Opinion 10 www.aftermarketonline.net JUNE 2026 The technician role needs and deserves a rebrand Training investment is not optional Matt Wrankmore, Chief Customer Officer at FixMyCar, explains why he believes training is the most important investment independent workshops can make and outlines options for removing the barriers that make implementation challenging. Vehicle technology is advancing rapidly, particularly with electric-vehicle adoption and increasingly software-driven diagnostics. This has led to demands on technicians shifting faster than traditional training models can keep up. There is good news, though, as it seems auto repair technicians are not resting on their laurels. The IMI’s report from late 2025 shows an increase in auto repair qualifications, up 12% from the previous year. Within our own network, 31% of FixMyCar garages surveyed said they had undertaken some form of formal training in the last 12 months, with EV-related training being the most common. The IMI reported similar findings, highlighting an increase in demand for EV and ADAS skills and projecting that this demand may even outpace the supply of these courses. It’s a very positive sign that there is not only an awareness within the industry of how much is changing, but also a proactivity around keeping up with those changes through training. Despite this, there are still big concerns around skills gaps in auto repair. The same IMI report showed that auto repair apprenticeship starts were down 6% from last year and have still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Our industry’s ageing workforce is discussed often, so these statistics are particularly concerning when new, young talent is so desperately needed. Struggling to keep up Perhaps one of the reasons a career in auto repair is struggling to catch the attention of the younger generation is that, as an industry, we have been slow to embrace digitalisation and keep up with technological change. Advancing tech has outpaced the skills pipeline, and as a result, only a quarter of our workforce is qualified to work on electric vehicles, according to The IMI. Now industry training is struggling to keep up, not only with new technology but also with the demand from a workforce that is realising investment in training is critical. While the rising demand for training in electronic-first courses is positive, we know that independent garages are under immense pressure to meet current demand with recruitment challenges, which makes it difficult to release technicians for time-consuming training sessions, no matter the long-term benefits. Our industry’s current approach to training is reactive, when it needs to be a continuous, strategic investment if we are to solve our current skills gap issue. The commercial impact While the barriers to training and apprenticeships are significant and impacting auto repair’s ability to evolve faster, there are still plenty of great training courses out there for those who want them. We have reached a point where falling behind in skills and training will have a direct commercial impact on workshops. A lack of up-to-date expertise will lead to increasingly inefficient work and longer repair times. Lacking proficiency in advanced diagnostic tools, which are increasingly common in cars, means that they will be filling your bays for longer, creating bottlenecks that cost you time and money. There are also significant missed revenue opportunities as modern, complex vehicles require this specialised knowledge, without which you may miss out altogether or have to outsource the work, reducing profit margins. Matt Wrankmore is the Chief Customer Officer at FixMyCar.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ0NzM=