Aftermarket December/January 2023

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2023 AFTERMARKET 47 Continuous professional development As IMI Head of Membership Products and Services Mark Armitage observed, making sure staff are receiving the right level of training can give businesses a competitive edge: “According to recent IMI data, an aging population, decreased immigration and the green agenda are creating a major skills challenge for the automotive labour market, with predictions that 160,000 vacancies in the sector will need filling by 2031. The role most in demand will be the vehicle technician, which will account for 16% of vacancies. It’s a daunting prospect but the reality is this ever-widening skills gap also presents an enormous opportunity for those already in the sector. Add to the skills of your workforce and you can put the business in an incredibly strong position for the future. One of the big challenges right now is how to balance skills development with the investment in cost and time. “Underpinning everything the IMI does in terms of skills development is the understanding that continuous professional development must fit into an already busy work schedule. Delivering courses online – many of which include free introductory tasters – is critical, combined with accessibility from a wide network of approved centres for the hands-on training that is fundamental to achieving consumer confidence in our sector. “The IMI is also focused on helping businesses maximise any Apprenticeship Levy funding and the wider opportunity of government-funded training for an organisation’s current and future workforce. The return on investment of apprentices in an automotive business have been well proven and certainly makes sense given the loss of the workforce at the other end of the funnel.” Making sure a business is future-proofed for the next generation of automotive technology is the other key factor in investing in skills development, as Mark observed: “ADAS, connected and autonomous motoring, as well as electric, are rapidly evolving and next year will see an even greater presence of vehicles encompassing these technologies – all of which the motoring public must have confidence in. IMI TechSafe provides the qualifications for technicians to work safely on all the new and emerging technologies and there is no time to waste to ensure the automotive workforce is ready. With a forecast of 90,000 for the right number of IMI TechSafe qualified technicians to work with electric vehicles by 2030, we currently expect a shortfall between electric vehicles on UK roads and the sufficient number of approved technicians to service, repair and MOT them by 2027. For the businesses that can get on this path now, the opportunities will be immense.” Develop and retain Colin Gleghorn, Managing Director, Autotech Training commented: “The IMI’s last Automotive Sector Employment report warned that, despite employers rising to the challenge and sending their vehicle technicians on EV training courses – a lack of EV skills is just the tip of the iceberg. Training across all areas needs to be put into high gear. Vehicle technician positions are expected to make up to 16% of the anticipated 160,000 vacancies the sector will need filling by 2031. There is no doubt that recruitment is getting harder, and while emphasis needs to be placed on harnessing a new generation of talent and taking a fresh approach to recruitment to widen the net, an automotive employer needs to ensure that its existing workforce is retained. “ According to Colin, investment in training should be a must for businesses: “Taking a more strategic view of training will help bring about a culture of people development and retention – it should be planned as a KPI and budgeted for. Training can take the form of many guises, from in-house mentoring to online training platforms and while research suggests that using highly- experienced training experts will ensure skills are retained and put into practice more – it doesn’t need to cause a significant impact in terms of business downtime and expenses.” Training paths How you structure training is as important as what you undertake. According to Delphi Technologies Aftermarket, more than 70% of those taking training via the company are following a clearly defined path, with successful participants set to achieve industry- recognised qualifications from an IMI-accredited framework. Delphi Technologies delivers a range of training paths to the aftermarket including for Service Technician, Diagnostic Technician, and Master Technician, and many more. Luke Garratt, UK Technical Services Manager, Delphi Technologies Aftermarket explained the benefit of this approach: “It’s harder than ever for independent garages to find and retain good staff, so access to training paths is a great way to demonstrate that the business is looking towards the future and wishes to engage with an individual about their career progression. Enrolling personnel onto a structured training path, which can progress over several years, illustrates to the staff member how important they are to the business, while also ensuring that the company benefits from increased standards and, the plugging of any gaps and knowledge in its skillset. With the automotive industry now going through a rapid period of unprecedented change, it’s incredibly important that even the smallest garages can cater for the changes in vehicles if they are to futureproof their business.” Delphi Technologies is an advocate of blended learning, combining online and practical training. With this in mind Delphi Training Academy – the company’s online learning resource – continues to change with the times so the Workshop owners who support their staff with ongoing training…will be the ones that will secure the future of the independent sector ” Below: Training seminar with young future technicians