Skills gap threatens UK switch to EVs

Logistics UK: Arthur Gribben reacts to report only one in four UK technicians is qualified to work on electric vehicles

The lack of electric vehicle technicians, identified by the Institute of the Motor Industry, will inhibit the uptake of cleaner electric vehicles as operators will not have the confidence their fleets will be maintained. 

Every minute a vehicle is off the road costs operators money, and commercial viability is the overriding factor that influences an organisations’ decision to invest in electric vehicles. Anything that introduces doubt that operational requirements and customers’ needs will not be met using an electric fleet means operators will take the only financially viable decision: wait until these doubts are removed.

If the government is serious about meeting its decarbonisation objectives, it needs to create an environment that makes switching to electric vehicles an easy win. This means investing in charging infrastructure so logistics operators have access to the power they need both now and, in the future, but also investing in the skills that allows operators to keep their vehicles on the road.”

Arthur Gribben is engineering policy lead at Logistics UK