What is the Electrification Skills Network?
The Electrification Skills Network (ESN) was created to develop and strengthen connections between key stakeholders across the electrification community. We put electrification skills development and delivery at the heart of everything we do.
As a neutral entity within the electrification community, ESN is funded by the Faraday Battery Challenge and powered through partnerships between Coventry University, UKBIC, WMG and Enginuity.
Below are the different groups we work with and what we do to support each group:
Employers
We help you identify your workforce skills needs, find the right training and qualifications, access funding opportunities, stay updated on industry trends, and connect with skills providers to effectively address your skills gaps.
Skill Providers
We help you develop and improve courses by aligning them with industry needs and a national Framework for Electrification. We promote your course offerings, fostering collaboration and sharing upskilling opportunities.
Awarding and Accrediting Bodies
We assist you in creating qualifications aligned with industry requirements, accelerating accreditation through benchmarking, providing insights into skills gaps, collaborating across awarding organisations, and helping you shape the national electrification skills framework.
Individuals
We provide you with clear, accessible information about electrification skills, training, and qualifications. Whether you're an independent learner, funding specialist, regulatory representative, or industry professional, our resources and network ensure you find the knowledge or support you need.
The ESN Framework for Electrification
The ESN Framework for Electrification is the result of a sector-wide effort to bring clarity, structure, and collaboration to the rapidly evolving electrification skills landscape. Developed by the Electrification Skills Network (ESN), the framework responds to urgent calls from employers, training providers, and wider stakeholders to address fragmented provision and anticipate future skills needs.
Common Sets of Skills (CSS) are at the heart of the framework - structured descriptions of the knowledge and skills required across electrification. Each CSS includes a title, framework level, practical or theoretical focus, core objectives, and guidance on expected coverage. Designed to be modular and flexible, these skill sets form the foundation of the framework, enabling employers to identify relevant skill requirements and giving skills providers a shared reference point for course development and delivery.
CSS are listed across four framework levels Introduction, Technical, Senior Technical, and Expert, providing a consistent structure for comparing and aligning training and qualifications. They also act as the bridge between industry demand and learning provision, making it easier to identify gaps, encourage course or qualification development, and ensure relevance to real-world roles.
The framework also enables skills providers and awarding organisations to align existing provisions with defined skill sets. This supports visibility, consistency, and ongoing improvement across the electrification skills landscape while giving users confidence in the quality and relevance of what’s available.
The framework’s design was shaped through extensive stakeholder engagement across 2024, via a Framework User Group to help define levels, classifications, and quality criteria. Key areas like Batteries formed part of the initial CSS release, demonstrating how technical domains can be broken down into accessible, structured skill sets.
The launch of the online platform in Spring 2025 marks a major milestone, enabling users to explore CSS listings, discover linked training, and filter results by characteristics such as level, delivery mode, and area.
More than just a skills directory, the framework is a collaborative tool - connecting industry demand with provision, supporting course and qualification development, and acting as a neutral home for ongoing dialogue. As electrification accelerates, the ESN Framework will play a central role in shaping a skilled, future-ready workforce.
Explore the ESN Framework for Electrification here.
