In January 2022, EIT InnoEnergy signed a five-year agreement with the Southeast Michigan Community Alliance (SEMCA) to establish and expand training programs for the Michigan Electric Vehicles Jobs Academy (EV Jobs Academy).

The EV Jobs Academy is an employer-led collaborative comprised of over 100 stakeholder partners. They identify the electrified vehicle and mobility-related occupational skill needs while developing and scaling postsecondary credentialing programs utilizing a turn-key online shared learning platform for 32 colleges and universities in the state of Michigan.

This collaborative strives to secure a highly skilled talent pipeline by strengthening the relationship between education and the automotive industry to support the transformative technology advancements for connected automated vehicles, increasing fuel efficiency, minimizing environmental impact, and increasing safety.

Initially, the EV Jobs Academy will serve approximately 700 individuals through rapid and accelerated training and re‑training for emerging technologies in connected, autonomous, lightweight, hybrid, electric, alternative fuel, and other advanced vehicle technologies. Following the launch of the EV Jobs Academy’s first phase, it is anticipated that the number of trained and re-trained individuals will continue to grow significantly.

The EV Jobs Academy goals:

• To catalog and respond to advanced occupational skills needs of the automotive mobility and electrification industry.
• To align education and training programs with the most critical workforce needs.
• To facilitate recruitment, placement and retention solutions to fill talent gaps for in demand and emerging occupations within the mobility and electrification industry.

By working together, industry leaders are paving the way for economic development by providing career pathways to expand customized talent solutions and strategies to address skills gaps, career advancement, turnover, and retention.

Industry stakeholders, employers and education partners are the driving force to building this highly-charged collaborative.

Now more than ever, electric car supply chain independence in the US market is crucial for the evolution of the automotive, storage and clean energy sectors. Equipping a workforce with the best skills is key to achieving this and thanks to initiatives like the EV Jobs Academy led by SEMCA and supported by EIT InnoEnergy, we are leading the way in tackling these challenges.