Lecturer Paul hopes to plug EV skills gap in India
Paul Griffith recently returned from a trip to Telangana and Karnataka where he was researching skills shortages in the electric vehicle infrastructure
Coleg Menai lecturer Paul Griffith hopes to help plug the electric vehicles skills gap in India after recently returning from a research trip.
Paul lectures in Automotive Engineering at Coleg Menai’s Llangefni campus, where courses include Level 3 Hybrid Electric Vehicle Repair and Replacement, as well as ADAS Calibration and Awareness and soon, MOT Tester Training and Management courses.
He has previously travelled to India to help run courses in electric vehicle (EV) technology, and returned recently to identify skills shortages in the country’s EV industry.
Both trips were part of a partnership between Grŵp Llandrillo Menai and the NPTC college group in South and mid Wales, funded by Global Wales.
The hope is that both college groups will be able to help boost EV skills training in India, in turn helping to reduce pollution in the country.
Paul said: “Last year we went to Geethanjali College in Hyderabad, where we did a week’s course with approximately 60 learners on EV technology.
“From that it was apparent that they struggle with hands-on skills, because their educational system is much more focused on academic disciplines.
“Last week we went back to Hyderabad in India on a research trip to try to identify any skills shortages.
“We visited many different vehicle manufacturers and carried out various meetings, including discussing issues with the British Deputy High Commissioner for Bengaluru.
“For five days we were visiting various EV Manufacturers and meeting people, finding out what they were doing, how they were recruiting people, and trying to identify common issues with basic skills.
“We were able to complete a very detailed assessment of the EV ecosystem in the states of Telangana and Karnataka, with participation of key players in the 2W, 3W, 4W and Battery manufacturing space.”
A report on the trip is now being put together which will be submitted to Global Wales, with discussions taking place on how the partnership could help upskill people in India for the EV industry.
Paul said: “It may be that we could put on courses here for them, have them train here and then possibly go back to India to carry out assessments that would give the learners an accredited qualification with City & Guilds or the IMI.
“If we can run courses for them here or in India, accredited by recognised awarding bodies, that will take them anywhere in the world.
“EV Technology is on the up in India, therefore this provides a challenge to enable learners and service technicians alike to work on the electric vehicles safely.
“There are lots of start-up companies in India developing bikes, three-wheelers etc. If they can make electric vehicles more affordable it will make a big difference to the pollution figures in the country.”
During the two trips, Paul Griffith of GLLM, Will Davies and Gagan Aggarwal (both NPTC) worked in partnership with Srinivas Cherla and Naga Durga Babu of RICH (Research and Innovation Circle, Hyderabad) and Gopalakrishnan VC of TSIIC (Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation).
The trip was funded by Global Wales, which aims to provide a strategic, collaborative approach to international higher education and further education in Wales. Global Wales is a partnership between Universities Wales, ColegauCymru, Welsh Government, British Council Wales, and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.
- Grŵp Llandrillo Menai offers the City & Guilds Level 3 Award in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Repair and Replacement and City & Guilds Level 3 Award in Diagnosis, Repair and Recalibration of Advanced Driver Assist Systems among its engineering courses. Both courses can be accessed via the Personal Learning Account, which provides a wide range of free and flexible training. Eligibility criteria for the Personal Learning Account can be found here. If you do not qualify for the PLA, please contact Paul on p.griffith@gllm.ac.uk to find out if we can assist you further.
To find out more about the wide range of engineering courses available through Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, click here.