As the UK transport and engineering sectors face a widening skills shortage, Mac’s Truck Sales is making the case for long-term training over short-term recruitment.
The company says many businesses are trying to “hire their way out” of the problem by competing for a limited pool of experienced engineers, driving up costs without solving the root issue. At Mac’s, the answer has been to invest in apprenticeships and develop talent in-house.
Technical Director Andy Hall describes the challenge as an “experience gap” between academic learning and real workshop demands, adding: “The only way to fix the skills shortage is to train the workforce. It’s the only way forward.”
For more than 10 years, Mac’s Truck Sales has partnered with Kirklees College, bringing in between five and seven apprentices each year. The company says these apprentices are trained to its own standards from day one, learning not just how work is done, but why.
Mac’s also highlights exposure to data-driven design through KTP partnerships with Huddersfield University, alongside a bespoke problem-solving approach shaped by customer needs.
The result, it says, is a future-ready workforce and a stronger business built on careers, not just jobs.