The British Motorshow 2022

There’s a similar (“absolutely go for it”) message from Nicola Bates, CEO at Autovia, the company that publishes Auto Express and other leading car-related titles. “The industry is changing fast and offers an increasingly diverse range of roles and specialisms, so there really is an opportunity for everyone,” Nicola insists. “The automotive sector by its very nature doesn’t help in attracting women. It’s not appealing to work in a male-dominated environment, so it’s not a surprise that only 20 per cent of the workforce are women. If we are under-represented in most roles, including in leadership positions, there is naturally less opportunity for development and growth to more senior positions. “The sort of changes she believes the industry needs to make? “Improvements will come through being more diverse and less male-dominated. We need to be working with schools, colleges and universities to make automotive an attractive industry for women. Having greater representation of females on the board, and ensuring that there are equal development opportunities to retain the female talent that we want to attract.”

Over at the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), its CEO Sue Robinson admits that a number of negative perceptions remain, despite huge improvements in recent years.

“Businesses have been looking at increasing workplace flexibility, ensuring equal opportunities for all their workforce, and providing support and an open communication channel to raise any concerns that may be affecting a colleague. If you are making an impact, you should progress – regardless of gender. “Franchised dealers have made huge progress to ensure that opportunities are available equally across the board, says Sue.”

And what does she believe women can expect after they’ve made the decision to work in and around the vibrant automotive business?

“As with everything there will be challenges, but if you work with passion and determination, the opportunities will offset any obstacles you may face,” she concludes.

Journalist and television presenter Sue Baker blazed a trail for women in motoring. For decades she wrote for major national and local newspapers and magazines and was the original frontwoman for the BBC ’s long-running, world-famous car programme…long before one of her female successors – Vicki Butler-Henderson – arrived on the scene. Housekeeping,” says Sue. “In a 50-year career as a motoring journalist, I worked for 23 years in Fleet Street and 11 years at the BBC as a Top Gear presenter, as well as writing columns for publications ranging from Auto Express to Good Housekeeping “Being something of a trail-blazer in automotive journalism meant coping with a few issues, such as older male colleagues who were sometimes put out by a young female invading ‘their’ territory. But as a good friend once told me, you can only be patronised with your permission, so never give it. Don’t be thin-skinned, either: a quiet self-belief shows what you’re made of. “Back when I started there was a stark absence of senior women in the industry, or indeed at any level, but being a lone female in the media pack gave me an advantage. I stood out amongst all the suits, a handy aid in securing interviews with top-level people “Happily there are now more women motoring journalists, but we’re still grossly under-represented when half the driver population is female.”

To read more about the thoughts of – and valuable advice from – Rebecca Adamson, Anna Gallagher, Mandy Dean, Paula Cooper, Nicola Bates, Sue Robinson and Sue Baker, visit: https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/357498/insight-women-automotive-industry-2022

School of Thought are now registered as a disability confident employer More news to come from our in house specialist to see how the industry can engage and become a disability employer

18th-21st August Farnborough International Exhibition Centre School of Thought Ambassadors

If you haven’t had time to visit a local school or college here’s a great opportunity to meet students, parents and educators and have a great day out at The British Motorshow as a volunteer for a day.

Taking risks can be costly – talk to Auto-Shield today

Contact: Julie E: Julie@ready4work.uk T: 07599 285079

HSE inspectors are still carrying out spot COVID checks following the changes in legislation. They remain focused on sanitisation, hand hygiene and ventilation. To find out more visit HSE Coronavirus: latest information and advice - HSE news

Whilst they are at your premises, they will have a look around to see if there are any health & safety concerns and obvious breaches of legislation. They will give guidance, but should they find anything a material breach of legislation they will issue either an improvement or prohibition notice and you will be charged for the visit at £160 per hour. Under HSE we are included within Manufacturing and their key focus is as follows:

Reducing the cases of occupational lung disease, MSDs, and work-related stress

Reducing serious and fatal incidents, particularly those caused by heavy loads, maintenance, and catastrophic events

