IMI warns of soaring electric vehicle skills gap

New data from the Institute of the Motor Industry has warned the industry is facing a shortfall of 16,000 EV technicians by 2025.

Its latest EV Techsafe certification data has revealed there are now 58,800 EV technicians in the UK. This represents 24% of the workforce.

However, it suggests that demand will outstrip supply when it comes to qualified repairers, with the gap reaching 3,000 technicians by 2031 and escalating to 16,000 five years later.

The data has also revealed a worrying variation in regions, with some parts of the UK experiencing a shortfall significantly more acute than others.

Soaring electric vehicle skills gap

For example, it found there are 18,073 EV trained technicians in the East of England, which represents 9.5% of the workforce. In the West Midlands the proportion is 8.2% (18,428), while in Scotland (12,071) and the South East (22,123) the percentages of EV trained technicians are 7.9% and 6.4%.

However, in the North East there are just 6,367 EV-trained technicians, representing 4.4% of the workforce, and Northern Ireland the percentage is even lower at 3.7%, with just 4,343 technicians now EV-qualified.

Kevin Finn, executive chair at the IMI, said:

“There has been encouraging growth in the number of technicians gaining EV certification so far in 2024. 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.”