A new “knowledge bank” has been formed to attract young, enthusiastic workers and experienced engineers to fill 169,000 jobs needed to lead the UK’s charge towards zero-emission vehicles.
Yesterday’s launch saw the creation of The Power Electronics, Machines and Drives Body of Knowledge tasked with redefining industry standards and understanding of the essential skills and capabilities necessary.
The brains collective will provide a real-time list of available positions, expertise required and average remuneration for those looking to get into power electronics and machines – key roles in the electrification race that companies thriving in Brexit Britain are desperate to win.
Petar Igic, director of The Electric Revolution Skills Hub, said: “It requires a broad and evolving set of skills and competencies that traditionally have been challenging to navigate for individuals and organisations, a problem exacerbated by differences in language used by employers, course providers and learners.
“This situation is holding the sector back and preventing new talent from entering at exactly the time companies need them – if we don’t try to reverse this trend, then the UK could quite easily find itself falling behind in the electrification race.
“We had to do something about this and by bringing together more than 100 different industry and academic experts we have come up with this ground-breaking initiative.”
Individuals, employers, course providers, recruiters, and companies are now being urged to sign up to access a wealth of information on skills, competencies and training needed to work in the sector now and in the future.
The initiative, developed through a collaboration of industry and academic experts led by Coventry University, has been hailed as a game-changing moment for a sector expected to generate more than £12 billion of domestic revenue by 2025 and create more than 169,000 jobs.
The aim is to urgently start bridging the skills gap through a common framework of technology, skills, and proficiencies which place an emphasis on continuous learning and evolution.
Experts behind the drive include Rowan Crozier, Chief Executive of Birmingham metal maker Brandauer), Louise Phipps of West Midlands Combined Authority, Jason Cole of Jonathan Lee Recruitment, and Elizabeth Bonfield of Skills 4 Training.
Britain has vowed to become fully net zero by 2050. Already Tata, the Indian-owned parent company of Jaguar Land Rover, is poised to invest £4 billion to build a new electric car battery factory in Somerset, in a move that will create 4,000 jobs.
Mr Igic said: “The issue is there aren’t enough people to fill those 169,000 jobs. While there are multiple engineers with experience and recent graduates, only a few decide to enter the field.
“There are multiple reasons. Employers would rather hire experienced engineers than train people, unappealing job offers, unclear requirements and skills for roles, or a language gap in industry and education.”
Deepak Farmah, who chaired the launch at The Museum of London, said: “The universal language of electrification is now live – it is time for the sector to embrace it to ensure the UK leads the way to a greener future.”
