Home > News > February 2004 > 09-Feb-2004

Automotive Skills awarded full licence

Automotive Skills has today been awarded its licence to become the new Sector Skills Council for the retail motor industry.

As part of the UK-wide Skills for Business network, Automotive Skills is charged by government and employers with leading the drive to boost competitiveness through skills development.

The licence, which was awarded at an event held at the British Library on 9th February 2004, was handed over by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Charles Clarke.

On awarding the licence, Charles Clarke said: "Sector Skills Councils are at the heart of our strategy to improve the UK's productivity, and I am delighted that Automotive Skills is taking this sector leadership role for the retail motor industry, a sector at the cutting edge of technology and innovation. It bodes well for the future that Automotive Skills is working both with employers to raise the skills of the entire workforce, and with training providers, colleges and universities to ensure that their provision is relevant to employers' needs. It is vitally important that we focus on this skills agenda and improve our performance across the board."

The retail motor industry is one of the UK's most vital sectors and plays a significant economic and strategic role in the business and social fabric of the country. It employs over 584,000 people and represents a turnover of £130bn per year. It includes all the businesses and people involved in the sales, maintenance and repair of the UK's 30 million vehicles - from passenger cars and motorcycles to commercial vans and trucks, as well as specialist vehicles such as ambulances, military and agricultural vehicles.

Chief Executive of Inchcape plc and Chairman of Automotive Skills, Peter Johnson said: "Excellence in customer service is delivered through people skills, through their positive attitudes and total professionalism. As an industry we can ensure excellence by attracting the highest calibre of recruits, in particular more graduates and more women into the sector. Once recruited, we must improve the way we train and develop our people to ensure they remain in the industry to fulfil their career ambitions. Automotive Skills is ideally placed to help drive this process and ensure that motor retailing is the first choice for the UK's best people."

Automotive Skills have set four core objectives to tackle over their first three years:

• Identify and reduce skills shortages, at the same time engaging more employers in raising skills levels
• Develop innovative ways to: attract new recruits into the industry; improve the skills of the workforce; and encourage individual employees to reach their full potential
• Influence national and regional Government, the devolved administrations and their agencies to respond positively to the needs of the sector
• Encourage learning providers to be more responsive - supporting and developing learning provision that helps to improve the sector's economic performance.
• Chief Executive of Automotive Skills, Patricia Richards said: "Meeting the skills challenge is, I believe, the greatest single factor in achieving business success and economic prosperity in an increasingly competitive world economy. I intend to harness the clear support and momentum given to Automotive Skills by employers across the UK, to ensure that our special status as a Sector Skills Council delivers real and substantial improvements in our sector's skills base."

Training and development books

Discover books on a variety of training and development topics at the Training Reference Bookshop

Source suppliers

Visit the Training Reference Directory to view supplier details for a wide range of courses, products and services.

Sponsored links

Back to top