TRAINING & RECRUITMENT
MANAGING UNCERTAINTY
THEO JAMES RECRUITMENT
RECRUITMENT CHALLENGES WITHIN
AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
Whether it’s Brexit or other market
disrupters, there is a huge amount
of uncertainty in today’s automotive
manufacturing industry. Despite that, there
has been a sharp increase in investment into
UK automotive manufacturing, leading to
increased job prospects. What the industry
is lacking, at the moment, is the ability to
attract people outside of the sector.
Despite the current climate, it’s
been estimated that the automotive
manufacturing industry will make two
million cars a year in the UK by 2020.
Increasing against the current level of 1.5
million. However, this will only happen with
the backing of the government to agree
good trade deals and with the consistent
reskilling of the workforce.
Technology and AI are also aiding to more
changes in manufacturing, particularly in
the automotive sector. Reports suggest that
certain jobs may be replaced by machinery.
To avoid a lull in employment it’s essential
that the government looks at the skills gap
and that companies focus on upskilling
their current employee’s through training
and development. What may result in a few
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short-term job losses, should breed the
development of new jobs. After all, humans
are adaptable and can be retrained or
developed – unlike their robot counterparts.
It’s important to reassure people that
the UK still has an optimistic future
within manufacturing and that its simply
uncertainty hindering future recruitment
predictions. Whilst the automotive industry
is governed by a specific set of industry
standards and is typically working to “Just-
In-Time production” (JIT) which brings their
own set of demands and pressures - it’s
important that businesses keep an open
mind with their recruitment processes and
begin to look further for talent.
Increased apprenticeships and opportunities
for graduate engineer placements are
needed to sustain young talent within the
industry. We have worked with a first-tier
automotive supplier who have chosen to
rebrand their recruitment strategy in order
to cast a wider net. As a result, they have
employed engineers straight from the
armed forces, who have made use of their
work ethic and their broad and diverse skill
sets. These are a good match of relevant
transferable skills that can be used to excel
in the job and may have otherwise not been
utilised.
The automotive industry is still without
a doubt an integral part of the UK’s
manufacturing presence. To sustain this,
market conditions must be improved,
skills gaps need to be addressed and firms
need to continue to be open minded - but
automation will positively change the face
of the industry. It will do this by creating
more skilled and developed jobs. We just
need to face these challenges head on
by swapping our traditional recruitment
strategies and appealing to the wide range
of talent, fostered in the UK, in order to
recruit the best candidates possible.
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