The National Tyre Dealers Association has produced a report on the state of business in the sector, in which it sets the scene of a ‘perfect storm’ facing the industry.
The chronic shortage of skilled technicians and a failure to attract new talent into the industry coupled with labour shortages that the report says have been exacerbated by Brexit have led to a challenging trading environment.
Young people themselves don’t escape blame in the report as it refers to ‘evidence of a mismatch between young people’s aspirations and the needs of the economy’, meaning that college leavers pursue jobs in areas of the economy which are saturated, whereas those sectors of the economy desperate for staff are ‘left with shortfalls’. The report notes that five times the number of graduates apply for jobs in media, entertainment and the arts than there are jobs available.
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“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 us hard” NTDA Chief Exec Stefan Hay said in the report’s introduction.
“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”, he added.
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