ERS Hub's Birmingham conference electrifies the skills conversation

Hundreds of delegates from the electrification community and industry in general attended over the two days, with the event choosing to co-locate with the Advanced Engineering Show in Birmingham for the first time.

They heard from 17 industry experts, were captivated by keynote speeches, debated industry trends as part of panel discussions and took part in interactive workshops.

Specialists presented from some of the sector’s main players, including JLR, Ricardo, Contechs, Page Group, Advanced Electric Machines and E.ON, with British racing driver and transgender activist Charlie Martin kicking the conference off in her usual passionate style.

“Many of the people who attended were new faces and this was important. If our rapidly emerging sector is going to hit the workforce and talent requirement we need to lead the world, then we need to open it up to the masses,” explained Deepak Farmah, Commercial Director at ERS Hub.

“This includes the next generation of workers, this includes people thinking of switching careers, this includes those in hard-to-reach groups, and it includes existing engineers looking to retrain.”

He continued: “This four-strand approach was reiterated throughout many of the sessions, whether it was Advanced Propulsion Centre’s Philippa Oldham emphasising the importance of partnerships to bring fresh talent into electrification or LaRaine Foden of Advanced Electric Machines exploring strategies to attract, retain and upskill.

“There’s definitely a conviction to develop more cross-industry partnership, signalling a collaborative drive to innovate and support SMEs.”

Evident across the two days was a palpable excitement around what the Electric Revolution Skills Hub is achieving.

In less than eighteen months, it has gone from a high-profile launch and exciting concept to the go-to place for careers and skills development in UK electrification.

More than 180,000 unique visits have been made to ershub.co.uk in that time, either to search for one of the thousands of jobs listed, the hundreds of training programmes uploaded or to access the PEMD Body of Knowledge – the holy grail for defining competences and career paths. The Electrification Self-Assessment Tool is also providing a valuable benchmark for identifying skills gaps.

“One of the best attended sessions was the Panel Session on Pragmatic Approaches to Electrification Skills Shortages,” added Deepak

“The common thread was the need for multi-faceted training and to look past the sector just being about batteries, a point made by E.ON’s Sean Holgate in his passionate explanation of the firm’s Net Zero Academy and how it is looking to broaden the talent pipeline.

“Professor Spencer Salter, Director of Research and Innovation at JLR, later told the audience: “Electrification involves more than just “putting a battery in a car”. The shift requires extensive upskilling within the workforce, and moving forward, it’s about driving efficiency and refining skills for better results.”

An exciting development to address this train of thought was announced on Day 2, with Ian Trueman lifting the lid on Contech’s bespoke High Voltage Training Programme.

This 22-week course, which has been developed in partnership with OEMs and tier 1s, is open to anyone and will bridge the gap between academia in the workplace, allowing candidates to transition quickly into our industry.

Deepak concluded: “I’m genuinely humbled to see a concept we once envisioned not only deliver significant impact but also bring together people and organisations in a unified effort to grow this community. A massive thank you to the ERS Hub team, our advisory board and everyone who has been on this vital journey with us so far.”