Steve Nash, CEO of the Institute of the Motor Industry wonders why people don’t want to work in the automotive sector. This follows a study from the Automotive Industrial Partnership and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders* which revealed that Britain’s carmakers are struggling to fill 5,000 positions because of a skills shortage.
The IMI, which represents people who work in the retail arm of the automotive industry – the car dealers, servicing and repair garages – is seeing an equally challenging picture.
“The retail motor industry offers immense potential for individuals across a broad spectrum of skills, from engineers and mechanics to business development and sales people” said Steve Nash.
“But we are hearing that there is a real difficulty in recruitment. Yet the industry is probably currently one of the most successful in the UK economy. The blinkered view of working in the motor trade has to be changed.”
The IMI has identified five reasons why the retail motor industry is a good sector in which to work:
- It’s growing – 1.59m cars made in 2015 – 10 year high; 2.9% year on year increase in new car sales, reaching an 11-year high of 169,678 units
- It is a competitive payer with good rewards
- It invests hugely in people development – in excess of £100m per annum
- It’s at the forefront of new technology – the motor industry is leading the way in technologies that will improve consumer mobility whilst tackling environmental concern, including autonomous and electric cars, etc
- Millions of pounds is invested in customer service every year
The IMI represents the £152 billion a year retail motor industry, which needs 12,000 apprentices a year to stand still.
