Business leaders open to hire and train talent for EV adoption, as current workforce lacks necessary skills

• Only 14% of business leaders agree to a large extent that the current workforce has the necessary skills to support EV adoption in Singapore
• 4 in 5 business leaders reveal (16% strongly agree, 64% somewhat agree) that their organisation intends to hire more talent to support EV adoption in Singapore, with 59% of business leaders planning to have new business in the EV industry
• Nearly all business leaders are open (29% very open, 68% somewhat open) to send their employees for EV-related training programmes, with 21% planning to do so in the next six months, while 39% plan to do so in the next one to two years
• About 7 in 10 business leaders agree (12% strongly agree, 58% somewhat agree) that traditional automotive job roles will become obsolete, but almost 9 in 10 business leaders (22% strongly agree, 67% somewhat agree) say that EV adoption will translate into more job opportunities available in Singapore

SINGAPORE, July 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As Singapore charts towards electrical vehicle (EV) adoption under the Singapore Green Plan 2030, only 14% of business leaders agree to a large extent that the current workforce has the necessary skills to support EV adoption in Singapore. Therefore, four in five business leaders reveal (16% strongly agree, 64% somewhat agree) that their organisation intends to hire more professionals to support EV adoption in Singapore, with more than half of business leaders (59%) saying their organisation intends to embark on new EV-related business in the future.

Amid this, nearly all business leaders are open (29% are very open, 68% are somewhat open) to send their employees for EV-related training programmes, with 21% intending to do so in the next six months while 39% intend to do so in the next one to two years.

While seven in ten business leaders agree (12% strongly agree, 58% somewhat agree) that traditional automotive job roles will become obsolete, almost nine in ten business leaders concur (22% strongly agree, 67% somewhat agree) that EV adoption will translate into more job opportunities in Singapore.

These are some of the key findings from NTUC LearningHub's Industry Insights Report 2023 on Electric Vehicles, which aims to explore the current landscape of the EV industry in Singapore, including adoption and career opportunities. Based on a survey of 200 business leaders whose organisation either already has or intends to have business in the EV industry, the report also investigates the training gaps and in-demand skills required to support workers' careers in the EV industry.  

In general, the majority of business leaders are confident of Singapore's readiness for EV adoption (23% very confident, 63% somewhere confident), and their own organisation's readiness to embark on new businesses related to EVs (6% very confident, 71% somewhat confident).

In supporting EV adoption, nearly all business leaders agree (26% strongly agree, 68% somewhat agree) that traditional automotive workers must upskill and reskill to keep pace in the emerging industry, where EV safety (47%), battery management (45%), electrical safety (44%), maintenance and servicing (43%), and charging management (39%) emerged as the top training areas that business leaders are keen to enrol their employees for.

With business leaders planning to have new businesses in the EV industry, the top EV-related job roles that they are looking to hire are EV safety specialists (36%), EV engineers (32%), EV technicians (29%), batter management specialists (29%), and EV machinist (26%).

Commenting on the survey findings, Tay Ee Learn, Chief Sector Skills Officer at NTUC LearningHub, says, "The transition to EVs represents a significant shift in the automotive industry, requiring new skill sets and knowledge. Therefore, it is important for employers to encourage traditional automotive workers to start their continuous skills development journey now, to remain nimble and resilient as Singapore transitions into the new green economy. It is promising to see that many business leaders are looking to send their employees for EV-related training as soon as the next six months. As companies embark on new businesses in the EV industry, they must also consider redesigning job roles alongside skills training.  

To download the Industry Insights 2023 – Electric Vehicles report, please visit www.ntuclearninghub.com/electricvehicles-2023. To find out more about the courses, training, and grants, visit NTUC LearningHub's website at www.ntuclearninghub.com.

About NTUC LearningHub

NTUC LearningHub is the leading Continuing Education and Training provider in Singapore which aims to transform the lifelong employability of working people. Since our corporatisation in 2004, we have been working with employers and individual learners to provide learning solutions in areas such as Cloud, Infocomm Technology, Healthcare, Employability & Literacy, Business Excellence, Workplace Safety & Health, Security, Human Resources and Foreign Worker Training.

To date, NTUC LearningHub has helped over 26,000 organisations and achieved more than 2.6 million training places across more than 2,900 courses with a pool of about 900 certified trainers. As a Total Learning Solutions provider to organisations, we also forge partnerships to offer a wide range of relevant end-to-end training. Besides in-person training, we also offer instructor-led virtual live classes (VLCs) and asynchronous online learning. The NTUC LearningHub Learning eXperience Platform (LXP) — a one-stop online learning mobile application — offers timely, bite-sized and quality content for learners to upskill anytime and anywhere. Beyond learning, LXP also serves as a platform for jobs and skills development for both workers and companies.

For more information, visit www.ntuclearninghub.com.

SOURCE NTUC LearningHub