10,000 Trained as EV, ADAS and MOT Skills Demands Grow

More than 10,000 people have received training from Autotech Training since the business launched in 2016, highlighting how dramatically the skills required across Britain’s automotive sector have changed over the past decade.

Originally established to support the training and compliance needs of Autotech Recruit’s network of contractor vehicle technicians and MOT testers, the company has since expanded its training across the wider automotive industry.

MOT Manager training formed a central part of its early offering and remains important today, but the range of skills demanded by garages and technicians has widened significantly.

Electric and hybrid vehicles, high-voltage systems, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), diagnostics and increasingly sophisticated vehicle technology are now becoming part of the modern workshop environment.

Autotech Training says that shift has transformed the type of training businesses and technicians require.

More than 10,000 trained since 2016

Autotech Training says it has now trained more than 10,000 people since launching a decade ago, including more than 2,000 during 2025 alone.

The business initially focused heavily on supporting MOT and technical compliance requirements but has progressively expanded its remit as vehicle technology has evolved.

Its current training portfolio includes MOT, electric and hybrid vehicles, ADAS, air conditioning and other technical courses, alongside management, leadership and customer-service training.

Autotech’s current MOT programme continues to include IMI Level 3 MOT Manager training, while its electric and hybrid vehicle courses extend to IMI Level 4 for technicians involved in diagnosing and repairing high-voltage systems.

Alistair McCrindle, Operations Director at Autotech Training, said the pace of technological change had been one of the defining features of the past decade.

“Skills that were relatively specialist in 2016 are now becoming fundamental,” he said.

Technicians are increasingly expected to understand high-voltage systems, diagnostics, ADAS and more sophisticated vehicle technology, he added.

EV skills increasingly important for workshops

One of the most visible changes has been electrification.

In 2020, Autotech invested in a purpose-built EV Training Suite at its Milton Keynes headquarters. The facility enables technicians to undertake IMI Levels 1 to 4 electric and hybrid vehicle training and includes an electric vehicle for practical training. Autotech Training

The requirement for these skills is likely to become increasingly significant for independent workshops as more electric and hybrid vehicles move beyond their initial warranty periods and enter the independent aftermarket.

The latest figures from the Institute of the Motor Industry underline the scale of the challenge.

The IMI’s Automotive Education Report, published in August 2026, put the number of EV-qualified technicians at 74,734 but projected a potential shortfall of more than 43,000 by 2035.

ADAS presents another challenge. The IMI recorded 10,695 ADAS-qualified technicians, representing only around 3% of the workforce. Institute of The Motor Industry

For garages, that makes training increasingly more than simply a compliance exercise.

Having technicians with the right qualifications and competence could influence which vehicles and jobs a workshop is capable of accepting in the years ahead.

Most training now delivered at the workplace

Autotech says it has also changed how training is delivered in response to the operational pressures faced by automotive businesses.

According to the company, 87% of its courses during 2025 were delivered onsite at customers’ premises.

Bringing training into the workplace can reduce the amount of time technicians spend away from the business while allowing courses to reflect the environment in which employees actually work.

The company currently offers onsite delivery alongside courses at its Milton Keynes training facility. Its training operation covers independent garages as well as larger organisations and fleets. Autotech describes its services as being aimed at businesses, workshops and individuals across the UK aftermarket.

Skills requirements spreading beyond traditional garages

The changing skills landscape isn’t restricted to conventional car workshops.

As specialist fleets increasingly adopt electric vehicles and new technology, organisations operating those vehicles also need employees capable of working safely around them.

Autotech says it has worked with organisations including Veolia, London Ambulance Service and Thames Valley Police, as well as airside operators.

Training has covered areas ranging from high-voltage and ADAS skills to specialist ground-support equipment and EV safety for emergency responders.

The development illustrates how automotive technical skills are increasingly required across organisations that may historically have had relatively limited involvement with advanced vehicle technology.

Technical skills are only part of the challenge

Autotech believes the skills challenge facing automotive businesses is also becoming broader than technical competence alone.

McCrindle said businesses increasingly need employees capable of leading teams, communicating effectively and managing change alongside possessing the required technical expertise.

That is reflected in the company’s expansion into management, leadership and customer-service training.

For independent garages in particular, these softer skills can become increasingly important as workshops grow, recruit apprentices, introduce new technology or attempt to retain skilled technicians.

The ability to diagnose and repair increasingly complicated vehicles remains fundamental, but running a successful modern workshop also requires businesses to manage people, customers and rapidly changing technology.

Industry partnerships shape training

Autotech Training works with manufacturers, fleet operators, technology providers and awarding bodies to develop its programmes.

It also works with the Institute of the Motor Industry to provide accredited training.

The wider Autotech Group was named IMI Partner of the Year in 2025, an award the company highlights among its recent industry recognition.

Autotech Training says these relationships help ensure courses reflect practical industry requirements rather than focusing solely on qualifications.

What will garages need to learn next?

The next decade could bring an even wider range of training requirements.

Autotech is already looking at increasingly digital vehicle systems and ADAS alongside emerging technologies including hydrogen.

For MOT Testing Stations and independent workshops, predicting precisely which technologies will become mainstream is difficult.

What’s much clearer is that the technical knowledge required to work safely and effectively on the UK vehicle parc is continuing to expand.

EVs are a good example. Skills that were once relevant to a relatively small number of specialist technicians are gradually becoming applicable to mainstream workshops as the number and age of electrified vehicles increases.

ADAS is likely to present similar challenges as more vehicles fitted with safety and driver-assistance technology reach independent garages.

McCrindle said the skills required by the industry are becoming “broader, not narrower”.

Autotech’s own development over the past decade reflects that transition.

What began with a strong focus on qualifications and compliance for technicians and MOT testers now extends to workshop managers, fleets, emergency responders and other organisations responsible for increasingly sophisticated vehicles.

For independent garages, the underlying message is equally clear: keeping pace with vehicle technology increasingly means keeping pace with the skills needed to safely test, maintain and repair it.