When you think of a job working with cars, you probably envision dirty overalls and puddles of grease and oil. For decades, the smoky workshop filled mostly with men getting their hands dirty was the stereotype for auto repair. It is easy to see how this would be off-putting for those considering a career in the automotive sector. However, with the cutting-edge technology packed into cars today, a career in the automotive world is more akin to working in a science lab than an oily workshop.

The cars of today are far more akin to laptops and mobile phones than the emissions spewing machines of the 20th Century. Microchips, sensors and data processing units are more prevalent than spark plugs, engine manifolds and catalytic convertors in modern cars. In 2025 over a quarter of new cars sold were electric or hybrid vehicles. BloombergNEF projects this figure will exceed 50% by the end of the decade.

Maintaining these cars will increasingly be a feat of computer science, rather than mechanical knowhow. Proficiency in handling tools and a willingness to get your hands dirty will be increasingly less required from the car workers of tomorrow. Instead, data analytics, software programming and an ability to harness the power of AI will increasingly be the skills required for a successful career in automotive maintenance.

This shift undoubtedly represents a significant and potentially concerning change for the millions of people around the world already working in car maintenance. The skillset required to maintain and fix the cars of today is undoubtedly a significant change from those required even 5 years ago. However, this represents an opportunity to retrain and upskill an already highly skilled workforce.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this change in skillset is what it means for the automotive industry's ability to attract new, young talent to replace those retiring. Every profession and industry must concern itself with creating a steady pipeline of new recruits to remain sustainable. It is easy to see how past stereotypes of oily overalls and dirty workshops was off-putting for those considering a career in automotive engineering.

Not so today. The modern, highly technological nature of cars today makes working with them a significantly different prospect. Those young people who are keen to combine and flex their engineering and analytical muscles have a home in the automotive world. The chance to shape some of the most innovative technology out there today, in a high-tech, cutting-edge environment is surely going to entice hundreds of thousands of the best and brightest minds.

The automotive industry currently has a demographic problem. In mature markets such as the UK and US, the proportion of the workforce aged under 25 remains strikingly low, with industry bodies warning of a growing generational gap. An increasingly ageing workforce must be replaced for the industry to maintain its position as one of the world's leading manufacturing sectors. This is especially the case with the aftermarket parts sector that my company of Armtek sits in, an industry valued at up to €300bn in Europe alone.

Leaning into the increasingly tech-focused, innovative aspect of automotive design, manufacture, maintenance and repair will be a key part of how to ensure the renewal of the industry's workforce. It will require a significant effort of marketing and proactivity on behalf of the myriad of associations, trade-unions and companies that comprise the sector's representative bodies, but it is essential to our industry's survival.

We have the potential to stand at the beginning of a golden age for the automotive industry. Before our very eyes cars are morphing into entirely different machines, ones with engineering and innovation aspects that would be attractive to any budding engineering mind. This is a moment to capitalise upon and instigate a concerted drive to get the best and brightest young engineers in our industry and shape its future.