The number of independents qualified to repair the rising number of EVs is incredibly low, so, the IGA is delighted to be offering Hybrid/EV training at significantly subsidised rates. One hundred course places are available for £250 instead of the standard member cost of £600, valid for 2 delegates per member site. Courses are being held over the rest of this year at all four RMI Academy sites in Lincoln, Winchester, Runcorn and Southam. Please don’t miss out, these are on a first come, first served basis - call us on 01788 225 908 to secure a place.

You should have received a letter this week with further information on GarageSafe, the IGA’s proposed solution to access security level technical information for independent garages. Audits to check the integrity of registered members are starting soon, so if you have yet to join the scheme and would like to, please call or email us and we will send you a registration form.

We are now accredited to deliver ADAS IMI AOM 230 courses, which will ensure that technicians can calibrate Advanced Driver Assistant Systems correctly. While these skills may not yet be required day-to-day, it is a great opportunity to get qualified ahead of the curve. This course is currently available at our Southam Academy, and more details and course information can be found below.

Please be aware that when claiming furlough for periods in July, employers will have to contribute 10% of wages for hours not worked, up to a cost of £312.50. This will be rising to 20% for periods in August and September before the scheme ends on 30 September 2021. Please check the bulletin article below to ensure that you are claiming correctly and understand the upcoming changes to the scheme.

We are aware that the low levels of MOT work over past few months have presented difficulties for many garages, and while we appreciate that the Government implemented the MOT extension to protect people at the time, the long-term knock-on effects have been very damaging for our industry. We are in the process of lobbying the government and requesting that the Chancellor provides financial support for garage businesses over Q2 next year when the downturn will happen again, whether that is through a variation of the furlough scheme or grants.