Automotive’s charging up electric skills

The industry’s upskilling and getting ready to service the needs of an increasingly electrified vehicle parc. The IMI has pushed the need to increase EV skills, so that businesses are ready for when electrified vehicles role into the workshop.

And while vehicle manufacturers continue to invest in developing the core technologies to make EVs a success in the market, they’re also beginning to invest in people too.

Jaguar Land Rover announced a global upskilling drive, in a bid to train 29,000 people in the next three years for its connected and data capabilities, and to support the rapid transition to electrification. That’s a huge decision and highlights how far down the road to electrification we have come.

Barbara Bergmeier, Jaguar Land Rover Industrial Operations Executive Director said: “Our plans to electrify our product portfolio are running at pace, and we are rapidly scaling up our future skills training programme to ensure we have the right talent to deliver the world’s most desirable modern luxury electric vehicles.

“Developing the skilled global workforces needed to design, build and maintain the vehicles of the future is foundational. I’m proud to say we are committing to help plug the electric and digital skills gap with a comprehensive, global training programme, which will power charge electrification both here in the UK and abroad.”

Currently around 80% of nearly 1,300 franchised Jaguar Land Rover retailers around the world offer electric vehicle servicing, so to tackle the skills gaps, the company is ensuring the majority of servicing technicians will receive electrification training this year. But the number of people to be upskilled goes beyond the dealer network.

As well as technicians, Jaguar Land Rover plans to retrain thousands of highly skilled automotive engineers and production employees, who previously worked on the development of internal combustion cars, to specialise in electrification, digital and autonomous cars.

According to Jaguar Land Rover the skills programme will result in a total of 11,450 technicians in retailers around the world being trained in electrification over the next one-to-three years.

The company aims to deliver training for thousands of apprentices in the next three years, so the next generation has key skills including electrification and autonomous driving. This is in addition to nearly 10,000 Jaguar Land Rover and franchised retailer apprentices already in training around the world.

The manufacturer needs to prepare as it shifts away from combustion technology.

Jaguar will become a pure-electric luxury brand from 2025, and in the next five years, Land Rover will welcome six all-electric variants. As an electric-first business, by the end of the decade every model in the firm’s line-up will be available as a battery electric vehicle.

Time to dig a little deeper? The IMI offers a range of Electric Vehicle Qualifications to prepare you for the electrified future