UK Automotive Careers Expo 2021 – two dates at two major events.
A new initiative to boost careers in the automotive industry and support the motor trade will see an additional date in 2021, alongside the original planned event at The British Motor Show.
The Automotive Careers Expo – or ACE – will take place at The British Motor Show on Thursday the 19th August 2021 as originally planned, but an additional career expo has been added to the calendar to run alongside the established CDX motor trade event on Tuesday the 8th June 2021 thanks to a tie-up between Automotion Events, which runs the British Motor Show, and Car Dealer Magazine publisher Blackball Media.
Despite the challenges of the last 12 months, The automotive industry faces a challenging skills shortage at a time that sees huge change in the sector.
Manufacturers and suppliers are both finding it hard to recruit the necessary skills and industry bodies such as the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), with its Drive My Career campaign, are launching programmes to attract new talent for their members.
Automotion Events, the company behind The British Motor Show is committed to supporting the industry and is reinforcing that point by delivering the two events aimed at supporting the industry and those that work within it.
Both will deliver seminars and sessions from manufacturers and industry suppliers demonstrating the fantastic opportunities that the industry has to offer.
The event at The British Motor Show will specifically focus on showcasing the automotive industry to the public, focusing on apprenticeships and encouraging younger people to consider automotive as a career choice.
A specific thread is also aimed at attracting more women into the industry, supported by some of the key female figureheads from across the sector.
The event at CDX will focus more on assisting the automotive industry on attracting and retaining talent, while offering those that have found themselves impacted by Covid-19 the opportunity to meet suppliers, retailers and manufacturers.
A number of exciting partnerships have been agreed and Automotion Events will be announcing some of the fantastic content and keynote sessions already planned in the coming weeks.
Exhibitors at The British Motor Show will be able to participate in the event for free, which is expected to attract industry leaders, retail and franchise managers, car and van manufacturers and technology bosses through the doors of Farnborough International on the day that the show opens its doors.
Andy Entwistle, CEO and Show Director, said: “We are creating a show full of passion and fun and we want to leverage that feel good factor to showcase what a great industry this is to work in.“Many people think of the industry as offering just sales or technicians’ roles. But that’s not the case. Some of the best websites and media campaigns in the UK originate in the car industry and we need to attract more creative talent into these areas as well.
The technician’s role now is more akin to a software engineer than the mechanics of 50 years ago and of course you have motorsport and all the new generation technology coming through, all of which requires specialist support.
There’s never been a more exciting time to consider a career in our sector and the Automotive Careers Expo thoroughly encapsulates that.
“We will be working with colleges, schools and universities as well as promoting this event nationwide and beyond to encourage anyone looking for a career move to come and see just what our industry has to offer. It should be a great day and gives the visitors the chance to see what’s behind the scenes of the show too.”
The organisers are encouraging anyone who would like to find out more or get involved to contact them now for more details – email Andy@automotion.live to register your interest.