The Transport Committee held the first session of its new inquiry into the capability of the workforce in the UK’s transport manufacturing sectors, and the skills needed to help them thrive.
Matthew Ogg, Head of Policy at Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT), participated in discussions.
Ogg said: “UK Automotive is going through a technological change that we haven’t seen for 100 years. We built our entire sector on the combustion engine and as the committee well knows we are on accelerated timelines to now transfer to a technology that is new, innovative, different and obviously net zero requires new skills.”
With around 80% of the automotive workforce expected to still be in roles in 10 years time, the need for reskilling, retraining and upskilling is emphasised by Ogg.
He said: “We need the talent pipeline for the new young talent coming through but a lot of the work we need to do in the next few years is giving people the tools and skills they need to have a lifelong career in what we think is a really innovative, exciting and forward-thinking sector.”
Ogg identified priority areas such as zero-emission vehicle manufacturing and autonomous skills, emphasising that UK automotive is playing “catch up” with regards to batteries.
He also highlighted the shortage of HGV technicians, where there were once 100 colleges providing apprenticeship courses there are now only around 34.
Ogg said: “We have had a shortage of engineers and people interested in STEM for a long time. Ironically, mechanical engineers is the most in-demand Level 7 apprenticeship in our sector and that is one of the levels that has been de-funded by the Government.
“It is a counterintuitive point that we are talking about advanced manufacturing when some of the funding for advanced skills has been taken away. The point about ‘do we have the skills to deploy and exploit that technology?’, again these are advanced technologies you need advanced skills to do that.
“We want the pipeline at Level 3, Level 4, but we also need 6 and 7 at Masters level and that is a real shortage when everyone else globally are competing for the same amount of talent from a very limited talent pool.”
The SMMT calls for a national framework, a “one stop shop” for industrial strategy sectors which does not yet exist.
Ogg said: “It should be easier for us to attract into our sector but the perception of what is available and often the catchment areas for our sector tend to be still quite regional and clustered.”
