The critical need to invest in skills

Thanks to the automated vehicles bill, there’s now a pathway in place to help bring autonomous vehicles to the UK’s roads. That’s great for the country and the automotive industry as everyone wants to be at the forefront of this exciting new technology.

The new legislation addresses the liability issues of automated vehicles for manufacturers and insurers, and provides a clear direction for the introduction of this new mobility form that could empower millions of people.

But alongside the opportunities it opens up come challenges that need to be addressed. New IMI data shows that advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) upskilling is not currently keeping pace with Level 2 autonomy in the UK car parc, which rings an orchestra of alarm bells for a safe future full of fully automated vehicles.

Risk and reward

At the end of March 2024, there were 4,150 technicians qualified to work on vehicles with Level 2 autonomy, which represents just 2% of all UK technicians. Level 2 autonomy is the precursor to fully automated vehicles and 12% of the UK car parc currently features some form of ADAS.

So even before fully automated vehicles become available, there is a serious road safety risk. While the government has been moving forward with the new legislation, there’s plenty of work to be done to ensure that funding is available for the upskilling
required to work on and calibrate automated vehicles for safe use.

Automotive is used to adapting – the dealers, workshops and technicians that maintain and repair vehicles have adjusted to new technologies and approaches many times before. However, the rapidly growing parc of vehicles fitted with ADAS is putting further pressure on a sector that’s already facing a significant skills gap.

We expect half the vehicles on the road to feature ADAS as soon as 2032, but at the current rate of certification, this will represent a significant and dangerous skills gap for the industry. And that’s even before we think about the introduction of fully automated vehicles. To ensure checks are carried out accurately, we desperately need more technicians to be trained to work on vehicles with ADAS technology.

The IMI’s role

At the IMI, we are doing our part. We launched Level 2 and Level 3 ADAS qualifications in 2022, while the IMI TechSafe recognition programme provides independent assessment and recognition of the technical competence of technicians
working in the UK automotive sector. IMI TechSafe identifies a member’s professionalism and safe working practice in the field of electric vehicles and other safety-critical vehicle systems such as autonomous or ADAS.

But with so few technicians up to speed with ADAS training, it’s critical that if the government wants autonomous vehicles to be a successful and effective part of the mobility ecosystem, it needs to invest in the skills required to keep them roadworthy.
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If you have a question for the IMI, email james.scoltock@thinkpublishing.co.uk

This is an edited extract from IMI's new MotorPro magazine, received free as part of IMI membership.