British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said it will retrain 29,000 employees and staff in its sales globally over the next three years.
This training plan is targeted at designing, building and repairing electric vehicles (EVs) before switching from fossil fuel cars.
So are units at JLR’s parent, Tata Motors, which says the majority of technicians at its retailers should receive training in electric vehicle servicing to address emerging skills gaps.
Quoted from Reuters on Wednesday (28/9), the shift to electric vehicles requires car manufacturers to give new skills to workers who have long been trained only to make and repair fossil fuel engines.
There is widespread concern that fewer moving parts in electric vehicles could mean fewer well-paid manufacturing jobs in the auto industry, particularly in engine or transmission factories.
JLR said it would retrain thousands of highly skilled automotive engineers and production employees, who previously worked on internal combustion car development, to specialize in electrification, digital and autonomous cars.
JLR’s move was triggered by the sharp increase in sales of electric vehicles in Europe over the last two years.
Even on their own side, JLR will start producing electric cars in 2025 and will have a full car version only by 2030.
JLR has developed its own training materials which were co-developed with the University of Coventry and the University of Warwick.
