Industry heading for ‘complete disruption’
Industry Insights has urged the industry as a whole to come together to raise awareness of the bodyshop skills crisis at a high-level AutoRaise event in London.
Steve Thompson,director, Industry Insights and AutoRaise trustee, said, ‘The current issues are an ageing demographic of technicians and attrition from the industry due to retirement – plus the unwelcome news that 50% of apprentices resign due to boredom or disengagement have created this perfect storm.
‘As things stand, if we do nothing, we are heading for complete disruption of motor repair fulfilment by 2030. In an industry that is evolving at a more rapid rate than at anytime since the invention of the motor car. This alone is enough of a challenge.’
At the event Steve explained that fundraising, whilst important, needs to be addressed in conjunction with a wealth of measures such as a move to leverage the innovation and technical elements of the industry to attract young people while improving the image of their industry.
This comes after a report published by the IMI found that just a quarter of parents reported that they would be happy for their child to take the vehicle technician route, compared to 59% who favoured their offspring pursuing an engineering career.
