{"id":4562,"date":"2021-11-08T09:27:59","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T08:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/?p=4562"},"modified":"2022-03-17T16:33:04","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T15:33:04","slug":"training-a-key-element-of-e-mobility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/training-a-key-element-of-e-mobility\/","title":{"rendered":"Training: a key element of e-mobility"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Training<\/p>\n

Electric batteries\u00a0constitute\u00a0the core\u00a0technology\u00a0for decarbonising\u00a0transport and\u00a0powering\u00a0the growth of the electric vehicle market. The European Commission estimates that over the next four years battery industries in the European Union could employ\u00a0up to\u00a0<\/span>800,000 people<\/span><\/b>,\u00a0<\/span><\/b>with\u00a0<\/span><\/b>150,000 of those in France<\/span><\/b>.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Skills availability and access is vital if businesses in the industry are to be competitive. So how do we meet the growing need for skills and a qualified workforce for the sector?\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gilles Moreau, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer\u00a0at\u00a0Verkor, tells us more about the\u00a0training challenges\u00a0facing the sector, and the\u00a0solutions to overcome\u00a0them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the current situation\u00a0in terms of training for the battery sector in 2021?<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The energy transition\u00a0is bringing about a major transition from traditional trades to\u00a0\u201cgreen jobs\u201d. The BCG (Boston Consulting Group)\u00a0predicts that between now and 2030\u00a0jobs related to\u00a0ICE\u00a0manufacturing and supply\u00a0will drop significantly,\u00a0while\u00a0jobs in the electric car industry, including recycling,\u00a0will\u00a0increase\u00a0sharply.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It also puts the number of employees who will need specialised training at 2.4 million, 225,000 of whom will require vocational retraining\u00a0to move, for example, from the automotive assembly line to\u00a0battery-cell production. (Source:<\/span>\u00a0\u201cIs E-mobility a Green Boost for European Automotive Jobs?\u201d – BCG)\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Gilles Moreau<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u201cas it stands,\u00a0the training offer for the battery sector is not up to scratch. There are not enough engineering schools\u00a0in France and in Europe covering electrochemistry\u00a0to meet the needs\u00a0of factories that will be built. We need more skills in this area, more workers who are qualified and specialised in batteries. Training\u00a0is key in all of this.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0goal is ambitious:\u00a0a\u00a0Europe\u00a0that is\u00a0self-sufficient in e-mobility and electric battery manufacturing. The three battery\u00a0gigafactory\u00a0builds\u00a0planned\u00a0in France between now and 2024 adds urgency to the\u00a0sector\u2019s training needs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So\u00a0what are the solutions?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A European battery academy<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rising to the challenge of \u201cmade in Europe\u201d batteries,\u00a0<\/span>EIT InnoEnergy<\/span>\u00a0signed a partnership agreement with the French government and with the French industrial training providers,\u00a0OPCO 2i and OPCO Mobilit\u00e9s,\u00a0in July 2021 to form the EBA Academy in France.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The purpose of the academy is to fast-track vocational training in the battery sector via a training services platform created for and with businesses in the industry. Some 150,000 people can be trained through this structure. According to Christine Durand, Learning Solutions Manager at EIT InnoEnergy France, \u201cthe EBA Academy comes at a time of imbalance between a battery market that is set to grow exponentially between now and 2025, and a shortage of talents to support this growth. We needed to come up with an innovative solution to pool existing\u00a0training, and\u00a0move fast to create\u00a0new\u00a0content.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0EBA Academy\u00a0currently\u00a0offers 30 training modules for qualification levels ranging from senior technician to senior executive. Training covers the entire value chain, battery fundamentals, as well as aspects relating to the battery market, innovation, electrochemistry, the battery management system, and more.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To accelerate the process, EIT InnoEnergy has joined up with two French training operators, APAVE (145 expert training centres and trainers) and IFP TRAINING (around 100 full-time trainers and 600 guest trainers), and other\u00a0structures will be joining the EBA Academy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Verkor\u00a0is actively involved in the EBA Academy programme. \u201cWe are\u00a0the EBA Academy\u2019s biggest client. We know EIT InnoEnergy well, as it is one of our first investors. This means the EBA can start its programme, giving\u00a0Verkor\u00a0the opportunity to design useful and bespoke training\u00a0to meet our\u00a0needs.