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CompetitionTrainee pledge
Trainee pledge
11 Dec 2007
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Schools campaign set to avert threat of "skills crisis"
THE INSTITUTE of the Motor Industry has pledged to increase the number of apprentices joining the industry in an attempt to avert a “major skills crisis”.
The organisation will aim to increase the number of trainees by 100% over the next five years.
The pledge comes in response to research by the Learning and Skills Council which says the automotive retail sector needs 120,000 people in all disciplines across the industry over the next decade.
According to the research, motor retail businesses in England already have more than 11,000 vacancies, nearly half of which are for highly skilled technicians.
This has lead to the rise in the number of employers recruiting from countries such as Poland, Australia and New Zealand.
The IMI wants 40,000 ‘home grown’ apprentices in the automotive sector by 2013.
It will achieve this with a campaign aimed at teenage school pupils, parents, teachers, careers advisors, colleges and training providers.
The IMI hopes this will deliver the kind of student that can cope with the academic demands of working on the technology of tomorrow, such as fibre optics, CAN Bus and fuel cell technology.
The IMI’s pledge coincides with the government’s announcement to increase apprenticeships across all industry sectors from 250,000 today to more than 400,000 by 2010/11 with more than £1billion in additional funding.
The move is the first time funding will be targeted specifically at expanding apprenticeships for adults aged over 25.
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