By the LSE Capstone team, Maximilian Jumpertz, Lisa Darves-Blanc, Amisha Parikh-Friese, Pungky Ferdiyanti & Sudarshan Pujari
Scientists predict that 2024 will outrank 2023 as the hottest year on record. Human-caused climate change has brought heatwaves to Saudi Arabia, India, North America, Central America and many other places this year. At the same time, one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters – the automotive industry – is still overshooting its green targets.
The automotive industry needs to reduce its CO2 emissions drastically but can only do so with a workforce whose skills match the needs of the green transition. Governments across the OECD have pledged to stop the sale of new fossil-fueled vehicles within the next decade. However, the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) requires the transformation of the vehicle maintenance and repair sector – an aspect of the ‘green transition’ which has often been overlooked. Well-trained EV technicians are needed for a smooth transition, but the skillset required is novel for many automotive workers.
A new study by a student research team from the London School of Economics, in cooperation with the OECD Center for Skills, underlines challenges to widespread adoption and varying levels of preparedness across the industry.
Battery diagnostics and electronics skills are not yet common. The Institute of the Motor Industry reports that 78% of UK vehicle technicians lack EV skills. The industry is also struggling with recruitment, leaving the workforce largely unprepared for the EV transition in the UK.
While some automotive repair businesses in the UK have become leaders in re- and upskilling their workers, many smaller garages lack financial resources and access to training equipment. Attitudinal barriers, such as resistance to change and fear of working with high-voltage EV batteries, also impede progress. All these factors contribute to a skills gap in the short- to medium term and threaten the EV transition for all actors in the market.
Greater government support through public investment into upskilling and continuous professional development for workers in all forms of automotive repair businesses should be a priority. The Chinese government’s response to the shortage of EV-skilled workers in 2019 can serve as a model: With a nationally recognized skills certification framework, industry-relevant vocational education programs and incentives for businesses to sponsor training, China successfully bridged the skills gap.
Many EV training providers and industry experts in England and Scotland, interviewed for the project, highlighted recruitment challenges in the sector.
For Peter Wright*, a 61-year-old mechanic from Worcestershire, “it is actually quite difficult to get young people to want to become vehicle mechanics today. They don’t necessarily see it as a role to aspire to, not just vehicle mechanics, but automotive as a whole because they see the stereotypical image of a car mechanic in a set of overalls covered in grease and oil and it’s not attractive.” However, the transition to EVs is presenting us with a unique opportunity to emphasize the highly skilled nature of the next generation of automotive work and boost its attractiveness amongst younger generations.
Nevertheless, the switch to EVs comes with new dangers for workers as well: In a conversation with the research team, advanced propulsion scientists stressed the safety hazards associated with working with car batteries. In the UK, current EV repair training and certifications remain voluntary and unregulated. To ensure the safety of technicians, the researchers recommend that the government introduce a mandatory license for conducting EV maintenance and repairs.
Interviewees largely echoed this call. For instance, Landon Ross*, a 48-year-old garage director from Bristol, said: “We need a mandatory license. It’s not like the good old days. Electricity… it’s a killer! We need to be regulated and it needs to be monitored. Otherwise, we are going to start to get a lot of instances within the industry where people are doing things they shouldn’t do.”
Interviewees were generally aware of the UK government’s plan to end the sale of new fossil-fueled cars by 2035; a deadline it has pushed back once already. But confidence in the government to stick to this timeline was low. For example, Phillip McGrath*, a 46-year-old vehicle examiner from Nottingham, does not trust “the government to mandate anything.” It is therefore paramount that the government rebuild public trust and manages industry expectations by sticking to the announced deadline.
The need for an EV-skilled workforce is here to stay. Policymakers in the UK and beyond need to take the concerns of Peter, Landon, Philip and others seriously. The research suggests a good place to start: Through regulation, public investment in EV training, and clear policy communication, governments can facilitate a smooth and equitable transition in the automotive sector, shielding workers, businesses, and consumers from economic uncertainty and disruption.
*All interviewees’ names and personal information were changed.
