Is There A Historic Vehicle Skills Shortage?

With a growing skills gap between 16-18 year old apprentices and retirees leaving the classic car industry, who will look after our cars in the future?

- Jon Burgess

The classic car community has every right to be concerned about the lack of suitably skilled mechanics and restorers. Caring for a classic requires a different approach, mentality and outlook – especially now a rolling 40 year MoT exemption will apply to historic vehicles from next year.

In 2016, the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) commissioned the National Historic Vehicle Survey, which, among other things, revealed the worries of incumbent industry members.

80 per cent of traders and specialists surveyed at the time worried that not enough was being done to service the needs of a growing classic car industry.

Specialist skill sets make the news frequently. Beyond basic servicing needs, keeping a classic happy requires knowledge passed on from previous generations: veneering, wire wheel building, chrome plating, lead loading and body building to name a few.

Time served former Abbey Panels apprentices helped Envisage Group Limited win the contract to build XKSS body shells for Jaguar Classic; recently, 18 year old classic car enthusiast Emily Leese started her workshop apprenticeship at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu

With so few people around to pass the skills on, what can be done to make the most of their experience?

COPING MECHANISMS

Back in 2011, 28,000 people were employed directly or in conjunction with historic vehicles; by 2016, that figure had grown to 34,900. Of that head count, 3800 were under 25 – graduates of apprenticeship schemes like those run in house by major manufacturers and independent organisations.