SKILLS SHORTAGE HITS RESTO COSTS
Too few workers to recruit has led to backlogs, claim specialists
Specialists across the UK have spoken of the difficulty in recruiting welders, panel beaters and sprayers. Many are making efforts to retain more experienced staff, but are concerned about the future. One company has failed to find suitable candidates despite advertising posts offering up to £18 an hour.
West Yorkshire-based 911 Retro Works specialises in classic Porsches and is looking for people with welding fabrication and other skills.
Co-owner David Benson, said: ‘ You just don’t seem to be able to get people. We do all our work here and there’s a great demand.
‘Restorations are continuing but we really would like new recruits with the skills to work on Porsche bodywork.’
Derbyshire-based specialist Bly and Son Limited, which restores a wide variety of classics at its headquarters in Breaston, reported similar issues with recruiting the right specialists to carry out its latest projects.
Its proprietor, Mark Tombs, explained: ‘ We would like to recruit but it seems that there are just not the people around to go into bodywork repairs.
‘COVID-19 seems to have had an effect. People are doing other things or have called it a day. I don’t think people like to get their hands dirty any more.’
Some specialists say that although there are successful candidates out there, a major effort is needed to find and recruit them.
Neil Atkinson is managing director of Bishop Auckland, County Durham-based The Carrosserie Company, which carries out full nut and bolt restorations on various examples of vintage exotica, along with many other commissions.
‘ We realise we have been lucky to find excellent people and recently taken on a 16-year-old apprentice, Charlie Griffiths, who is doing really well,’ he said.
Classic Motor Cars, based in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, is one of Britain’s biggest restoration companies with 40 staff and normally around 100 cars on the premises.
Managing director Nigel Woodward said: ‘ We have been lucky to take on four to five new people recently – and the people we want aren’t easy to find. We have to search hard nowadays, but thankfully we also have people who have been with us for a long time.’
Warren Kennedy at Classic Restorations in Milton Keynes said he has long realised potential staff shortages. ‘ With that in mind we kept everyone on, and everything going during COVID-19, though we did run short of materials.’ Nick Larkin