Over 50s to be offered apprenticeships as Halfords creates 1000 automotive technician roles

Over 50s to be offered apprenticeships as Halfords creates 1000 automotive technician roles

23 November 2022

  • Later life apprenticeships – believed to be automotive industry first – part of plan to attract returning retirees
  • Women and disadvantaged youngsters also to be prioritised in recruitment drive
  • Booming Halfords Motoring Club and ageing cars driving demand
  • £3.5m to be invested in technician training and recruitment over next 12 months 

Halfords is today launching a recruitment drive for its Autocentres business to meet rapidly increasing demand for vehicle servicing, MOTs, maintenance and repairs. 

The motoring specialist, which is creating 1000 new automotive technician roles over the next twelve months, is prioritising attracting retirees back into the workforce and is also challenging itself to increase the number of women in automotive technician roles. 

Halfords is the UK’s largest provider of motoring services with over 600 garages and nearly 700 vans. 

Demand for servicing, MOTs, and repairs is being driven in part by huge demand for the Halfords Motoring Club which launched in March. Almost a million customers have signed up for a range of free benefits and discounts.

Britain’s ageing car fleet is also creating demand as older vehicles require more maintenance and repair. The average vehicle on UK roads is now 8.7 years old, a year older than it was a decade ago. 

Graham Stapleton, Halfords CEO, says he wants to use the opportunity created by a boom in demand to rewire the company’s workforce. 

“We have a big focus on people who left the workforce in recent years but are now starting to return in these tough economic times,” he said. “We want to give people the best possible route to return to work. Becoming a qualified automotive technician can be an incredibly satisfying second career.”

Halfords is developing what it calls its Retyrement Plan to make returning to work attractive. The plan includes greater flexibility, including part-time working, and – in what is believed to be an industry first – opportunities for older people to complete apprenticeships. The company is establishing a training academy which is capable of turning novices into qualified technicians.

The nature of the automotive technician role is changing. It is becoming less mechanical and more focused on digital technology, due in part to the transition to electric vehicles. As the industry becomes less about diesel and more about diagnostics, the technician role is becoming appealing to a broader range of people. At Halfords we service all makes and models, from the sleekest new electric vehicles to older petrol and diesel cars.

The number of women in automotive technician roles is very low across the industry. “We all need to do better, not least when you consider that many millions of our customers are women,” said Graham Stapleton, “and that means looking at what discourages women from applying for roles and taking action. That might mean introducing more flexibility; it might mean making it more appealing for young women leaving education to pursue a career in automotive.”

Halfords is also keen to encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to enter the industry. It has formed partnerships with two charities dedicated to getting young people into motor apprenticeships – The Palmer Foundation and First Step Trust.

“We need to be ambitious and creative in the way we go about meeting the demand for technicians,” said Graham Stapleton. “I want us to be doing more to attract ex-offenders and people leaving the military, for example”. Halfords already has a bike technician training academy at Drake Hall women’s prison in Staffordshire.

As announced today in its financial results for the six months ending 30 September 2022, Halfords’ Autocentres business grew its sales by nearly 70% year-on-year. This was achieved both by acquiring other garage businesses, but also through its growing status as the UK motorist’s destination of choice for good value, high quality services, MOTs, and day-to-day repair and maintenance jobs. Halfords is now the UK’s biggest garage service business.

-Ends- 

For more information, please contact:

Powerscourt on halfords@powerscourt-group.com 

0207 250 1446

About Halfords

Halfords is the UK's leading provider of motoring and cycling services and products. Customers shop at 397 Halfords stores, 3 Performance Cycling stores (trading as Tredz and Giant), 646 garages (trading as Halfords Autocentres, McConechy’s, Universal, National Tyres and Lodge Tyres) and have access to 268 mobile service vans (trading as Halfords Mobile Expert, Tyres on the Drive and National) and 433 Commercial vans. Customers can also shop at halfords.com and tredz.co.uk for pick up at their local store or direct home delivery, as well as booking garage services online at halfords.com.