Milan, 26 July 2023 – Italvolt Spa, the company building Italy’s largest independent Gigafactory, is expanding its partnership with Politecnico di Milano to up-skill workers at Termini Imerese, Sicily. In a new phase of its long-standing partnership, Italvolt and Politecnico di Milano will develop an action plan that will map and identify the necessary skills required for the workforce at Italvolt’s Gigafactory.
The goal of the action plan is to ensure that workers involved in the Italvolt project at Termini Imerese are well-prepared for their roles at the Gigafactory. Politecnico di Milano and Italvolt aims to up-skill and re-skill automotive workers in the region, thereby providing them with the necessary skills to compete in a modern, globally competitive, battery industry.
The action plan aims to provide workers with technology training in battery production and tailor-made learning at the factory or in dedicated laboratories. In addition to vocational, on-the-job learning, employees will also have the opportunity to learn at universities, with the support of e-learning platforms, mentoring programmes and workshops to support non-manufacturing skills. Moreover, career development and specialised training programmes will be delivered to create a dedicated workforce that is ready for a highly skilled career at Italvolt’s Gigafactory.
The intended action plan implementation will be broken down into three steps:
- mapping of the future skills required in EV battery manufacturing lines;
- a gap analysis to identify any skills shortages to be addressed by upskilling and reskilling;
- planning and implementation of a dedicated plan for the professional re-skilling and up-skilling of workers in the transition from the traditional automotive sector to the emerging e-mobility industry.
The project will be led by Professor Marcello Colledani, Scientific Coordinator of CIRC-eV, the interdisciplinary Laboratory “Circular Factory for the Electrified Vehicles of the Future” of Politecnico di Milano, which merges the expertise of the departments of Mechanics, Energy, Chemistry, Environment, Electronics and Management.
Italvolt’s action plan is part of a holistic strategy designed to deliver positive direct and indirect economic benefits to the local community in Sicily. Italvolt’s aim is to provide workers with the necessary skills and education to compete in a highly competitive global battery industry and its investment in the region at the Termini Imerese site will stimulate economic growth and investment. Italvolt seeks to bring transformational investment and educational opportunities to Termini Imerese, as part of its long-term commitment to the region, and its strategy to regenerate an important industrial hub in southern Italy.
Lars Carlstrom, founder and CEO of Italvolt, said: “The automotive sector contributes 9.3% of the overall Italian manufacturing turnover. The transition to electric mobility will provide significant opportunities for investment in both people and places across the country. The Italvolt project will play its role in providing a positive contribution towards employment and education in the region. We are pleased to be strengthening our partnership with Politecnico di Milano, to support the local community and provide transformational opportunities to those previously employed at the former Fiat plant in Termini Imerese, Sicily.”
Director of the Department of Mechanics, Prof. Marco Bocciolone, added: “Technology evolution and the competitiveness of the labour market have led to an increasing focus on re-skilling and up-skilling processes, particularly in fast-changing environments such as the automotive industry. CIRC-eV’s multidisciplinary team is eager to support the Italvolt project’s goals to identify specific measures that will enable an effective and sustainable transition from the current automotive industry to the new e-mobility one.”
