RECHARGE UK calls for new government to put renewed focus on skills
Specifically, the group wants to see radical changes to skills and training courses across the UK.
This builds upon recommendations set out in the group’s report ‘Harnessing the skills opportunities of a recharged electric vehicle sector’ which explores how the UK can equip its workforce for the exciting opportunities emerging in the EV sector.
RECHARGE UK is the EV arm of the REA (Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology). The report was produced in association with Curzon Consulting.
Ahead of the General Election, Labour said it would provide Technical Excellence Colleges which would work with businesses, trade unions and local government to provide young people with better job opportunities and the highly trained workforce local communities need in this changing world.
The government has now confirmed that it will establish a body to be known as Skills England, and reform the Apprenticeship Levy.
A briefing document states that Skills England will ‘bring together businesses, providers, unions, mayoral combined authorities and government to ensure we have the highly trained workforce that England needs’.
RECHARGE UK’s report calls for Centres of Excellence for Net Zero Skills which would see local employers sponsor courses at these sites, located in existing colleges and schools in the heart of communities. Providing additional funding, and resources to these education establishments. It would provide a clear and obvious pathway for post 19 education, where college and university graduates could specialise in net zero skills such as chargepoint installation and maintenance.
The REA’s Transport Policy Manager Matthew Adams said
We welcome the engagement Labour had with our skills report when they were in opposition. I hope that we can continue to have a strong relationship to deliver the change the industry needs to accelerate the deployment of charging infrastructure across the UK. The launch this week of Skills England prioritising the skills the UK needs going forward is a good start and I hope takes on some of our recommendations and recognises the challenges for each part of the EV sector from manufacturers, to installers and charge point operators (CPOs) to software providers and local authorities and technicians.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) estimate that by 2030, between 80,000- 100,000 jobs[1] could be created by electric vehicle and battery manufacturing in the UK. Meanwhile we are seeing a decline in the number of people qualified to operate and install electrical machinery. Since 2018 the number of people with electro technical skills has fallen by 19% from 342,000 in 2018/19 to 276,000 ± 10,000 in 2023[2].
Research by Curzon Consulting for RECHARGE UK’s report offers a unique insight into current and future recruitment concerns by charge point operators (CPOs). Of those CPOs interviewed by Curzon, 75% of CPOs expressed the view that the current skills gap was “significant” to “very significant”. Recruitment is predominantly from outside the EV industry and 25% of CPOs stated that it took them two months to fill vacancies, with 42% experiencing a lag of three months or longer to fill EV electrician roles.
Almost 40% of those surveyed also said that skills shortages were impacted by Geography. This highlights that a full national strategy like a Centres for Excellence programme could be beneficial in addressing the growing demand for electrical skills across the country.
Most pressingly all CPOs surveyed said that demand for electricians would rise significantly in future and 48% said that demand would rise beyond what the current workforce could support.
Natalia Sokolova, Partner, Curzon Consulting, commented:
With the establishment of Skills England and the reform of the Apprenticeship Levy, we are setting the stage to bring together businesses, providers, unions, and government bodies to build a highly trained workforce. Our research evidences that we must go even further to create Centres of Excellence for Net Zero Skills. The time to act is now
The report can be viewed here – https://www.r-e-a.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Harnessing_the_skills_Report-D2_Low-Res.pdf
[1] https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/CCC-A-Net-Zero-Workforce-Web.pdf
[2] https://www.the-esp.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/TESP-2023-LMI-Refresh-879.pdf
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Concerns & opportunities: Harnessing the skills opportunities of a recharged electric vehicle sector
The recent RECHARGE UK report on ‘Harnessing the skills opportunities of a recharged electric vehicle sector’, in association with Curzon Consulting, explores how the UK can equip its workforce for the exciting opportunities emerging in the EV sector.
It’s clear from the research that various concerns are prevalent across multiple stakeholders.
The number one concern for all participants is attaining and maintaining a capable, skilled workforce. Cited through various frustrations in workforce shortages, EV skills gaps and funding.
DNOs, CPOs & Tech-Safe accredited organisations all struggle to recruit electricians with the relevant EV experience. Many indicate the existing workforce does not have the specific knowledge required to maintain the EV sector or the capability to meet the future demands of the industry, with little time to retrain.
Forecasts predict a shortage of qualified technicians to service the growing number of electric vehicles. Skilled EV personnel are often lured by large contracts and concentrated in urban areas, leaving a limited talent pool for smaller organisations in rural communities.
Similarly, Local Authorities, especially those in rural areas, work hard to attract qualified staff for EV infrastructure projects. With limited, temporary funding, they lack the budget to hire & retain experienced staff.
Vehicle Manufacturers are concerned about recruiting staff across the entire EV design & manufacturing process. Reskilling the existing workforce will be an expensive challenge, with many traditional mechanic roles disappearing to be replaced by the shift to electric.
Software Providers have similar recruitment challenges, with software development courses too focused on marketing applications and not enough on practical engineering applications.
For those with specialised EV skills, sourcing and attracting qualified professionals is demanding due to low unemployment and high competition within the software development field.
However, it’s not all doom & gloom… the report made four recommendations to ensure the EV sector can compete globally and meet the stakeholder concerns.
As expected, the EV sector offers significant, job & career opportunities, for a diverse workforce, across the entire sector. However, a reform in education is required to ensure qualified, and capable individuals meet the needs of the industry.
Upskilling and retraining to support the continued improvement and promotion of opportunities to the existing workforce and reskilling programmes, to ensure that those in the workforce without relevant skills, outside of the EV sector can access the growing number of opportunities on offer.
However, for the sector to meet the demands, these recommendations require collaboration between the Government, the EV industry, and the Education sector.
Details of the full report can be found here.
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Harnessing the skills opportunities of a recharged electric vehicle sector
We are honoured to be the official supporter of a new report “Harnessing the skills opportunities of a recharged electric vehicle sector”. The report was prepared by RECHARGE UK, the EV arm of the REA (Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology) in association with Curzon Consulting. The report examines how the UK can equip its workforce for the exciting opportunities emerging in the EV sector.
Research compiled from industry stakeholders explores four key recommendations all requiring collaboration between the EV sector, local & central government, and educators, to ensure the UK workforce is prepared for, and, has the opportunities to learn the relevant skills needed to shape a sustainable, capable workforce.
Matt Western MP, Shadow Minister for Higher Education and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Electric Vehicles, said:
If we are going to decarbonise our economy and take advantage of the green opportunities of the future, we will need a workplace capable of delivering it. That’s why this report by the REA is so important and I hope it positively influences the debate.
There’s so much enthusiasm for the climate agenda among young people we need to harness. I want to see the Government commit to supporting colleges to specialise in the technical skills needed to build electric vehicles, as well as reform the apprenticeship levy to unlock funding for retraining and reskilling employees in the automotive sector.
Andrew Morgan, Managing Partner at Curzon Consulting, said:
Our contributing research with industry stakeholders on the frontline of the EV revolution shines a light on the exciting new career paths it is creating and the determination they are making to grow and develop the talent pool. It also underlines the urgent and continued need to do more and for industry to be supported by Government to match the efforts and underpin the continued expansion of the EV sector.
Details of the full report can be found here.