Report warns on EV technician shortage
Published: 14 December, 2022
Report warns on EV technician shortage
The IGA was consulted during the researching of report by the Social Market Foundation (SMF) that has again highlighted ongoing risks to future mobility if the skills gap around EVs is not closed.
The report ‘A vehicle for change: Upskilling the UK’s technicians to service and repair electric vehicles’ looks at the shift to hybrid and electric vehicles (HEVs), and warns that without government action, there is likely to be a shortfall of25,000 EV trained technicians by 2030. Root causes behind the skills shortage are cited in the report as being the result of recruitment challenges, barriers to reskilling and capital investment constraints.
The increasing computerisation of cars by VMs and efforts to monopolise the aftermarket’ are also cited as ‘key concerns’, with the report recommending a renewed Block Exemption and specific incentives to enable the independent sector to continue to compete on fair terms. More positively however, the EV transition is seen as a “unique opportunity” to create high skilled “green jobs.”
Overall, the report found that the total number of UK technicians has declined by 30% from nearly 203,000 to 141,700 between 2006 and 2021.
IGA Chief Executive Stuart James observed: “The report clearly identifies the central importance of independent garages in ensuring consumers can access good quality cost-effective HEV services as volume grows. The authors have also explicitly recognised the need for policymakers to support UK independent garages.”
He added: “We hope this report can inform policymakers. Government needs to help the sector address the shortfall of skilled technicians as well as investing in the infrastructure to cope with the upcoming EV revolution.”
To view the full report, visit: www.smf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/A-vehicle-for-change-December-2022.pdf
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