Dr Benjamin Silverstone, Associate Professor, Head of WMG Skills Centre

There is no doubt that the vehicle industry is undergoing a seismic, once in a generation, shift that will see the model of manufacture, ownership and recycling change forever. Much is being made of the skills gaps that electrification is exposing in the industry and, unfortunately, very little is being made of the interventions and initiatives that are being developed and deployed to address this.

The industry is poised at a tipping point. There is the opportunity to re-invent itself, create a new normal, and view the irreversible changes as huge opportunities. The alternative is it can be dragged along, kicking and screaming, into the inevitable new reality it faces.

Helping employers meet evolving skills requirements

The National Electrification Skills Framework has been designed to support employers facing the need to re-skill, up-skill and new-skill workers to meet future challenges and provides a structure as well as quality assurance and employer engagement to ensure that training interventions fully meet needs. Taking an industry agnostic approach, the Framework makes use of expertise from a wide range of industries and employers involved in the shift to electrification.

The Framework is underpinned by the Foresighting methodology, which makes use of workshops with technology experts, employers and educators to establish and articulate the capabilities and competencies that are required to meet future needs. These are then mapped against roles at different levels and then to the qualifications and training that can deliver against the competencies, whether this is through the curation of existing qualifications or the creation of new ones.

Up to 50 new training activities in development

Having undertaken this for vehicle electrification, a need for immediate interventions has been identified and up to 50 new training activities are in development. The most important part of this process is that, unlike other training and education interventions, it is not driven by volume. All capabilities and competencies are treated the same, which means that training will be available to cover all requirements.

Understanding the proportions to which re-skilling, up-skilling and new-skilling are required is important in preparing for the shift to electrification. There are a few key concepts to take into consideration here. Firstly, your workforce will not be the same in eight years’ time for a number of reasons, people will retire, others will leave, the balance of specialisms will change. Understanding what the workforce will look like is the starting point when deciding how to apply skills interventions.

Planning the most efficient use of resources

Identifying the roles that will be subject to significant change is critical, the exhaust engineers, for example, will need to re-skill in order to remain employed. Identifying roles that are suited to their existing skill set to reduce the scale of that re-skilling is the most efficient use of resources but it is worth considering roles that are entirely different in order to add challenge. The design of the curriculum within the National Electrification Skills Framework is designed to enable focused interventions for re-skilling through a modular structure. This means that individuals can do the parts that they need to do in order to meet the needs of new roles.

Attracting and retaining highly skilled staff

Electrification offers huge opportunities to provide people with higher skilled and more challenging roles. In addition, there is a greater expectation emerging from the workforce for development and advancement opportunities. With greater competition for highly capable individuals driven by new entrants to the market, there is an even greater need to invest in staff in order to aid retention. Up-skilling provides opportunities to achieve these aims whilst also meeting the need for higher skilled and able staff. The National Electrification Skills Framework provides an opportunity to create development opportunities that break down traditional barriers to advancement through a skills escalator approach. Creating end to end skills solutions will be key in attracting and retaining highly skilled and experienced staff.

The challenges of attrition can be met through new-skilling people into the workforce. Apprenticeships schemes, appropriate education in colleges and universities and enabling people to enter the workforce from completely different sectors are all methods of meeting this demand. Unlike re-skilling and up-skilling, new-skilling requires a longer-term approach. Typically, the lead time is measured in years as developing someone through a degree programme, or an apprenticeship, takes time. This is where Foresighting, not just of skills but also of demand, attrition and capability requirements, becomes even more important. To help meet this need, the curriculum for new-skilling programmes includes all of that which is included in re-skilling and up-skilling programmes where the end outcome is the same. This means that staff who come out of longer course programmes are as up to date as those who have undertaken more immediate need CPD.

Recruiting and retaining staff

The challenge posed by new entrants to the market is one that cannot be ignored. More employers will be competing for the same skilled workers and therefore there is a threat, not just to recruiting the skilled staff needed, but also in retaining skilled staff. This is where the industry agnostic aspect of the National Electrification Skills Framework really comes into its own. Our work has demonstrated that the skillsets needed across all aspects of electrification have several similarities. This means that training and education that is designed to be industry agnostic will deliver a highly mobile workforce that can move more easily between sectors that were once siloed. A more mobile and highly skilled workforce is of high benefit to the vehicle industry.

The skills challenge posed by the shift to electrification is not insurmountable, but it is one that will take effort and careful planning to achieve effectively. Now is not the time to rely on pedigree or brand to attract or retain talent. A forward-looking skills approach that provides opportunities to grow and develop whilst responding to the rapidly shifting technological landscape is going to be attractive and skills are the currency with which future success will be bought. Now is the time to join the work being carried out by the National Electrification Skills Framework and help take a lead in this agenda, rather than being a passenger.

Article originally featured in Future Vehicle magazine here