Where are the EV Technicians?

Only 58 ,000 (24%) of all technicians in the country are EV qualified.

According to the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), the number of qualified technicians will soon fall short of the demand for EV services, with a projected shortage of 3000 technicians by 2031, increasing to 16,000 by 2035.

This follows IMI research from last year that revealed a significant variation in the number of EV-qualified technicians across different UK locations, with some areas having far more technicians than others.

Despite having a larger population of EV drivers, London and the South-East do not have more EV technicians – with EV-trained technicians only accounting for 6.1% and 6.4% of the total technician workforce in these areas.

The proportion of EV-trained technicians across the UK are:

East of England 9.5%

West Midlands 8.2%

Scotland 7.9%

South-East 6.4%

London 6.1%

South-West 6.0%

Wales 5.9%

North-West 5.6%

East Midlands 5.1%

Yorkshire and The Humber 5.0%

North-East 4.4%

Northern Ireland 3.7%

Executive chair at the IMI, Kevin Finn said: “There has been encouraging growth in the number of technicians gaining EV certification so far in 2024, however, with the expected reinstatement of the 2030 ICE ban deadlines by the new Government, the skills gap remains.”

He continued: “Automotive businesses urgently need to prioritise training more technicians so that the expected rising number of EV owners can find a local technician to work safely on their vehicle”

The IMI campaign “There’s More to Motor” aims to bridge the growing skills gap, boost recruitment efforts, and inspire more people to pursue careers in the automotive industry.