The growing complexity of the motor vehicles of the future is demanding new skills and competencies and a need to be auditable experts.

The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) brought together senior industry figures a high-level policy panel session and discussion focused on the future of automotive workforce safety. Convened by IMI CEO, Nick Connor, the event was attended by shadow secretary of state for transport, Richard Holden MP, alongside a  panel of employers, legal professionals, fleet operators, and academic researchers.

The IMI said the meeting produced a “clear and unified message”.  As vehicles become increasingly complex technology platforms, government must act to ensure the people maintaining, repairing, diagnosing, and recovering them hold demonstrable, auditable competence for consumer confidence and road safety.

The IMI’s TechSafe standard was identified as the practical mechanism to deliver this, with participants calling on government to mandate its use across four rapidly evolving areas of the automotive sector:

• Connected vehicles – covering data integrity, cybersecurity hygiene, software updates, and over-the-air interactions.
• Automated vehicle technology – including ADAS, sensors, radar, lidar, calibration, and in-use safety assurance.
• Electric vehicles (EV) – covering high-voltage isolation, battery health, thermal management, and power electronics.
• Alternative fuels – hydrogen, gas, and other non-conventional energy systems, including storage, containment, and emergency response.

“The automotive sector is undergoing the most significant period of change in its history with electrification, connected vehicles, autonomous driving, alternative fuels and new digital systems reshaping not only the vehicles on our roads, but the skills, standards and responsibilities required of the workforce,” explained Connor. “It is now a question of public safety, consumer confidence, economic growth and industrial readiness that workforce competence is at the heart of automotive-specific regulation.”

Holden. added: “It was great to speak to the IMI, which is doing vital work to shine a torch on this growing regulatory gap. As vehicles become more technologically advanced, consumers, insurers and the wider industry all need confidence that the people repairing and maintaining them have the right skills and training. Recognised standards like IMI TechSafe can play an important role in building that trust and helping ensure safety keeps pace with innovation.”

Event participants identified the ongoing implementation of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 as an immediate and practical policy hook for mandating of TechSafe. The Act creates the framework for authorised entities and in-use assurance. The IMI is, therefore, calling on government to use the Act’s secondary regulations and statutory guidance to specify the evidence expected when safety-critical work is carried out on automated and connected vehicles, and to embed TechSafe within that framework.

“The risks associated with modern vehicle technology do not end at the point of manufacture – they continue throughout the full life of the vehicle,” added Connor. “Repair, servicing, diagnostics, software updates, battery health management, recovery, resale, and end-of-life processes all carry safety-critical implications when handled by those without the right competence.

“Consistent professional standards and independent recognition are essential not only to protect technicians and the public, but to underpin consumer confidence in new vehicle technologies. And that is vital for the government’s net zero ambitions. Motorists should have clear assurance that the person working on their vehicle is appropriately trained, current, and accountable – and government policy should make that assurance possible.”