IMI publishes recycling NOS

The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has published the newly-developed National Occupational Standards (NOS) for vehicle recycling. 

Developed in collaboration with key stakeholders in the vehicle recycling and insurance sector, the new standards focus on the safe dismantling and depollution of all types of vehicles.

It also covers disposal of electric vehicles, providing the sector with a genuinely future-proofed guide to the industry.

Steve Nash, CEO, said: “With environmental sustainability now front of mind for all parts of society, there is a huge opportunity for those working with end-of-life vehicles to go a step further. Giving them the ability to demonstrate the high standards applied through all parts of their operations, the IMI has developed the new standards with specific focus on the Vehicle Dismantler role, including depollution processes and the grading of the ‘green’ parts to be re-used.

“Crucially, we have developed these standards in close collaboration with key stakeholders; including the Vehicle Recyclers Association (VRA) and the British Vehicle Salvage Federation (BVSF), as well as employers, industry experts and other relevant organisations to ensure the NOS are fit for purpose for the current and future shape of automotive recycling. Recognising the workload pressures within the sector, the standards have also been designed to be easy to train, and able to be adopted in bite-sized modules.”

NOS are used to help develop qualifications used in apprenticeship frameworks in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland as well as the IMI accreditation scheme across the UK. The IMI has already set more than 20 NOS for the motor industry.

Nash concluded, “Certification for Vehicle Dismantlers, under the new NOS, will improve the credibility of the sector. Plus, when professionals have clear standards to operate within, the health and safety record of the industry as a whole will be improved.”

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Market Intelligence – 14 April 2022

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ARC360 announces Solera Audatex UK partnership 

I Love Claims (ILC) is delighted to announce that Solera Audatex has joined as ILC Motor Corporate Partner, ARC360 Corporate Partner, and Claims Tech Silver Sponsor. 

Solera Audatex is the global leader in vehicle lifecycle management with AI-enabled technologies providing the most comprehensive collection of vehicle, repair, performance and telematics data in the industry. 

Solera handles more than a million transactions every day for more than 300,000 customers including OEMs, insurers, repairers, salvage yards, fleets and dealerships. 

Mark Hadaway, ILC Managing Director and ARC360 co-founder, said, “Solera Audatex is a global leader in its field and has established a strong reputation for innovation and cutting-edge technology for the benefit of partners and customers alike. 

“We’re proud they have recognised ILC and ARC360 as platforms for open communication and knowledge-sharing for the betterment of the wider industry. We look forward to working with them in the future and sharing their insights with our community through our broad range of media activities.” 

Chris Wright, Regional Vice President, Solera, North Europe, commented: “ILC and ARC360 have a great reputation in the market, providing an open platform for the industry to share expertise, insights and to tackle the challenges of today, by putting technology at the heart of a business strategy.

“At Solera Audatex, we think technology should not be a mountain for the industry to climb, but an intelligent, intuitive assistant that facilitates every stage of the claims and vehicle repair process. We look forward to engaging with ILC, ARC360 and their members to help meet their promise of a better tomorrow.”

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Industry urged to support recruitment petition

The NBRA is supporting a government petition to allow businesses in the automotive industry to recruit workers from overseas to address the growing skills gap in the sector.

The petition has been launched by Ingenia Recruitment with the support of the IMI, and all businesses in the industry have been encouraged to sign it.

Steve Nash, CEO of the IMI, said: “The non-manufacturing side of automotive, which includes the sales and distribution as well as the service and repair networks, employs over 600,000 people in the UK, but is facing unprecedented skills shortages. Currently the sector has over 23,000 vacancies, which equate to four per cent of the workforce. And many of those vacancies are in the technical roles such as light vehicle technicians, HGV technicians and body and paint technicians. These are skilled roles which require extensive training; typically at least three years to become qualified at the minimum level.

“Apprentices have long been the lifeblood of the automotive sector. But the inevitable reductions in the recruitment and training of apprentices resulting from the pandemic have created a shortage of young talent which will take some years to catch up from, despite the fact that employers are recruiting new trainees at record rates. So other solutions must be found and one such solution is for the key automotive technical roles previously mentioned to be added to the UK Government’s Shortage Occupation List, facilitating easier recruitment of talent from abroad. That is why the Institute of the Motor Industry is supporting this petition.”

Chris Weeks, Executive Director, NBRA, said: “The next generation of automotive technicians has grown up in the age of smart technology. Audatex’s training will reveal the growing complexity and technology behind the everyday vehicles we take for granted and hopefully, this will fire their imagination.”

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Repairify launches remote initiative

Repairify UK is launching a new initiative this month that could reduce remote diagnostics, ADAS calibrations, coding and programming prices by as much as 45%.

Available to asTech and RED (EU) customers, the Repairify Remote Services Pledge will see IMI certified and ADAS trained technicians carry out diagnostic scans and resets, and ADAS calibrations according to UK Insurance Industry Requirements.

This enables repairers to benefit from new income streams while at the same time reducing key-to-key times by not outsourcing or hiring subcontractors.

Phil Peace, Managing Director (SVP) International, Repairify, said: “Repairify’s continuous investment in technology development and data acquisition ensures repairers can be confident they are employing the safest, most reliable, and up-to-date ADAS repair solutions available. 

