Steer Automotive Group urges school leavers to consider future-proof trades

Steer Automotive Group has urged school leavers and career changers to look at skilled trades that artificial intelligence (AI) cannot replace. 

This follows data from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) which showed just 12% of vehicle paint technicians in Britain are under 25. 

The sector loses around 4,700 skilled workers each year and gains 3,000, leaving a net loss of 1,700 people annually, according to its research.

More than 70% of repair and salvage employers reported skills shortages. 

92% of UK automotive businesses said it was difficult to source the skills they need, compared to a UK average of 73% across industries.

Jana Siber, chief executive of Steer Automotive Group, said: “I spent most of my career in boardrooms and consultancies, and I would say this to any parent reading their child’s results this morning: the picture we were all given about which careers are safe is out of date. 

“The work being taken by AI is the work being done sitting at a screen. What cannot be automated is the judgement of a skilled technician repairing a damaged bumper, making it safe again.

“This industry has absorbed every technological shift of the past century. It electrified. It computerised.”