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Technicians scarce in the South-East
Page 50
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• It's become "almost impossible' to hire truck technicians in the south-east of England, says Nick Riley, marketing director at Volvo dealership MC Truck & Bus. "We're running a recruitment campaign because of the increased demand for our products and services, but it's very difficult for us to find the people we need in Kent and Essex in particular," he explains. "Other dealers are facing the same challenge all over Britain."
Riley attributes the shortage to the industry's failure to spend enough money on training over the past few years. Many firms have belatedly recognised this shortcoming and are starting to do something about it, only to find that prospective trainees are thin on the ground in many parts of the country.
The problem is that school leavers no longer find mechanical work attractive," he believes "They want to work in the IT business instead."
MC Truck is now trying to persuade local schools—and careers teachers in particular—to tell pupils that working as a truck technician is an attractive career choice. These days much of the work involves computerised diagnostics rather than heavy and dirty labour, and the salaries are attractive too.
"I don't think people realise quite how much technicians earn," he says. "Nor do they realise that workshops are no longer the grimy, under-the-arches places that they once were."
MC has a particular need to recruit skilled workers because it's just opened a f2m dealership and accident repair shop at Hythe in Kent. "We've been able to hire some, and can cope with the present level of demand, but we're not T00% manned," Riley reports.
Close to Junction II on the Mao, the 4.3-acre site is serving the needs of the company's growing customer base in and around the Eurotunnel terminal area between Folkestone and Ashford. This is the seventh branch that MC has opened, and some staff have transferred to Hythe from the company's Maidstone dealership. The new site has plenty of space, and operators might be able to lease secure overnight parking.