New report makes business case for upskilling

A new report by Ennis & Co Group has revealed the financial benefits of investing in automotive skills.

The report, ‘The Cost of your Skills Gap’, found that automotive businesses who invest in training can expect a three per cent increase in annual turnover compared to a four per cent drop for those who do not address the skills gap in their organisation.

Lynda Ennis, CEO of Ennis & Co Group, said, “Our research shows that there are strong financial benefits to making the right skills investment at the right time. Given the challenges of the talent market, with automotive and mobility businesses competing with other sectors for the same ‘hot’ skills, I would argue that upskilling and recruitment needs to be at the very heart of business strategy and owned at board level.

“This paper addresses the current knowledge vacuum directly by providing a financial model to help businesses quantify the opportunities and cost of skills gaps in their organisation.

“The need for new skills is both a challenge and an opportunity as the sector adapts to transforming technologies and the legislative requirements of the net zero agenda. It is understandable for leaders to focus on negatives such as the cost of upskilling their workforce, employee attrition or the difficulty and expense of hiring talent in a tight skills market, but if you focus too much on the dangers, you can fail to spot the opportunities.”