the shift towards EVs

Another key trend in the automotive industry at the moment, which will give rise to new skills requirements for businesses, is the steady transition away from internal combustion engines and towards electric motors.

Countries including the UK and Norway, as well as the US state of California and the Canadian province of Quebec, have announced plans to eventually ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger vehicles.

Research by the IEA showed that global sales of electric cars exceeded 2.1 million in 2019, surpassing the previous record set in 2018. This growth boosted the total stock of electric cars to 7.2 million. The agency also forecast 'further strong growth' in the coming years, following an increase of 40% in EV adoption in 2020.

Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said: 'While they can't do the job alone, electric vehicles have an indispensable role to play in reaching net-zero emissions worldwide. Current sales trends are very encouraging, but our shared climate and energy goals call for even faster market uptake.'

This shift away from petrol and diesel vehicles in favor of EVs will undoubtedly have an impact on automakers and their workforces. In Germany, for example, it has been suggested that job losses resulting from this trend could exceed the number of employees retiring in the coming years.

The UK's Institute of the Motor Industry has warned of a deficit in the number of workers with skills relevant to the EV segment.

It seems clear there will be a growing need to acquire talent that will help your business succeed and keep up with fast-moving trends in the EV space in the coming years. Recruitment will play a vital role in this, but it will also be important to focus on how reskilling your workforce will help you succeed by supporting your people as they progress in their careers.

the rise of AI

Effective talent acquisition and workforce skilling activities will also prove crucial for businesses that want to be on the right side of another key tech trend in the auto industry: the growth of AI.

Various sectors around the world are increasing their investment in this area, and starting to see the returns. The results of McKinsey's latest global survey on AI, published in November 2020, suggested that more organizations are using AI as a tool to generate value, including increased revenues. Half of the companies surveyed said they had adopted AI in at least one function, while 22% reported that at least 5% of their earnings before interest and tax was directly attributable to AI.

In the automotive sector, AI could prove to be 'one of the new keys to success' for businesses, according to Suzanne Tracy, high-performance computing portfolio marketing senior manager at Dell Technologies. Writing in CIO magazine, she noted that this area of innovation could support everything from the development of autonomous vehicles to the transformation of research, design and manufacturing processes.

As far as recruitment is concerned, the growing importance of AI across the industry will have a big influence on businesses' efforts to find and acquire people with very specific skills and capabilities. Targeting your hiring and taking a carefully considered approach to skills assessment will prove crucial if you want to generate value from these cutting-edge technologies.

Preparing the workforce for the onset of AI is just one key area of reskilling. As the industry becomes more automated and focused on quality, line workers are also expected to have more skills in robotics, data-driven systems and robotic process automation. At the same time, digitalization is transforming nearly every aspect of the average business, from customer-facing activities undertaken by sales and marketing, to back-office functions including HR, procurement and legal. This means, to continue to drive efficiency, the sector must reskill many of its workers to be high performers in a digital and highly connected business environment.

'Facing challenging times ahead, auto manufacturers more than ever will need to optimize their workforce to raise productivity, accelerate innovation and make their companies more competitive,' she said. 'That means human capital leaders need to consider how a more agile workforce, powered by an expanded use of flexible talent, can help them drive top-line growth while minimizing people costs.'

Accelerating the capabilities of the workforce should be a priority for the entire auto industry, and not just companies seeking to create electric or self-driving cars. Only through innovation and workforce agility will automakers survive and thrive amid dynamic market changes.

Find these insights useful? We've created a white paper about the leading HR trends in the automotive sector, including practical actions you can take to position your business for future success.

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