Following Philip Hammond’s Autumn budget announcement earlier this week, the Independent Garage Association (IGA) has called for further government support for the UK motor industry.
Speaking earlier this week, IGA director, Stuart James said: “The Independent Garage Association (IGA) welcomes the launch of the National Retraining Scheme announced by the Chancellor in today’s autumn budget, however we are disappointed that the major shortage of skilled workers in the automotive industry, particularly MOT testers, was not addressed.
Driverless technology
“We urge the government to take action and encourage more people to join the automotive sector, particularly in light of the millions of pounds they have pledged to spend developing electric vehicles and driverless technology in this budget.
“We also applaud the Government’s commitment to three million apprentice starts by 2020, but have questions surrounding how this will be implemented in the independent sector, including how training will be funded for current learners not subject to apprenticeship funding allowances.
“We are ready and waiting to drive apprentices forward in the automotive aftermarket sector.”
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