Increased cooperation between all parts of the sector, and sub-sectors, to identify and solve health and safety problem The other area is hand arm vibration. Recently an ex-Client was served with an Improvement notice for failing to manage exposure to weld fume and hand arm vibration (HAVS). They were doing some of the things needed but they weren’t documented, but importantly weren’t carrying out Health Surveillance. The Client is now a current one. Health Surveillance in our industry is essential and although sometimes it can be seen as a reactive tool it can help identify failures within your risk assessments/safe systems of work, and help detect early stages of ill health to allow you to change working practices, reduce exposure for an Employee etc. We all know that COVID hasn’t gone away, and it will manifest itself in different ways for different people. The government guidance is now vague, so you must rely on what you feel is the right thing to do! There is so much uncertainty right now with the legacy of COVID, the war in Ukraine, cost of living increases and uncertainty around the economy. Is it any wonder that you may feel anxious, distressed or even angry? It is perfectly normal to feel emotions such as these (and more) across all these situations. The main thing to do is keep talking, particularly if you have children who may be scared. Childline | Childline is a great place to visit and not just for children.

Avoid situations where things get “catastrophised” such as watching the news, forums, and groups. If you are affected and your mental health is suffering contact [M]enable – Supporting wellbeing in automotive (menable.org) Home - Ben Ben offers a wide range of help and support for all situations.

The Automotive Careers Expo

In association with

18-21 August 2022 at Farnborough International.

The British Motorshow attracts visitors from all over the UK. If you want to put your school or college on the map contact the organiser or email Dave Reece at dave@ready4work.uk Get Your Tickets Here

The British Motor Show is proud to announce that the Automotive Careers Expo will return to the show in 2022.

The expo will be hosted in The IMI Technology Zone and will be taking place across the 4 days of the show, delivering seminars and sessions from manufacturers and industry suppliers showcasing the fantastic opportunities that the industry has to offer. The event will specifically focus on showcasing the vast variety of opportunities the British automotive industry has to offer and aims to attract new talent into the industry from schools, colleges and universities, as well as promoting the industry as a forward-thinking and positive place to work for those looking to re-skill. Amongst the content hosted in The IMI Tech Theatre, a specific thread is also aimed at attracting more women into the industry, supported by some of the key female figureheads from across the automotive sector. (check out the Women on the Move and Women Conquering the Car Business articles on pages 4 and 16). School of Thought, manufacturers, schools, colleges, retailers and suppliers will all be on hand, with interactive stands and staff available to chat to visitors about the wide variety of opportunities available, from apprenticeships right through to re-skilling in areas such as design, tech and marketing. We’ll be publishing more details about the day’s programme in the near future, in the meantime you can get your tickets to the show HERE or please contact us if you would like to exhibit in the Automotive Careers Expo. www.thebritishmotorshow.live

At School of Thought (Automotive) we think it's important to get people together to discuss solutions for the generation and skills gap. Why not get people together who deal with recruitment and retention, after all the "gaps" will be firmly on your agenda. So, this is a call for HR Professionals in the Automotive world to join us. We are planning a face to face meeting in the coming months. We have a venue but we think it may be too small to fit everyone in. Imagine all that experience and knowledge in one room! It doesn't matter whether you are an ambassador, a supporter, or a corporate partner, or not, we want you to be part of the solutions too. After all we are in it together. Collaboration is key!

If you are interested in getting together with your peers, contact dave@ready4work.uk or julie@ready4work.uk

#StepUp22 #bridgethegap #nextgen #fantasticfuture22 #futuretalent #collaborationiskey #schoolofthough4 #ready4work

Calling all HR Professionals

Let ’s work together to address the shortage of people coming into the automotive industry

The Ford Masters Apprenticeship Programme (FMAP) has been running for over 11 years and successfully recruits 450 new

Apprentices into the Ford dealer network every year.

Today's cars are the miracles of modern engineering. There is more computer technology in a standard family car than there was in the first Apollo rocket that took man to the Moon. On the FMAP, you can be assured that your son or daughter will receive the highest standard of training needed to work with Ford vehicles. https://www.ford.co.uk/experience-ford/careers/assessment-information/apprentices

Ambassadors why not step up and be a volunteer for a day at the British Motorshow

Taking technology into schools and colleges in a new unique way.

BBA 2022 Preview

www.schoolofthought.info

Issue Two: April 2022

Issue One January 2022 Bringing the Automotive Industry in to schools and colleges The MBASS ADOR A If you have any great stories or just need information or support just contact us:

dave@ready4work.uk julie@ready4work.uk

www.schoolofthought.info

Supported by