The UK government has launched its Skills England body, with the Prime Minister hoping that it will bring together the ‘fractured skills landscape’ in the country.
First announced in the Kings Speech in mid-July, the setting up of a dedicated plan to build skills for a number of industries has been welcomed by the UK automotive industry, including the aftermarket.
With job vacancies rising, and a need for apprentices to both enter the sector and be valued, it is hoped that Skills England will play a vital role in securing the future of the market.
However, while hailing the establishment of Skills England as a positive move, Ambi Singh, CEO and founder of automotive sector recruiter Easy2Recruit, is reminding the garage sector that ramping up apprenticeships will take time, and that the sector will need to look more widely to fill staffing shortages for some time to come.
“With the automotive sector facing an every-growing staff shortages alongside many other industries, the Government’s speed in launching Skills England so soon should be lauded,” said Singh, “but this is no quick fix; we cannot expect this new organisation to be able to immediately correct decades of drift on the skills front.”
Phased introduction for Skills England
Skills England will be set up in phases over the next year. Its role will be to pinpoint the training for which Apprenticeship Levy funding will be available. The new body will replace the existing Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson described the current skills system as “fragmented and broken.”
“From construction to IT, healthcare to engineering, our success as a country depends on delivering highly skilled workforces for the long-term,” added Prime Minister Kier Starmer. “Skills England will put in place the framework needed to achieve that goal while reducing our reliance on workers from overseas.”
The organisation will identify the training for which the growth and skills levy will be accessible, giving businesses more flexibility to spend levy funds on training for the skills they need.
Overseas skills still needed
Once set up, Skills England will work alongside the Migration Advisory Committee to identify where skills are required to cut down on the need to bring in overseas workers.
“There needs to be a range of recruitment options available,” said Singh. “Garages are increasingly looking overseas to fill technician roles for the simple reason that there are not enough mechanics available in the UK.”
Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) figures suggest the automotive sector faces a 160,000 staff shortfall by 2030, with many of these being vehicle technicians. Another IMI study pointed towards the fact that the vacancy rate in the motor trade is currently running at its highest point in 21 years, with 5.1 jobs out of every 100 vacant.
“It will take a long time to nurture a new generation of technicians,” said Ambi, “and until the apprenticeship system is functioning properly again, garages will need to source some staff from overseas.”
Following the General Election, Easy2Recruit wrote to the new Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, urging her to ease the growing skills crisis in the garage sector by adding mechanics and bodyshop technicians to the Immigration Salary List, the official list of skilled jobs for which workers are deemed to be in short supply.
