Shortage of technicians flagged as major concern in aftermarket survey

UK garages are contending with a challenging business environment, according to a new aftermarket survey from service, maintenance and repair (SMR) network management provider, Fleet Assist.

The survey was conducted with participants from Fleet Assist’s network of more than 5,200 garages and 650 mobile units, and indicates the risks and opportunities that they face.

General business overheads and technician availability were listed as the greatest elements of concern for a majority (89%) of garages in the survey.

Additionally, respondents noted that they were seeking an increase in garage jobs to counter the loss of work due to a reduction of jobs connected with servicing battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

The survey also indicated that the sector continues to feature primarily male dominated workplaces, with only one garage in the survey claiming an equal workforce breakdown, and most (80%) stating that two-thirds of their workforce were men.

The age-range of technicians was shown to be primarily (70%) between the ages of 25-and-60 years. The number of younger technicians (of up to 24 years of age) in the sector is a much lower percentage (23%) but is much higher than the annual average in this age band (9%) provided by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The development of connected vehicles and growing range of integration options was noted to have impacted the sector – with garages anticipating that technology will make their operations more efficient.

However, the survey indicated that garages are concerned about the growing number of systems that they need to access, as this is adding to overhead costs, and are much more comfortable accessing ‘OEM Secure Gateways’ when the right diagnostics partner is available.

Fleet Assist’s supply chain director, Nikos Kotrozos, said: “Our survey has provided a wide-ranging insight into the garage industry and has confirmed the multiple challenges they face now and into the future when managing SMR on behalf of fleet drivers.”

“It is important that we recognise how garages are facing up to these challenges and how we can support them.”