The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has secured additional funding from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) to develop an information and communications technology (ICT) teaching resource.

The new ICT resource will be an addition to the IMI’s Headlight programme that covers curriculum skills while introducing careers in the retail motor industry to young people.

Headlight currently enables schools and colleges to access free automotive related teaching resources that cover the curriculum areas of numeracy and business & enterprise at key stage 3, 4 and BTEC levels.

From September 2013 a literacy resource will also be available and the IMI hopes to launch the ICT resource at the same time.

The IMI hopes this new initiative will help it to engage with a wider audience and address the lack of basic IT skills in school leavers.

It is expected that the new ICT element will help increase the take up of Headlight from 200 to 350+ schools and engagement with 7,500 students across the UK.

Linda Stansfield , IMI chief operating officer, said: “This will allow us to greatly extend our reach to young people.

“For many, because of the poor public perception of the industry, the automotive retail sector is not seen as a career of choice.

“The Headlight family of resources allow us to highlight the fantastic opportunities in the sector to young people at an early stage, as well as fulfilling core skills requirements in the National Curriculum in an invaluable teaching resource.”