News Published on : 24-Jan-2022 15:28:29

A Motor Ombudsman poll of garages and workshops accredited to the body s Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair has revealed that recruiting a sufficient number of mechanics and MOT testers to meet consumer demand was the most significant concern for two thirds (67%) of respondents when questioned about the main challenges encountered during 2021. The research conducted by the Ombudsman for the automotive sector also showed that the shortage of headcount was further compounded by the fact that 50% of study participants stated that employees testing positive for Coronavirus or having to self-isolate had disrupted their business activities over the course of the past 12 months. Similarly a lack of personnel to accommodate the new peaks in MOT volumes brought about by the introduction of the six-month exemption in 2020 in response to Coronavirus was cited by 44% of respondents as being another knock-on effect of having a smaller than desired workforce last year. Insufficient resource to send team members on training courses (40%) and a limited number of staff to maintain electric vehicles (EVs) also took their toll for just over a third of vehicle repairers (38%). Aside from the personnel issues highlighted the study showed that a lack of spare parts - causing delays to the repair of customer vehicles had also impacted nearly 60% of businesses. Other obstacles cited by survey participants included a higher cost of overheads and lower profitability (42%) with around a fifth (17%) of those surveyed saying that reduced workshop throughput due to lower new car sales having a reduced courtesy car fleet due to increased vehicle purchase costs and being unable to accommodate apprenticeships were other key factors that had all affected operations in 2021. When questioned about the challenges that businesses expected to encounter during the coming months staffing remained a prominent theme with the unavailability of experienced technicians continuing to show no let-up in the near future. Retaining team members due to increasing salaries at a time when qualified candidates are in short supply was stated by respondents as another hurdle that their organisation would need to overcome. Following the government s recent announcements highlighting that employers should expect 15 to 25% of their workforce to be absent due to the Omicron variant staff attendance and productivity and overall garage profitability could continue to be an issue in the first half of 2022.