The UK is in the midst of an electric vehicle revolution with the prime minister announcing that from 2022 all new build properties, including residential housing, office blocks and commercial spaces will require EV charge points to be installed as standard. Such action has been welcomed by climate activists and goes a step further in helping the country achieve its promise of reducing the number of diesel and petrol vehicles on Britain's roads. But what does this all mean for the electrical and power industry?
PM Boris Johnson commented at a recent conference that 145,000 charge points will need to be installed every year between 2022 and 2030 in order to meet the growing demand for electric and hybrid vehicles. That's an additional 1.1 million charge points installed across England over the next 8 years.
This massive scale up will have a positive effect on the electrical installations industry, creating new jobs and increased revenue opportunities for businesses. Installation, testing and maintenance of charge points has the potential to become an established sub-industry over the next few years as demand for electric vehicles grows. Not only will electrical companies look to upskill their workforce to adapt to increased demand, it's likely there will also be an increase in the number of firms and contractors choosing to specialise in this area.
Universal Skills has already seen an increase in the number of electrical companies and individuals looking to receive training in EV charging. Dan Taylor, General Manager of Universal Skills comments:
"Our 2-day EV charging course has definitely been our most popular offering this year. We've trained roughly 150 delegates within our Wakefield training centre with an additional 650 trained across the UK. There's no doubt in my mind that 2022 will be the year when we see the EV revolution truly take off!"
The electrical industry will continue to grow as a result of the new government initiative, but companies and contractors will need to upskill their workforce soon if, they are to truly support the UK's electric vehicle infrastructure through the next decade and beyond.
