Verciti joins the Clean Energy Systems Partner Alliance

The Clean Energy Systems Partner Alliance (CESPA), a new collective that is promising to accelerate the development of clean energy systems has welcomed a new member in what is being viewed as a major skills boost for the emerging sector. The organisation, which has been created to deliver a single-source solution for innovators and developers of ‘green tech’, has swelled its ranks to seven specialists with the arrival of Verciti.

A leader in the delivery of immersive ‘net zero’ training, the company believes it can help bridge the widening skills gap for industry by providing access to virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) courses covering hydrogen production (plus use and storage), power electronics, machines and drives and hazardous voltage.

It joins six other experts in this field in PP Control & Automation (PP C&A), Danfoss, Emerson, Glacier Energy, Phoenix Contact and Voltserve. Together, the members bring every discipline needed to optimise and build systems - electrical, civil and structural design, renewable energy software and automation, connection technology and electronics solutions and climate, drives and power solution products. They now also have access to world-class ‘net zero’ skills provision, machine build and control systems and energy assets and infrastructure solutions.

CEPSA Glacier Hydrogen Vessel

Tony Smith, technical training manager at Verciti, said: “CESPA embodies the same spirit of clarity and collaboration that we value highly, so it was a natural decision to join the alliance in a bid to collectively advance the UK’s clean energy sector. Today, 62% of businesses are reporting skills shortages, with manufacturing badly affected. Worse still, 20% of the UK workforce is projected to be significantly under-skilled for their actual jobs by 2030. This is a major issue and is going to hold us back – there is no doubt about it.”

He continued: “What we can bring to the mix is access — access to courses that have been developed with both academic and industry input and, importantly, will appeal to both experienced professionals and new entrants to the green technology sector. The idea is that we can join forces with other CESPA members to open up our existing training to current customers, as well as factoring it into future tenders where we can promise to deliver even more solutions.”

Manchester-based Verciti was born out of The Blair Project – a brilliant social enterprise that gets young people building and racing electric go-karts as a way into STEM. As that work grew, the company says it noticed something bigger going on. “Universities were losing their way - too slow, too expensive, too broad, whereas employers were crying out for fast, focused technical training that reflected the pace of innovation. Worryingly, too many people still felt like STEM ‘wasn’t for them’ - that it was for brainiacs, or people who ‘looked the part.”

Mr Smith said: “That just didn’t sit right with us. We want to provide access to opportunity, understanding and work that builds a better, greener future that will deliver new jobs and economic value. There needs to be a solution to scaling-up volume delivery of ‘net zero’ skills training to power the clean tech economy and, working with this alliance — I think we can be part of the answer.”

The introduction to CESPA came through a networking event for the Ignite Hydrogen Labs Programme which is delivered by Innovate UK Business Connect in partnership with the Energy Systems Catapult and the Hydrogen Innovation Initiative (HII). There were immediate synergies between the alliance and Verciti, especially the organisation’s AR EdTech project that is pioneering the delivery of training and upskilling in the hydrogen industry.

Richard Spears, marketing manager at PP Control & Automation and one of the key drivers behind the collaboration, said: “We already had robust design, engineering and production capability, and an extensive renewables product portfolio. What Verciti’s inclusion means is that we can help the very businesses we are trying to target with the skills needed to bridge the hydrogen and green skills gap.

“The other really important aspect of the collaboration is that CESPA members can tap into developing in-house certified training programmes with their support. The Clean Energy Systems Partner Alliance can now address the skills needed, as well as the capabilities required to maximise the potential of ‘green and clean technologies’ in the UK.”