Autotech Recruit has re-branded its business, placing its three existing divisions - Autotech Recruit, Autotech Training and Autotech Apprentice – under one umbrella company, Autotech Group.

The company has also moved to larger premises, reflecting its increased headcount and onsite training provisions, and increased the management team in line with business growth.

Under a new corporate structure, the three founding members of the company make up the executive board with Andrew Sly becoming CFO, Stephen Hughes, COO, while former managing director, Gavin White now heads up the company as CEO.

Simon King, who initially joined Autotech Recruit last year as new concepts manager following almost 20 years with Kwik-Fit, takes over as managing director of the recruitment division.

He will lead a core team of recruiters, providing the UK’s automotive industry with temporary vehicle technician and MOT tester cover through its network of contractors.

Focus will also be on equipping Autotech Recruit’s growing network of over 450 contractors with further training and technical information to boost their employability.

“Temporary recruitment is a core element of our offering, as it was the catalyst for the establishment of the company,” said King. “However, over recent years the company has responded to industry demands for recruitment, both temporary and permanent, training and apprenticeships by creating separate divisions. Now, due to the individual success of these divisions, the company is strengthening the teams behind each and providing greater provisions, which will fuel further growth as we enter a second decade in business.”

Autotech Recruit has launched several initiatives in response to demand from OEMs and dealerships. From the launch of its Manufacturer Led Programme, supplying manufacturer trained vehicle technicians on a temporary basis to the UK’s authorised repairers, to its bespoke recruitment process outsourcing solution, Hybrid RPO, delivering multiple technicians across multiple sites – potentially saving an automotive company or OEM up to 74% of its permanent recruitment costs per year.

Running parallel to Autotech Recruit are Autotech Training and Autotech Apprentice. Stephen Kirk, who was previously national sales manager, has become managing director of these two divisions.

“The Training and Apprentice divisions of Autotech Recruit were originally developed as part of the company’s organic growth in line with industry demands,” Kirk said. “However, with garages increasingly seeking skilled workers coupled with the progression of vehicle technology, it is vital that all technicians have access to high quality training and, for younger generations, apprenticeship programmes which will ensure the future of the industry is sustained.”

Last year alone Autotech Training delivered 287 days of training and, with training partnerships already established with leading providers including Bosch and ZF Training and further partnerships in the pipeline, Autotech Training is setting out an ambitious plan which will see them double the size of this over the course of 2020.

Picture caption: (L to R) Simon King, Gavin White and Stephen Kirk.