\u00a0Verkor\u00a0is both a client and supplier\u201d, Moreau says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Training at the VIC\u00a0(Verkor\u00a0Innovation Centre<\/a>)<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Created by\u00a0Verkor, the VIC will be operational from 2022 and has three\u00a0core\u00a0functions:\u00a0innovation, manufacturing and training.\u00a0It\u00a0will have its own training centre for training a new generation of experts in the battery sector,\u00a0giving them access to the resources and facilities of a state-of-the-art research laboratory.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The VIC training offer will support the automotive sector\u2019s industrial transition to electric,\u00a0and the creation of\u00a0its\u00a0battery value chain,\u00a0from raw materials to recycling.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gilles Moreau adds that \u201cthe VIC training centre is an opportunity for\u00a0Verkor\u00a0to give specialised training on batteries, upskill people working in the sector, and train our internal staff. The VIC is a 4.0 Industry. The training centre will\u00a0support\u00a0vocational retraining for the energy transition.\u00a0Thanks to expert mentoring, trainees will\u00a0benefit from\u00a0specialist\u00a0knowledge and experience.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who will be trained at the VIC?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll profiles, from engineer to technician to operator. Our goal is to train all junior positions,\u00a0as well as candidates for\u00a0vocational retraining without which the energy transition is not possible. The VIC training centre will be accessible and open to people outside\u00a0Verkor\u2019s\u00a0teams.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the next steps for the VIC training centre?<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNext year we\u2019ll test out a more general training programme for our engineering, industrial safety, quality and support function staff not specialised in batteries. We\u2019ll start testing this\u00a0year in fact\u00a0by building in the battery culture.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once the VIC is ready at the end of next year, we can start offering more applied and hands-on training for operators and technicians. Like our internal training, we will trial this training using the machines in our laboratory, and tools including augmented and virtual reality. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of these two years\u00a0of\u00a0developing training content, we can start\u00a0ramping up our\u00a0training programme.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why choose Grenoble as a\u00a0training\u00a0hub?\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Grenoble has involved in energy transition for\u00a0centuries, starting in\u00a01864 when Aristide\u00a0Berg\u00e8s\u00a0invented hydroelectric power in Is\u00e8re. Grenoble is also\u00a0a\u00a0hub\u00a0for global\u00a0leaders in hydroelectricity, such as GE Electric Renewable Energy, Air Liquide and CEA Liten, and\u00a0for the\u00a0world leader in energy management, Schneider Electric. Grenoble is on the cutting edge of energy management and smart grids (digital technologies and electricity), and\u00a0is an ideal environment\u00a0for\u00a0training\u00a0in\u00a0the battery sector.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Grenoble also has a very attractive location, and trainees can clear their heads and get some fresh air in the surrounding mountains.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The bottom line is that specialised training in the battery sector is essential.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the number one client of the EBA Academy and the creator of the VIC training centre,\u00a0Verkor\u00a0wants to be a key driver of training and skills development for\u00a0a sector that is so strategic for\u00a0both France and Europe.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur\u00a0role in vocational retraining\u00a0is clear and\u00a0consistent with our values. The ecological transition is what motivates us, and it won\u2019t happen without\u00a0transforming certain\u00a0trades and professions.\u00a0Verkor\u00a0absolutely has a role to play, and it\u2019s a role we want to play\u201d, says\u00a0Gilles\u00a0Moreau.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Electric batteries\u00a0constitute\u00a0the core\u00a0technology\u00a0for decarbonising\u00a0transport and\u00a0powering\u00a0the growth of the electric vehicle market. The European Commission estimates that over the next four years battery industries in the European Union could employ\u00a0up to\u00a0800,000 people,\u00a0with\u00a0150,000 of those in France.\u00a0 Skills availability and access is vital if businesses in the industry are to be competitive. So how do we meet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4562\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verkor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}