Top automotive manufacturers are clamouring for top talent in electric vehicles right now, and here's your chance to put yourself into that mix.

It’s hard to ignore the figures regarding the growth in popularity of electric vehicles. There have now been 146,000 ultra low emission vehicles registered in the UK, and they are expected to become as affordable as petrol cars within 5 years.

Competition between manufacturers is high. This makes it an exciting time to get into automotive manufacturing, as you’ll find yourself breaking new ground and reaping the rewards.

Here’s how to go about getting into a career in the design and manufacture of EVs:

Assess Your Skills

Because many of the disciplines involved in the design and manufacture of EVs are so diverse and in some cases new to automotive manufacturing, the industry is looking outside of its traditional talent pools to find the right skills.

Automotive manufacturers need experts from other fields to bring them up to speed in areas such as batteries, electric motors, power management and software development.

There are a lot of manufacturing industries that have specialised in these areas for a lot longer than automotive has.

For example, smartphone manufacturing has pushed battery technology forward significantly over the past decade. Any expertise in this area would be a huge advantage.

Similarly, any experience within robotics – whether in nuclear, or manufacturing in other industries – is a big plus in the development of EVs.

If you have any skills or experience in these areas, you should consider a switch to automotive as your specialism.

At Millbank, we have key relationships with clients who tell us they need more and more people skilled in these areas. Our success in finding these people means we’ve been able to expand this area of our business in recent months.

Look Who’s Hiring

A few years ago, EVs seemed like a vanity project for some automotive manufacturers. They were the domain of motor show displays and tech blogs, not meant for mass production.

Now, though, every manufacturer recognises the imminent need for low emission models entering production at scale. Many countries have set deadlines for banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars altogether.

And competition is going to get fierce. It’s a race to design a car with good range, power, fast charging, convenience and design, while being ultimately affordable.

This means that any of the major automotive manufacturers and their suppliers would be a good candidate for work in this area, although some have already progressed more than others.

Nissan in Sunderland is leading the market with their Leaf EV, and the all-electric Mini will be produced by BMW in Oxford.

Of course, you can always look at the jobs available right here on our website, too.

Talk to Millbank

Still not sure if you’d be a good fit for EVs and the future direction of automotive manufacturing? We’d be happy to advise you. Send your CV to us and we’ll call you back to discuss your ambitions and the opportunities available to you.