The NTDA has published its skills insight report: A Perfect Storm – The Skills and Labour Shortages Facing UK Tyre Distributors
After the challenges the tyre industry faced through the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now confronted with a new hurdle to overcome: a chronic shortage of tyre technicians and a skills and labour shortage that threatens to last for many years. The NTDA commissioned this report after listening to its members who have told us how a chronic shortage of tyre technicians has affected them over the last 12 months.
Although a skills shortage is not new, there is little doubt that, whatever your political views, Brexit and the recent pandemic, combined with a lack of investment in training and apprenticeships, is now hitting the tyre trade hard.
This has been referred to as a ‘perfect storm’ and this report looks to measure the scale of the challenge before us, whether the tyre distribution sector is alone in struggling to find people and what the NTDA, as the industry’s trade association, can do to help.
The report includes insights on the outlook for skills and labour across the UK and in many sectors. It also includes independent research amongst NTDA members on how the skills shortage is affecting them. A broader perspective from across the tyre and automotive sector is also important to the NTDA, so we have interviewed trade associations, training providers, tyre manufacturers and other suppliers to our industry to gain a wider view of what is happening currently, and what needs to happen in the future, so our industry can meet the challenges
ahead.
Our thanks go to everyone who engaged in the process.
We hope this report which is available to NTDA members, who have logged in, HERE gives members the insight needed to understand the scale of the labour and skills challenges we face together.
The conclusions this report reaches also gives us the potential solutions we can all work towards,not just in 2023, but into the future as well.