Latest LinkedIn report shows the UK has some of the most skilled EV workers in the world

According to LinkedIn’s latest Global Green Skills report, the UK and Sweden have the highest number of workers with electric vehicle skills.

Based on data from 2023, LinkedIn’s latest report reveals that 7.3% of British auto workers have at least one skill in EV. This puts the UK in the top two countries globally for EV, just 0.8% behind Sweden and 1.2% ahead of Germany.

This comes on the back of a global rise in the share of EV skills in the automotive industry. Between 2018 and 2023, EV skills rose by 62%, a trend that is expected to continue.

This new report has been published against the backdrop of ambitious UK targets for clean transport.

Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pushed back the UK’s 2030 target that promised all new cars and vans would become zero emission by 2035. However, under Labour’s Keir Starmer, this 2030 target will be restored.

The growth in the number of skilled EV workers in the UK provides a step towards reaching this green transport goal.

Currently, the UK’s EV market is small but growing.

In 2023 electric cars accounted for 16% of all new cars registered. According to the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change enquiry, demand for electric cars is currently constrained by their upfront cost, poor charging infrastructure and consumer scepticism.

The new British government will be heartened to see the growth in the number of automotive experts with green skills. These workers will be needed to contribute towards the 300,000 new public charging stations planned for 2030.

Despite the UK leading on skilled green workers in the automotive industry, the Institute for the Motor Industry believes that we are still due to hit a skills gap by 2027. This would leave the UK short of 25,100 EV-trained TechSafe technicians by 2030.

To help tackle this skills gap, the British Labour Party is planning to replace the current Apprenticeship Levy with a new Growth and Skills Levy. This aims to give automotive businesses better access to training and apprenticeships.

The new government has also promised that it will support colleges that specialise in technical EV skills. They will also establish a new professional body called Skills England that will work on meeting the UK’s green skills needs including those in EV.

Despite the considerable improvements that still need to be made, LinkedIn’s Global Green Skills report shows that the UK is far ahead of other nations including the US which has an EV skill acquisition of around 3.5%.

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