“With the introduction of the Repairify Remote Services Pledge, repair shops can confidently employ the best value, high-quality diagnostics, and ADAS services on the market to meet their repair requirements.”

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Audatex to provide free apprenticeship training

Audatex is offering one apprentice a month a free spot on its AudaEnterpriseGold certification course.

The new initiative is being introduced with the support of the NBRA and automotive apprentice charity AutoRaise.

The two-day, £600 course provides apprentices with AEG certification in vehicle damage assessment and is being introduced to help tackle the crippling skills shortage in the sector. Recruitment was named as the number one challenge for 67% bodyshops in the UK, according to research conducted by the Institute of the Motor Industry, while 40% of workshops say they are too short-staffed to send apprentices on training courses.

Neil Garrett, UK Sales Director, Audatex, said, “We hope this offer of free training for selected apprentices will not only make the candidate better qualified but also help bodyshops send trainees on industry courses in the absence of funding. These apprentices will get an invaluable insight into a career in intelligent technologies as they return to their employers with valuable skills.”

Chris Weeks, NBRA Executive Director, said, “The next generation of automotive technicians has grown up in the age of smart technology. Audatex’s training will reveal the growing complexity and technology behind everyday vehicles we take for granted.”

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Toyota launches new apprenticeship programme

Toyota is introducing a Project Management Degree Apprenticeship programme for UK school leavers, giving them the chance to gain real life experience at Toyota’s Surrey headquarters while studying for a degree.

Offered in partnership with Northumbria University, the four-year apprenticeship is designed so that apprentices can divide their time between office work and virtual academic studies.

Apprentices will work with Toyota’s Data and Insight team to develop project management skills to support improvement of the consumer experience. The programme includes degree apprenticeships, 12-month student placements and an 18-month rotational graduate programme.

Luke Smith, Toyota (GB) Specialist, Talent Acquisition and Experience, said, “This is an opportunity for a school leaver to start their career with a major global player in the automotive industry while studying for a degree. We are very proud of our Emerging Talent schemes and have many examples of team leaders and senior managers who started their careers as students or apprentices.”

Applications are open until 15 April.

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Charity match on course to hit target

The Plunkys All Stars Football Match is on course to raise upwards of £17,000 for Brain Tumour Research.

The match takes place at Peterborough United’s London Road on 24 May and will be followed by a raffle and auction of football memorabilia to raise additional funds.

Steve Plunket, who has organised this charity fundraising event for a number of years, said, “Prior to this year, we raised £54,000 for various charities, which is amazing but we couldn’t do it without all the people who help and donate money to us. Luckily I work with and around some really generous people.”

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet historically just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to the disease. Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK is close to Plunkett’s heart after colleague Mike Yorke and friend Denise Branford were both diagnosed.

He said,“I’m amazed by how well Mike and Denise are doing. They’ve both shown such strength of character, Denise by continuing to teach fitness classes and Mike by hardly having a day off work throughout. Their stories highlight why it’s so important for us to be able to help fund vital research into brain tumours. They are both a real inspiration.”

To support Steve’s efforts please click here visit his fundraising page.

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Fix Chelmsford plans multi-site expansion

Danny Ashwell, Managing Director at Fix Auto Chelmsford, has revealed a programme of expansion that could see his single-site operation quadruple in size within the next four years.

He revealed his intentions after signing the papers to take over a 10,000sqft building which will be transformed into Fix Auto Braintree, a new addition to the Fix Auto UK network.

The new site will be the result of a £230,000 investment but will be the first of two additional developments already in the pipeline.

“We have been planning to increase our repair footprint for several years and have actively been looking for suitable sites,” said Danny, “while we have two other venues that will serve two other areas on our radar, Braintree has come about quickly and has now taken precedent.”

Fix Auto Chelmsford is currently repairing up to 220 vehicles a month. When the Braintree site is fully operational, Danny expects that figure to increase by an additional 150.

Ian Pugh, Fix Auto UK’s Managing Director, said: “To hear of a multiple expansion programme as aggressive as this simply underpins the ever-growing confidence with those progressive and ambitious Franchise Partners within the network.”

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Supply disruption dampens March sales

UK new car registrations fell by 14.3% to 243,479 units in March, despite Battery electric vehicles enjoying their best ever month for the new registrations.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the ongoing supply chain shortages continued to squeeze supply during what is normally the industry’s busiest month, making it the weakest March since 1998.

Private registrations grew by 8.2% in the month but large fleet registrations declined by 34.4%.

However, the SMMT reported that 39,315 new zero emission cars were registered in the month (16.1% market share), an increase of 78.7% on last year and more than all BEVs registered through 2019.

Meanwhile, The UK light commercial vehicle (LCV) market also felt the effects of supply disruption in March, falling 27.6% to 40,613.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “March is typically the biggest month of the year for the new car market, so this performance is deeply disappointing and lays bare the challenges ahead. While demand remains robust, this decline illustrates the severity of the global semiconductor shortage, as manufacturers strive to deliver the latest, lowest emission vehicles to eagerly awaiting customers.

“Placing orders now will be beneficial for those looking to take advantage of incentives and lower running costs for electric vehicles, especially as the Ukraine crisis could affect supply still further. With increasing household and business costs, government must do all it can to support consumers so that the growth of electric vehicles can be sustained and the UK’s ambitious net zero timetable delivered.”

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