With staff shortages a major limitation to the growth of garages up and down the country, a number of creative approaches have been suggested to fill the staffing gap. For its part, the Lincoln branch of garage chain IN‘n’OUT Autocentres has become the latest workshop to tackle its own shortage by taking on a technician from India through Easy2Recruit.
Support for 18 to 21-year-olds in education and employment through a proposed government Youth Guarantee could help alleviate the skills crisis in the automotive aftermarket according to Easy2Recruit. However, the agency helping garages hire overseas talent believes industry backing will be crucial for this to make a difference to the ongoing skills crisis affecting the garage sector.
In the 2024 Budget, the UK government earmarked a £2 billion investment to assist the automotive sector’s transition to full electrification. Easy2Recruit, an agency helping garages hire overseas talent, said investment in overall training will need to increase if the skills crisis is to end. It called such an investment the key to sustainable growth. The chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the £2 billion investment as part of the government’s modern industry strategy in her first Budget.
The launch of Skills England by the Prime Minister and Education Secretary on 22 July has been hailed as a positive move by automotive sector recruiter Easy2Recruit. However, CEO and founder Ambi Singh 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.
An agency helping garages hire overseas talent will exhibit at the UK Garage and Bodyshop Event (UKGBE) (5-6 June at the NEC Birmingham, Stand F4). The Easy2Recruit team will explain how sourcing overseas talent can help the automotive aftermarket address the skills crisis. The agency launched in June 2023.
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