EIT InnoEnergy and T2 College have collaborated to help transform Skellefteå, Sweden into an industrial hub for electrification and battery storage.
EIT InnoEnergy has partnered with vocational training provider T2 College to bring specialist electrification and battery storage skills to Sweden’s burgeoning industrial hubs.
The partnership is a vital next step in ensuring a pipeline of skilled workers who can ease the current skills gap across energy and storage. With Skellefteå the home of Europe’s first gigafactory, Northvolt Ett, the town was an obvious choice to agree this first partnership. By 2050, the town expects to welcome 28,000 new inhabitants, many of whom will be attracted to the area by the forthcoming industrial storage hub. At the same time, the hub will present new employment opportunities for local people, and a demand for training to facilitate re-skilling and up-skilling.
EIT InnoEnergy will develop and deliver new course content through T2 College, collaborating with industry to better understand the skills most valuable to the transition to a smarter, more flexible grid. Through competency-based training, combining online materials and face-to-face interactions, professional learners will be up-skilled or re-skilled to support the transition to a more electrified future.
Kenneth Johansson, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy Scandinavia, commented, “As we accelerate our efforts to transition to a more sustainable world, ensuring we have a skilled workforce will be key. Using our knowledge from facilitating MSc and professional learning programmes, as well as our extensive network of experts and educational institutions, we can help nurture and attract the best minds right here in Skellefteå where the potential for energy innovation is high, boosting the skills needed to achieve the transition.”
Maria Marklund, CEO of T2 College added, “There is a huge opportunity for current workers to re-skill for the changing world which can help address the skills gap. By partnering with EIT InnoEnergy, we can help alleviate future skills pressures by educating on key topics such as electrification and storage combining existing EIT InnoEnergy materials and insights with our bespoke approach to training to foster competitiveness in the industry.
The first pilot programme will be delivered in spring with further course refinement planned for summer. EIT InnoEnergy continues to seek further partnerships to provide electrification and battery storage skills.
