n NEWS March 2024 www.drivesncontrols.com 12 AN ONLINE TOOL THAT helps people assess their prospects for a career in drives, controls, power electronics and machines, has been launched by the Electric Revolution Skills (ERS) Hub – the Government-backed platform that provides a national skills resource to help attract people into the “electrication” sector. The aim of the new Electrication SelfAssessment Tool is to help ll the 169,000 electrication jobs needed in the UK. It will help individuals to understand the skills, courses and roles available, and how suited they are for a career in the sector. The self-assessment tool takes less than 30 minutes to complete and can be used both by people who are already working in the industry, and by those with no prior experience but who want an insight into the sector. It provides a broad overview of the skillsets and jobs involved, and will later oer more details on specic roles such as mechanical design engineers, software integration specialists and battery engineers. “There are so many opportunities in electrication, but it is still an emerging industry, and it can be dicult to navigate the skills and capabilities required,” explains Dr James Shuttleworth, the ERS Hub’s operations director. “We have taken advantage of the reach of the ERS Hub, the common language of the PEMD Body of Knowledge and the understanding of electrication from our connections with colleges, universities, employers, and experts in the sector. “The tool gives users the benet of all this expertise and understanding to help them identify the careers they want and the skills they need,”he adds. “Thanks to the enormous amount of career and development opportunities on the Hub, the tool can then link people directly to the ones that suit them.” The ERS Hub was launched a year ago, with funding from Coventry University and UKRI (the UK Government’s research and innovation organisation), to support careers and skills development in the sector. It has already helped to ll more than 600 jobs and has hundreds of positions available with more being added every day. The Hub’s directory of training, development and courses continues to grow, and now boasts more than 900 entries, including short courses, upskilling programmes, and graduate placements. At its heart is the “Body of Knowledge”, which promotes a consistent view of the sector’s skills and technologies and helps create a consensus for the disciplines needed to upskill the UK workforce. The Self-Assessment tool builds a tailored, interactive journey for individuals. “This is just the start,” says ERS Hub product development director, Richard Lane. “The tool has multiple pathways already and can expand to support people at dierent points of their journey, across dierent sectors, and job roles. “We are encouraging companies and training providers to come forward and work with us on creating more pathways that are relevant to their current and future workforces,” he continues. “The technology can be branded and customised in order to support organisations looking to attract new talent in what is an extremely competitive environment.” www.ershub.co.uk Online tool helps to assess careers in drives, controls and machines THE UK MANUFACTURING SECTOR is predicted to continue struggling during 2024 and will shrink by 0.4% over the course of the year, according to the latest predictions from Interact Analysis. It expects the machinery sector to be particularly hard-hit, experiencing a contraction of 3.3%. In Europe, the economic outlook for 2024 is just as bleak. Italy is one of the worst aected, with machinery production expected to shrink by 3.7%, while the manufacturing sector will contract by 1.5%, with employment levels falling as well. Interact is also predicting a manufacturing decline of 1.3% in France and 0.8% in Germany. The gures are part of the analyst’s regular look at global manufacturing, with the latest forecasts suggesting that 2024 will be the lowest point in the manufacturing cycle for many regions and sectors. Despite this, regions such as the US and Germany will shrink half as much in 2024 as they did at the height of the Covid pandemic. Interact is predicting slower growth for the global machinery sector over the coming ve years, following a weak 2023, a contraction in 2024, and worries over 2025. It expects the CAGR for global manufacturing to be 2.7% from 2023–2028, with the AsiaPacic region on 2.9%, and the US and Europe both on 2.4%. But there are some more optimistic predictions. “While everything seems so doom and gloom, we are seeing positive order books for semiconductor machinery,” reports Interact CEO, Adrian Lloyd. “This sector is in an odd position currently – as demand for semiconductor machinery increases, the production of semiconductors themselves has all but collapsed. North America’s order growth for semiconductor machinery has reached over 50% – likely due to the Chips and In¥ation Reduction Act – while Europe and Taiwan also continue to place orders. “Although 2024 will be a tough year for the global manufacturing industry,” he adds, “our predictions suggest that the severity of the growth trough will be mild for most regions.” www.interactanalysis.com UK manufacturing will shrink by 0.4% in 2024, with machinery down by 3.3% “Just the start”: (left to right) Deepak Farmah, James Shuttleworth and Richard Lane of the ERS Hub
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