How far would you go to keep your skills up to date?

The shift to electric is changing the automotive industry. And while private sales of vehicles continue to climb, fleets are also part of the change. But that’s bringing new challenges to those that have to maintain them.

During the process of electrifying its fleet of over 320 vehicles, the Shetland Islands Council recognised that their cohort of vehicle technicians needed essential EV training to manage the transition.

For a community that is 100 miles north east of Scotland, it can make finding the right training provider difficult. Challenges included the expense of sending its eight vehicle technicians over to the mainland for training or finding a provider who could travel the distance to deliver EV training courses directly to its vehicle technicians.

“Currently, we have around 20 electric vehicles within our fleet,” says Raymond Murchison, acting Team Leader of Fleet for Shetland Islands Council. “However, as with all local authorities across the UK, we are working towards electrifying our entire fleet and one of the key requirements was to ensure that our vehicles technicians held the relevant skill set to repair and maintain these vehicles safely.”

Without this specialist training, the electric vehicles would have to be sent to Aberdeen for routine maintenance and repair work – which can be a 24 hour round trip.

Struggling to find a solution, Raymond contacted Autotech Training. Based in Milton Keynes, the company is an IMI approved training provider and offers a range of courses including IMI Levels 1-4 electric/hybrid vehicle training and, most recently IMI Levels 1-3 Heavy Vehicle electric/hybrid courses.

For Murchison and his colleagues, although Autotech Training offers its courses at its headquarters, it’s also willing to travel. Something more training centres are now offering and AutoTech is embracing. This year alone over 60% of courses have been delivered on a customer’s premises.

“Above all, we understand the challenges our customers face,” says Colin Gleghorn, Managing Director of Autotech Training. “From the downtime and cost to the business as a result of sending essential staff out for even just one day’s training, to the overall investment in travel and accommodation expenses.”

It wasn’t Gleghorn who made the 1,600 mile round trip to meet the Shetland Islands Council’s EV training needs, but Dave Walker, Business Development Director for Autotech Training.

Delivering both IMI Levels 2 and 3 electric and hybrid vehicle training over four days in the council’s dedicated Lerwick workshop, Walker equipped the eight vehicle technicians with the skills needed to help the council continue its electric vehicle transition.

“We have been delighted with the entire process,” Murchison says. “The electric vehicles we currently have include both cars and vans for the support we offer our care centres. Our technicians now have the skill set to safely maintain our fleet as the number of electric vehicles increases.”

The adaptability of training centres will be key to rolling out the skills technicians – and others – need as the country’s vehicle parc is electrified. But the onus is also on businesses to invest in their staff, and look at how best to upskill employees so they’re ready for the future.

Thought maybe not every provider will have to travel 1,600 miles to deliver courses.

Find out more about the IMI’s EV qualifications and supercharge your career ready for the future