New government: Education impact

Education is critical to the automotive industry. Without new talent and skills feeding into sector the vacancy rate is likely to stay stubbornly high. The latest IMI research shows that the motor trade has consistently held the highest vacancy rates in the UK, sharing this position with the hospitality sector.

The government’s approach to education will have an enormous impact on automotive’s success and helping to reduce the 22,000 job openings and close the skills gap. So, what’s the plan?

Automotive’s importance

In the build-up to the general election, Labour put automotive at the heart of its manifesto, drawing up a plan for the sector and using IMI data to highlight the crucial need to help make it a success. The important pull out quote from the election material was ‘The Institute for the Motor Industry estimates that a skills gap is expected to materialise by 2027, creating a shortfall of 25,100 EV-trained TechSafe technicians by 2030.’

The government is promising to fix the apprenticeship levy and create Skills England which will work hand in hand with industry and trade unions. It also wants replace the Apprenticeship Levy with a Growth and Skills Levy giving businesses flexibility to access a wider range of training courses. This could allow automotive businesses to spend their levy funds to deliver apprenticeship programmes while also accessing modular training to equip existing staff with the skills they will need for the future.

Reworking further education

Apprenticeships are a cornerstone of the automotive sector, and the pipeline of talent they produce are a lifeline for businesses. The Labour government’s creation of Skills England could be key to making sure apprentices remain core to the sector.

Skills England will bring together business, training providers and unions with national and local governments. It’ll also work with the Migration Advisory Committee to make sure training in England accounts for the overall needs of the labour market according to Labour.

The government has also said it will devolve adult skills funding to Combined Authorities, giving local leaders to greater control of skills development.

And what about Further Education colleges themselves? The plan is to transform them into specialist Technical Excellence Colleges that will work with businesses, trade unions, and local government to provide young people with better job opportunities through the skills they learn.

Automotive has faced many challenges, shrinking the skills gap is arguably one of its biggest. A new government presents an opportunity to change approaches and try something different. But as with anything, time will tell if the promises and targets set out during an election campaign are met.

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