FRANKFURT, Sept. 16, 2014—While the percentage of unfilled apprenticeships has increased in many manual trade industries, the automotive repair industry in Europe continues to show an increase in training figures and employment.
According to a recent study, "Sought and Found! Recruiting Trainees for the Automobile Trade” the repair industry has shown a steady growth of applicants and a commitment to training among shops in the sector.
Georg Spottl, professor at the University of Bremen’s Institute for Technology and Education, and Matthias Becker, professor at the University of Flensburg’s Vocational Training Institute for Work and Technology, who conducted the survey of students interested in automotive repair apprenticeships, presented their findings on the first day of the 2014 Automechanika show in Frankfurt.
According to the study, 57.5 percent of students said that they were seeking a job in the motor trade because they had an interest in car technology.
In addition, 62 percent of students surveyed said their preferred job was a vehicle technician.
Students also said that a good working atmosphere, further training facilities, income after training, pay during training and a chance to develop were the top five most important factors when choosing a career in the automotive field.
Spottl and Becker noted that shops should continue working on their image as a training provider and employer, especially smaller independent shops, who they found were less likely to offer apprenticeships.
