The Arden University’s 2030 Workforce Report indicates that a total of 1.4 million jobs in the automotive sector could be eradicated by 2030, largely as a result of automation, although it is expected that 44% of the losses (around 610,000) will occur in relation to the wholesale, retail and repair of motor vehicles.
Back in August it was reported that the UK motor industry was heading for a 160,000 worker shortfall by 2031 – which at first seems at odds with the Workforce Report’s findings. While automation may reduce the overall number of automotive-related jobs, the industry requires employees with a different skill set as it embraces technological advances and enters the new electric vehicle-era, with organisations struggling to fill vehicle engineering and software engineering positions in particular.
While stories of prospective job cuts and skills shortages suggest a bleak outlook for the automotive industry, it is not all doom and gloom. Some organisations are glancing across to Europe and beyond to plug the skills shortage gap. Others are adopting a longer-term approach with the introduction of new apprentice programmes, upskilling sessions/courses for existing workers, and the retraining of staff to ensure that they have the relevant skills within their workforce to design, build and service electric vehicles, critical in the coming years as the sector faces the phasing out of petrol and diesel vehicles.
Such measures and opportunities should yield positive returns for the automotive sector and ensure that they have an adaptable workforce with a variety of skillsets at their disposal as required.
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