JOBLIFT COMPARES THE UK’S E-MOBILITY AND TRADITIONAL AUTOMOTIVE JOB SECTORS
Berlin/Hamburg, 27th November 2017 – The UK government’s decision to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2040 has thrown up questions surrounding how this will affect the traditional automotive job market, and whether e-mobility will be able to cope with the new demand. With this in mind, job meta-search engine Joblift studied the UK’s e-mobility job market, in comparison to the traditional automotive job sector over the last 12 months. While job vacancies in the traditional automotive industry continue to rise (3%), the face of the automotive industry looks to change vastly in terms of professions and city hubs as a result of e-mobility.
E-MOBILITY VACANCIES INCREASE AT MORE THAN DOUBLE THE RATE OF THE UK’S JOB MARKET AS WHOLE
According to Joblift, there has been an average monthly growth of 9% in the number of e-mobility jobs posted in the UK in the last 12 months, three times more than the 3% average monthly increase in jobs in the traditional automotive sector. For reference, in the same time period, the entire UK job market increased at an average rate of 4% each month, indicating the speed of the e-mobility sector’s growth.
FOCUS SHIFTS TOWARDS THE CAPITAL AND AWAY FROM CLASSIC AUTOMOTIVE HUBS
Comparing the top locations for e-mobility jobs with traditional automotive roles throws an interesting light on the changing face of the whole automotive industry. In the last year, traditional automotive roles were found in Birmingham (6% of vacancies) and Coventry (5%) – locations of UK car manufacturing plants – with London ranking in third place with 3% of the vacancies. On the other hand, London tops the list when it comes to the location of e-mobility jobs. The capital held 10% of all vacancies in the last year, with Derby coming in second place with 6% and Coventry rounding off the top three also with 6%.
MECHANICS DOMINATE IN THE TRADITIONAL AUTOMOTIVE JOB MARKET BUT ARE REPLACED BY SOFTWARE ENGINEERS IN THE E-MOBILITY SECTOR
While mechanics dominate in the traditional automotive job market, making up 12% of all vacancies in the last 12 months, the most-demanded profession in the e-mobility job market was software engineers with 11% of vacancies. After mechanics, salesmen ranked in second place making up 10% of vacancies in the traditional automotive job market, and customer service personnel came third with 5%. However, after software engineers, repair and maintenance technicians made up 7% of the e-mobility job market and apprentices made up 3%. The differences in profession highlight the fears of many people surrounding the 2040 combustion engine ban – that the changing nature of professions will ultimately lead to a loss of jobs in traditional automotive professions. In fact, according to The Institute of the Motor Industry, only 1% of current motor mechanics are qualified to work on electric vehicles in the UK.
VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS ONLY ACCEPTED IN 4% OF E-MOBILITY VACANCIES, DESPITE BEING ASKED FOR IN 59% OF TRADITIONAL AUTOMOTIVE POSITIONS
Furthermore, a stark change in employees’ education levels will be needed once the shift to e-mobility takes place. Taking the top professions in each sector; 59% of mechanic positions in the last 12 months required candidates to hold a vocational qualification, with less than 1% asking for a Bachelor’s degree. Whereas, 24% of software engineer positions in the e-mobility sector asked for candidates to hold a Bachelor’s degree, with 8% requiring a post-graduate qualification, and only 4% looking for candidates with a vocational qualification.
About Joblift
Joblift is meta search engine for currently more than 1,000,000 jobs from over 100 partner job boards. Joblift’s customised search filters and email notifications allow users to personalise their search criteria. The company was founded in 2015 by Lukas Erlebach and Malte Widenka. At the two locations in Hamburg and Berlin, Joblift currently employs a team of around 50 employees.