The UK’s accident and repair sector is losing skilled workers at a rate that threatens work output from bodyshops and higher insurance costs.
A new report from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), Understanding the UK Accident & Repair Workforce, reveals that the sector loses an estimated 4,700 workers every year through retirement and labour market churn, while only around 3,000 new entrants join, a net annual shortfall of 1,700 skilled workers.
“The entire motor claims system depends on a workforce that is skilled for current and new technologies,” said Nick Connor, CEO of the IMI.
“However, our analysis shows that employers are not currently recruiting and retaining talent in key areas of the accident and repair ecosystem as individuals either retire or move into other sectors.
“And this is having a damaging effect on both customer satisfaction for insurers and indemnity costs.”
The IMI argues that for insurers, the implications are direct and financial. A shrinking pool of qualified technicians means bodyshops face growing capacity constraints, pushing repair times up and increasing the cost of courtesy vehicles, alternative transport, and extended claims handling. Without coordinated action across industry, education, and government, the IMI believes these pressures will intensify.
The IMI report reveals that the skills crisis is not evenly spread. Paint technicians and autoglazers are the occupations under the most severe pressure.
In paint alone, annual exits number more than 800 against 400 new entrants – a gap of more than 400 workers every year.
And only 12% of paint technicians are under 25, highlighting the challenges employers face in attracting new talent into the sector. The picture is similar for body repair with exits outpacing entries and an older-than-average workforce profile.
The IMI believes the disparity in skills in specialist areas is because most qualification activity across accident and repair pathways is concentrated in general Accident Repair. The specialist roles – paint, body repair, and glazing – receive a disproportionately small share of training provision.
The report also flags a longer-term threat. As electric vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) become more prevalent across the UK vehicle parc, the technical demands placed on accident and repair technicians will increase significantly.
The IMI called ‘coordinated’ effort to get more new entrants into the sector, an alignment of training with real-world demand and a strengthening of retention and progression pathways for workers already in the sector.
