What’s missing in the UK’s clean driving strategy? The skilled workforce to power it
The EV rollout is accelerating – faster cars, faster chargers, and faster growth. But without the right skills and people behind the scenes, progress could stall before it reaches its destination.
The UK has hit two impressive milestones: more than 1.3 million electric vehicles now travel our roads, making us Europe’s biggest EV market, with one in five new cars sold here now fully electric. And more than 75,000 public charge points are keeping them powered up and ready to go – with a new charger added to the network every 29 minutes. If that’s not momentum, what is?
But as the EV revolution speeds ahead, there’s one critical element we can’t afford to leave behind: the skilled people needed to maintain and grow this network.
At E.ON, we’re proud to be part of the transformation – installing chargers nationwide, from our first E.ON Drive hub in Wales, to new ultra-rapid sites in Scotland. We’re also helping households to go electric with thousands of home chargers all hooked up to smart EV tariffs. The appetite is there. The tech is advancing. Government support is growing. The public is switching.
So, what’s missing?
People. Skills. Know-how.
Because here’s the truth: we can build the most advanced charging network in the world, but without the engineers and technicians to install, maintain and futureproof it, we risk progress (or drivers’ enthusiasm) stalling. We need to invest as much in people as we do in infrastructure.
You wouldn’t buy an EV without knowing where to charge it. So why build a national network without the workforce to support it?
That’s why we launched our Net Zero Training Academy in the heart of the West Midlands. It’s where we’re preparing the next generation of green collar engineers, electricians and energy problem-solvers – those who’ll power EV infrastructure, optimise energy use, and help the build smarter, cleaner cities we all want to live in. These aren’t just jobs, they’re future-proof careers, fundamental to the UK’s green energy transition.
Cities driving the change
Some cities are already showing what’s possible. Take Coventry – steeped in automotive heritage and now firmly in the fast lane of the EV revolution. With nearly 500 public charging points per 100,000 residents, it ranks among the UK’s best locations for EV drivers outside London.
Through our 15-year strategic energy partnership with Coventry City Council, we’ve supported this transformation by installing public charge points in key public car parks. And with plans to develop more charge points on public buildings across the city, it’s proof of how local collaboration can accelerate national progress.
Building the backbone of EV infrastructure
It’s not just Coventry. Across the UK, we’re scaling up to meet growing demand. In Scotland, we’ve announced a total of six new ultra-rapid EV hubs, joining our already operational sites in Aberdeen, Motherwell, Dunfermline and Edinburgh. Together, these hubs will deliver 12.6MW of charging capacity – enough to power 40,000 UK homes – and can simultaneously charge up to 42 vehicles, delivering up to 150 miles of range in just 10 minutes.
From Edinburgh and Stirling to Dunfermline, our high-speed hubs are making electric travel a reliable reality.
Elsewhere, we’ve delivered 72 ultra-fast bays across England and Wales this year alone, including our first ultra-fast public EV hub in Wales, and a new high-capacity site in Selby, Yorkshire.
Supercharging fleets and freight
The EV shift isn’t limited to personal cars - businesses, logistics and freight are going electric too. And we’re helping them get there.
- We’re building a pan-European eTruck charging network with MAN Truck & Bus, with new UK hubs already underway in Stockton-on-Tees, Manchester, Gateshead and Swindon
- Our smart fleet solutions help businesses electrify their operations with intelligent energy management and grid integration
Powering homes, businesses – and the people behind them
And it’s not just public infrastructure. On the residential front, we’ve now installed around 8,000 home chargers and 2,000 for small businesses - enabling more than 50 million miles of EV driving in 2024 alone.
Because the EV strategy isn’t just about fast cars and flashy chargers. It’s about people. It’s about building a future-ready workforce that can keep our ambitions - and our vehicles - moving.
And at E.ON, we’re committed to making sure no one is left behind in the race to electrify the UK.