Motor trade vacancy rate at lowest point since October 2021

Motor trade vacancies are at their lowest level since October 2021, according to the latest IMI Automotive Vacancies Report.

The vacancy rate has fallen month on month for the past four months.

The data shows there are 19,000 vacancies, with 3.3 vacancies for ever 100 employees, down from 3.5 in September.

However, the motor trade is still ranked the joint second highest vacancy rate of all industries with only hospitality above it.

The IMI recently warned of a critical shortage of UK automotive technicians qualified to work on vehicles equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

Despite 13% of vehicles now featuring ADAS technology, only 2% of technicians – just 4,425 individuals – are trained and IMI TechSafe registered to service and repair these systems.

“The proportion of ADAS-equipped vehicles has grown from 11% in January 2024 to 13% in July, yet there has not been a similar increase in the proportion of ADAS-trained technicians,” said Kevin Finn, executive chair of the IMI.

“As the adoption of ADAS accelerates, especially with the move towards fully automated vehicles, it is critical that more technicians are trained to work on this complex and potentially life-saving technology.”