FEATURE
HELP WANTED: HOW THE BIKE TRADE IS TRYING TO TACKLE THE MECHANIC SHORTAGE
A shortage of skilled workshop staff has been an issue for the cycling industry for many years. So the question is, is there a skilled labour shortage, or are there shortcomings elsewhere in the trade? Daniel Blackham spoke to those in the know to find out more
THE PROBLEM
It’s no secret that there are many industries across the UK suffering from a shortage of workers, so cycling is not alone. In November 2022, 13.3% of businesses surveyed by the Office for National Statistics reported experiencing a shortage of workers.
The percentage of businesses experiencing a staffing issues has been between 12.9% and 15.4% since October 2021, with the exception of August 2022, when the figure was 16.8%. But what does this mean in real terms, especially for the
cycling trade? As I sit here writing this article, there are 27 live listings on
the BikeBiz jobs board for workshop roles with varying levels of experience – and that is not an anomaly with more being added daily. “It seems to have been the case ever since we got into
www.bikebiz.com
training,” said Sean Lally, founder of training provider Cycle Systems. “We launched Cycle Systems Academy in 2009, and we’d been approached by the people looking at setting up the TfL hire bikes, and there just weren’t enough mechanics to service 6,000 bikes. So that was set up with a lot of support from the industry. “As cycling has grown and grown every year, with the
story from 2012 and then lockdown, it seems to have outgrown the crop of current mechanics even though ourselves and all the other great people out there are training more people all the time.” Jonathan Harrison, from the Association of Cycle
Traders, speaks to retailers on a daily basis and is hearing a similar story
Harrison said: “One retailer told us that, more and more, June 2023 | 7
PHOTO BY ANTON SAVINOV ON UNSPLASH
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