ensure that upskilling within the automotive sector is a priority, if the UK is to realise the benefits of assisted and automated driving and achieve crucial Net Zero targets,” says Hewett. 

“Without a robust and qualified technical workforce in our repair sector, the UK will also be at risk of increased insurance premiums and the emergence of the ‘throwaway vehicle’.”

Thatcham is encouraging everyone throughout the UK auto repair supply chain to sign its petition, and demonstrate support for change to the apprenticeship levy.

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