Innovative electrification companies have no option other than to bring in people with transferable skills says Jonathan Lee Recruitment. The company who operate in the marketplace say employers cannot offer enough candidates with direct, relevant sector experience because the industry is still in its infancy. This is heightened by the chronic skills shortage, which means employers must think creatively to attain the skills they need to grow their business.
Electrification is an area of rapid growth, with UK energy targets to decarbonise driving the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) and having far-reaching implications for energy infrastructure. The UK currently has over 16,000 public charging points, and the government has established a £400 million fund to finance a much needed expansion of the network, if targets outlined in Road to Zero Government strategy are to be met. This planned network overhaul presents an exciting employment opportunity, as well as the chance to upskill the existing workforce.
Electrical engineering university courses specialising in renewables have become common place in the UK over the past few years, however, businesses are having to tap into parallel sectors to attain experienced power electrical/electronics engineers, design engineers, project managers and commercial managers to bridge the immediate skills gap. There is clearly a lack of people with like-for-like experience and a significant number of businesses are finding it hard to recruit the right skill-set and experience.
“The majority of potential employees are already in work and not actively seeking a change of role,” said Lee Elwell, principal consultant for energy at Jonathan Lee. “Employers need to be flexible, creative and proactive in their approach to attracting the talent they need to fill business critical roles.”
Lee says he has seen first-hand successful examples of people transferring from traditional energy spheres into electrification. “In the short to medium-term, at least, it will be vital to utilise candidates with these transferable skills. It is the only way businesses will be able to grow,” he said. “Some businesses will be cautious about transferable skills, but we have seen people from utilities and power move into EV charging – an area of huge growth – and they have performed fantastically well. Similarly, people with traditional automotive design skills are often suited to other product design roles.”
Lee believes while many sectors face uncertainty in post Brexit Britain, electrification is bucking the trend with robust government backing and capital investment facilitating growth.
