A year to remember

It was a memorable year for the IMI and our members and I hope you can reflect proudly on your achievements in 2022 and be confident about the year ahead.

I’m pleased to say, the IMI now has more than 90.000 members in 65-plus countries. Student and apprenticeship numbers are rising, and IMI TechSafe is now the de facto licence to practise for technicians working on electric and connected vehicles.

I wanted to finished the year with an overview of where the IMI will be focussing our attention in 2023.

Opening up the sector

The IMI Diversity Task Force Report, released in March 2022, proved once and for all that automotive lags other industries when it comes to diversity – but it also showed the gains to be made if we start embracing diversity. In 2023 I encourage every IMI member to absorb our key recommendations: put diversity and inclusion on your agenda; get good data; start making small changes; review your operations through a diversity and inclusion lens; and be proud about doing all this.

Filling skills gaps

It’s an incredibly tight labour market and there are record vacancy numbers in the automotive sector – 20,000-plus at current estimates. But there are ways to address this. Just look at the class of 2022 IMI Skills Competitions finalists. Shouldn’t you be hiring from a real variety of backgrounds, and from groups that are generally under-represented in automotive? The scarcity of talent across all sectors is here for the long-term according to the CBI, so no avenues should be closed or restricted for anyone, from any background to come into automotive.

PS: it won’t be long until the engine’s running on the next competition, so keep an eye on the IMI Skills Competitions’ website if you think you’ve got what it takes, or know someone who does.

Inspiring the next generation

How do we inspire young people (especially those under 14) about a career in this industry? Let me introduce you to Jai Mistry from West Yorkshire. Jai won this year’s IMI Business Studies Competition to design the vehicle of the future. We ran the competition with our partners at Sytner Group.

You can read more about Jai’s design (codenamed CaSE) in the latest MotorPro magazine where we explore how to get a new generation of talent excited about a career in automotive.

I hope you have a good holiday season. The IMI offices are closed from 23 December, but we’re back from 3 January. Please get in touch on +44 (0)1992 519025, or send an email to hello@theimi.org.uk

With my very best wishes

Steve