National Careers Week (NCW) 2026, which runs from March 2-7, is an initiative aimed at helping students and young people across the UK explore the many rewarding career paths available to them.
The week promotes career guidance and free educational resources with a focus on helping support people to make informed decisions about their future careers.
Key industry bodies in the automotive and logistics sectors have put their full weight behind the week, including the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), which is using it to highlight the sector’s expanding range of career opportunities.
The automotive workforce spans more than 200 distinct occupations, from software development and data analytics to customer experience, marketing, logistics, sustainability and senior leadership.
Latest data from the IMI, which represents the automotive workforce, illustrates the changing picture of automotive career paths, and challenges outdated perceptions of the sector.
According to the organisation, the industry increasingly requires a blend of technical, digital, commercial and environmental skills.
Nick Connor, CEO of the IMI, said: “Many people still believe that a job in the motor industry usually involves a workshop; the reality is very different.
“The sector is increasingly green, digital and technology-led.
“And with such a fast pace of change as new technologies such as electric and ADAS become the norm, automotive offers career progression and reinvention for people at many stages of life.”
According to IMI analysis, tech-led and green-linked roles are expected to grow from about 14% of today’s workforce to nearly 30% by 2032 with employers needing to adjust recruitment strategies and career pathways to ensure they can compete with other tech-led and green sectors.
Key areas of skills growth highlighted in the IMI Green Skills Report include:
- Data and IT (+51%)
- Remanufacturing and Recycling (+23%)
- Customer Experience (+23%)
The IMI said vehicle technicians increasingly require omni-competence – the ability to work safely across electric, hybrid, and internal combustion systems, alongside advanced driver assistance and connected technologies
Also, as regulation and consumer expectations push manufacturers toward closed-loop systems, new technical and compliance roles are expanding rapidly.
This means that battery dismantlers, parts-remanufacturing technicians and materials-recovery operatives – jobs which combine engineering skill with environmental awareness – will underpin the UK’s progress toward net zero waste and resource efficiency.
Connor said: “The employers that demonstrate the broadest scope of the skills required and the career opportunities available will be able to compete most successfully with other sectors in the talent arms race.”
Meanwhile, ESG managers and carbon analysts are appearing in dealer groups, logistics firms and manufacturers alike, tracking emissions, energy use and waste, and turning data into operational change.
Skills include carbon accounting, ISO 14001 management, supply-chain auditing and communication of environmental impact.
Also, hydrogen and other low-carbon fuels are gaining traction in heavy-vehicle and fleet operations.
Engineers in this space must blend mechanical and chemical expertise, handling pressurised gases safely, maintaining fuel cells and calibrating energy systems.
The IMI said that though small today, this field will become strategically important post-2027 as pilot fleets scale.
Across every sub-sector, data and sustainability are converging. Battery-data analysts, telematics specialists and predictive-maintenance engineers use analytics to reduce downtime, extend component life and cut emissions.
These hybrid roles link workshops with control rooms, requiring fluency in diagnostics, coding and environmental data.
In addition, as agency and franchise models evolve, dealerships require more commercially and digitally skilled professionals who can manage customer relationships across multiple platforms.
Connor said: “The range of skills required in automotive is expanding significantly.
“It is vital, therefore, that employers develop recruitment strategies that reflect the changing occupational mix and positively promote development pathways that offer reskilling.
“With a current vacancy rate of 16,000, the sector should be capitalising on the widest range of skills that already exist in the UK employment market.”
The British International Freight Association (BIFA) is also supporting this week’s NCW, by highlighting the wide-ranging and rewarding career opportunities available within freight forwarding and the wider logistics sector.
As the trade association for UK freight forwarders, BIFA sees NCW as an opportunity to inspire the next generation of talent, promote greater awareness of careers in international trade, and showcase the initiatives it has developed to support young professionals entering the industry.
Freight forwarding plays a vital role in keeping global trade moving, managing the complex movement of goods by air, sea, road and rail.
However, awareness of the profession among school leavers and graduates remains limited, according to BIFA.
Through targeted outreach and engagement, BIFA is working to change that perception by demonstrating that freight forwarding offers dynamic, technology-driven and globally connected career pathways.
In addition, BIFA supports its members with resources that help them engage directly with schools and colleges, offering students insight into roles spanning operations, customs compliance, supply chain management, sales, IT, sustainability and leadership.
A key pillar of BIFA’s commitment to early-career development is its Young Forwarder Network (YFN).
This provides a platform for young professionals within the industry that are under the age of 32, to connect, collaborate and develop their careers.
Its school engagement initiatives include promoting freight forwarding apprenticeships, supporting employer participation in careers fairs, and providing accessible information about the sector to educators and students.
Demonstrating the relevance of the YFN, and BIFA’s commitment to nurturing emerging leadership, the trade association recently appointed Brooke Jennings, assistant manager sales and marketing at OOCL Logistics, to its council.
Jennings has played a key role in the development of the YFN and is passionate about championing young talent and promoting logistics as a dynamic, rewarding career.
Steve Parker, Director General of BIFA, said: “National Careers Week provides an important platform to showcase the breadth of opportunity within freight forwarding.
“Our industry offers exciting, global careers with real responsibility from an early stage.
“Through our Young Forwarder Network, school engagement activity and leadership development, we are committed to inspiring and supporting the next generation.”
Initiatives such as National Careers Week help make individuals aware of the employment opportunities available in the automotive and logistics sectors, and, as a consequence, make a positive contribution to developing the highly trained, modern workforce the industry needs.
