Michael Lyons works with some of the UK’s leading automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), tier-1 suppliers and start-ups. As a senior consultant in embedded software, electronics and systems, he speaks to hiring managers on a daily basis. As such, he knows the ongoing and planned projects across the country, grasps the nature of the changing EV technologies and understands the skills and experience of the people needed to drive these projects to success.
In this latest CMC insights piece, Mike highlights the current shortage of talent needed for exciting EV projects his team is now supporting across the Midlands and parts of Wales.
The UK’s automotive industry is electric with change, and embedded software engineers are needed for groundbreaking electric vehicle (EV) projects over the coming years.
Companies are calling for embedded software engineering contractors with C and C++ programming language skills. They need senior people with expertise in control software and power electronics…and they needed them yesterday!
Although electric and hybrid cars are nothing new, they’re seeing an explosion in popularity well ahead of the upcoming 2030 ban on selling traditional petrol and diesel models. This creates an exponentially growing skills shortage for top contracting talent across the Midlands - the traditional heart of British car manufacture - and in parts of Wales.
It’s a bit of a cliché, but in 2023, you could say that the experienced candidate is king. If you have the right skills and bring demonstrable project competency - with guidance and intel from our experts - you will land your ideal contract position. We currently have teams of great contract consultants supporting EV projects nationwide, but with demand growing, we’re now looking for more people to join our team.
Want a part of the UK’s most rewarding EV projects?
So, what are these exciting projects we’re talking about? Right now, there’s a huge amount of R&D work going on around the West Midlands and Wales. We’re working with tier 1 suppliers into the automotive OEMs and the OEMs themselves on a range of projects involving different components of an EV.
Our contract consultants enjoy working at the cutting edge of rapidly moving technologies and want to use their skills to catalyse this electric revolution. For example, presently, many are keen to play a part in a groundbreaking hypercar project that we can open doors to and help them to secure.
As EVs become increasingly popular, we’re witnessing a race between international companies to push the boundaries of what’s possible. Nowhere is this more apparent than at the ‘Electric Avenue’ section of the ‘Goodwood Festival of Speed’, where iconic automotive brands gather to show off the impressive capabilities of their new designs. Here, the OEMs and their suppliers compete fiercely for an array of world record titles factored around speed, acceleration or efficiency.
Having proven our ability to deliver, many top firms come directly to us with their people-shaped project demands. Because of our comparatively small size, we remain agile enough to flex to hiring managers' unique requirements and urgent demands. So, working with us, they avoid time-consuming red-tape-induced project delays.
If you’d like to work on these highly sought-after positions, we can open doors through our solid relationships with hiring managers. In this skill-short market, it may be easy for you to track down companies that are desperate for your know-how. However, possessing the right tools for the task doesn't necessarily mean you’ll be able to wow a would-be hiring manager with your CV or throughout a gruelling multi-stage interview process.
We’re experts in developing top talent and opening up opportunities you may not have thought were possible to explore or did not have the time to do so. We will help you fully understand the client’s needs and how to best sell your skills and experience to secure your ideal contract. You could say it’s less a case of us helping you and more of us helping you...to help yourself!
What do you get when you join the CMC team?
In exchange for your in-demand skills and experience we will: open the door to exciting EV projects with set milestones (outside of IR35); offer you remote working or hybrid contracts with a longevity of six months upwards; and secure a competitive remuneration package on your behalf.
While the types of roles we get exposure to are well paid - these days, our top consultants want more than just money. They’re more concerned about moving with the times. They need to ensure their technical skills don’t stagnate and increasingly want to feel that they’re ‘making a difference’ in the world. This is the type of opportunity we can present.
A bright electrified future for contracting
Over the coming years, we can only see the demand for talented contractors continue to grow across the Midlands and Wales as we pivot away from fossil fuel-based transport modes into the age of the electric vehicle.
Focusing on the Midlands alone, according to research released by sub-national transport body Midlands Connect, almost 30,000 new jobs could be created throughout the region as a result of the Electric Vehicle (EV) boom, with expectations high for a lot more electrical vehicles being bought and made in the Midlands.
Meanwhile TATA Group, the owner of Coventry-based Jaguar Land Rover, recently confirmed plans to invest more than £4bn to build an electric car battery plant in the UK, creating up to 4,000 new direct jobs, and “thousands more” in the wider supply chain.
The sheer size and scale of this project - earmarked for a site in Somerset - left some concerned that the plans for a proposed West Midlands gigafactory south of Coventry, a project joint-ventured by Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport, might be scrapped. But
that site has secured planning permission, and we were pleased to learn that the project remains “all systems go” with the council currently in talks with several manufacturers.
The projects I’ve described through this blog represent just a flavour of the incoming opportunities which will continue to grow as we approach 2030 and the end of petrol and diesel car sales.
Let’s talk - get in touch today
If this sounds good, then get in contact, and we can talk you through some of the great contract opportunities we are currently recruiting for. If you’re already in work, it’s still a good idea to touch base now so we can get to know you and your aspirations. This will enable us to plan and line up your next role - ready to hit the ground running when you’re available.
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