Elevating electrification skills for a thriving UK future

The UK is undergoing a significant transition to technologies which will enable decarbonisation of our economy through electrification.

The skills gap for electrification is well recognized and documented. There is a significant workforce development requirement to ensure that we can effectively deploy electrification across many sectors to meet the UK’s net zero commitments, and this is where the Electrification Skills Network comes in.

The UK’s transition to electrification involves many technologies such as batteries, power electronics, machines and drives, hydrogen fuel cells, materials extraction and processing and end-of-life and recycling technologies, digitalization and automation. The UK must develop, manufacture and employ these technologies so that it can prosper from this transition.

It is vital that we address the skills needs to support the transition to electrification through the creation and implementation of a framework for electrification workforce development. The implementation of an electrification workforce development framework will attract foreign direct investment as companies select the UK as their manufacturing location, will enable businesses to grow through the availability of a trained workforce, and ultimately enable us to meet our net zero commitments.

Coventry University will lead the National Electrification Skills Framework and Forum in collaboration with Enginuity, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and the UK Battery Industrialization Centre (UKBIC). The consortium, which will also work closely with the Innovate UK Workforce Foresighting Hub, will harness its members' combined strengths and experience to deliver a National Electrification Skills Framework and Forum to benefit the UK electrification industry, and society.

The vision for the Electrification Skills Network is to enable the transition to electrification through a coordinated approach to workforce development. The aim of this intervention is to create an independent body that can lead the ESN initiative and facilitate a coordinated approach to workforce development.

To find out more, visit https://www.electrificationskillsnetwork.co.uk/