The students and apprentices are from four key specialisms – Body Repair, Refinishing, Light Vehicle Technology, and Heavy Vehicle Technology. The fianlists will now go forward to the live national finals in November to be held at 10 colleges and training providers across Greater Manchester.
The winners will be announced at a medal ceremony at Bridgewater Hall with the chance to go on to represent Team UK in EuroSkills 2025 at Herning in Denmark and WorldSkills International 2026 in Shanghai, China.
Richard Hutchins, IMI skills competitions manager, said: “The six finalists from each stream impressed the judges with their level of skill, dedication and focus. And many of the 2023 finalists face additional learning and work challenges, living with dyslexia, autism and dyscalculia, making their success even more impressive. Automotive is often believed to be unsuitable for those who are neurodiverse or have disabilities, but these inspirational finalists prove otherwise. They are succeeding to the highest level in our increasingly inclusive and rich sector.”
The 2023 finalists:
More broadly, the IMI is delivering a campaign called Things are Moving, which aims to discredit misperceptions that are a part of the recruitment challenges in the automotive sector.
“As a sector, we urgently need to come together to change the long-held negative perceptions and encourage more people to consider automotive careers”, Hutchins continued. “We need to fill around 112,000 roles in the next decade, spanning more than 200 occupations and these awards highlight the vast array of opportunities available, as well as the inspiring trainees and apprentices that will help to take automotive forward and ensure it evolves to be richer, more diverse, to best serve our customers.”