The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has published a new report highlighting the dip in training and education across the automotive industry since the pandemic.
Its research has found that automotive apprentices have risen 12% so far this year, but are still eight per cent below 2019/2020 levels and 31% below what they were in 2018/2019.
Further, it has found a seven per cent drop in vocational qualifications compared to last year.
Emma Carrigy, Research and Insights Manager at the IMI, said, “It is encouraging to see that automotive employers are working hard to bring new talent into the sector, compared to the same period in the last academic year. Indeed, we are among the few sectors that have actually seen an upturn in apprenticeship start numbers year-on-year.
“However, our data shows that automotive employers are lagging behind other sectors when it comes to using levy funding. This seems to be a huge missed opportunity particularly when inflationary pressures ae so challenging. So far for the 2022-23 academic year, 59% of automotive apprentices are levy funded compared to 67% across all sectors.”
