Earlier this week, more than 100 industry gathered at the Museum of London to take a first look at The Power Electronics, Machines and Drives Body of Knowledge (PEMDBoK)– a new resource set to align understanding of the essential skills and capabilities required by the sector.
Hosted on the Electric Revolution Skills (ERS) Hub, individuals, employers, course providers, recruiters and companies are urged to sign up and access the information on skills, competencies and training needed to work in PEMD.
The shared framework, developed through a collaboration of industry and academic experts led by Coventry University, is expected to generate more than £12bn (US15bn) of domestic revenue by 2025 and create over 169,000 jobs.
A panel discussion at the event – chaired by Deepak Farmah, ERS Hub commercial director, and featuring Rowan Crozier (Brandauer), Louise Phipps (West Midlands Combined Authority), Jason Cole (Jonathan Lee Recruitment) and Elizabeth Bonfield (Skills 4) – discussed current industry challenges and heralded the difference the Body of Knowledge could make.
The automotive industry relies heavily on power electronics, machines and drives for the development and assessment of electric and hybrid vehicles.
The unified language and skills breakdown provided by the PEMDBoK will make it easier for automotive testing companies to define job roles, specify skill requirements and find qualified candidates. This could enhance the quality and efficiency of testing processes.
Job specifications, courses, skills breakdowns and career paths will be readily available, while machine-readable specification enables services for industry, recruiters and course providers to specify underlying data accurately and ensure consistency and interoperability. The aim is to start bridging the skills gap by establishing a shared framework of technology, skills and proficiencies, emphasizing continuous learning.
As the PEMD sector evolves, automotive testing will benefit from a better understanding of the latest developments in power electronics and drive systems. The PEMDBoK digital platform is helping hundreds of businesses attract new individuals to work in electrification and support growth in this vital industry by making 838 training courses – including electrical engineering, laminations, motors, automation and 3D.
Petar Igic, academic director of the ERS Hub, said, “PEMD requires a broad and evolving set of skills and competencies that traditionally have been challenging to navigate for individuals and organizations, a problem exacerbated by differences in language used by employers, course providers and learners.
“This ground-breaking initiative has captured the full scope of topic specialist areas and the skills required to do jobs ranging from lead power electronics engineer, thermal management design, PCB and sub systems integration to power converters and instrumentation and compliance testing all in one place and, importantly, in a unified language that everyone can understand.”
The PEMDBoK is currently live and can be accessed through the ERS Hub website.
