Auto sector scrambles to retool workforce for electric and automated future
- Need for 800,000 battery jobs by 2025 in Europe requires massive upskilling efforts
- UK faces a shortage of 3,000 EV technicians by 2031, despite growing EV ownership
- BMW training 70,000 employees globally in cloud computing, data analytics and AI annually
- Only 24% of UK technicians are qualified to work on EVs; high-voltage safety training is critical
- The U.S. expects 26% growth in auto sector software developer jobs by 2031
November 18 – The car industry is changing. Cars still have four wheels, suspension and a steering wheel but under the hood, much else is in flux. Opinion is divided on whether jobs will be lost overall, but what isn’t in doubt is that skills are shifting throughout the entire supply chain, from making the components that go into zero-emission vehicles, to servicing them and recycling them.
And that’s aside from the research and development specialists working on new materials for batteries and lighter vehicles, and the electricians and operators required to build and run the charging infrastructure.
Governments are recognising the consequences. In the United States, the Biden administration has announced training and retooling investments. The Department for Energy, alongside industry, is providing $23.6 million for the battery workforce challenge, which aims to train up to 14,000 workers for careers across the electric vehicle value chain.
In Europe, the European Battery Academy has a 10 million euros budget to train 800,000 workers with new and enhanced skills by 2025. This is because battery skills are predicted to make up the lion’s share of global automative sector employment, so investing in them might offset losses from ending the manufacture of internal combustion engines.
The International Energy Agency’s 2023 workforce study, found new battery companies in Europe were struggling to hire suitably qualified staff locally, while the EU’s own analysis suggests the bloc lacks the growing numbers of information and communication technology (ICT) specialists that will be required for the EV transition.
A major report on EU competitiveness, published in September, urged member states to establish a common framework for training with a “massive upskilling and reskilling” effort in key areas such as maintenance, cybersecurity and data processing.
Peugot’s chief executive, Linda Jackson, told The Ethical Corporation that it’s been reskilling employees who worked on petrol and diesel engines to produce batteries at its new gigafactory in northern France.
That venture, with Mecedes Benz and TotalEnergies, is expected to create 2,000 jobs by 2030. But the European battery industry is facing headwinds with tough competition from China and a slowing of EV sales in Europe.
The UK’s Faraday Institution warns , that without large-scale domestic battery production, which has the potential to create 100,000 jobs in gigafactories and their supply chains in Britain, carmakers would wind down production, meaning automotive sector employment shrinks.
The big difference between internal combustion engines and EVs is the electric power train, so the workforce must be able to handle high voltages, which are potentially lethal. The UK’s electrification skills network is trying to create a unified framework across the country, so skills are relevant.
With electrical and digital skills in high demand, many car manufacturers have their own programmes under way to upskill and reskill employees. Jaguar Land Rover – now known as JLR – recently announced a 500 million pounds investment to transform its historic Halewood facility in Merseyside to support the production of electric vehicles, alongside existing combustion and hybrid models.
Its 20 million pounds a year skills investment programme has a focus on high-voltage training, but also includes training for workers to maintain the robots that are being increasingly used in car production.
BMW is investing 400 million euros a year in its training programmes. Moritz Kippenberger, vice president for HR services, recruiting and qualifications, estimates that more than 90% of the skills the carmaker needs can be achieved by add-on training to its employees’ existing skill sets. The company puts stress on lifelong learning. But
There are obviously specific areas, such as electricians, where we need more, so we have to find new people, or upskill existing people, to make sure they meet new standards. It’s also a training effort for the whole of the product development team to be able to build and design electric vehicles.
The Institute for the Motor Industry (IMI), which delivers training globally, estimates just 24% of the workforce in the UK is qualified to work at some level on electric vehicles, and is predicting a shortage of over 3,000 technicians by 2031 unless there’s a big push on training.
The proportion of vehicles equipped with advanced driver assistance systems has grown to 13% in the UK, yet just 2% of technicians are qualified to work safely on their repair and maintenance. There’s also a greater need for professionals who can interpret and analyse vehicle performance data: the IMI estimates more than 5,000 are needed this year.
Hayley Pells, policy and public affairs lead, says the IMI is trying to map where training providers are located compared with where electric vehicle ownership is concentrated. But she notes that digital literacy skills are one of the biggest barriers:
If you can’t engage with education, then you can’t get the accreditation that you need to be compliant and safe with regulation.
BMW is placing a huge emphasis on digital skills, with a mandatory training effort to give 70,000 employees in 43 countries digital literacy skills, including cloud computing, the metaverse, data analytics and AI. It’s one of the largest training initiatives in BMW history and an example of a constant skills evolution.
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Auto sector scrambles to retool workforce for electric and automated future, source
