U.S. Departments of Energy and Labor release national guidelines for battery machine apprentices

In a joint effort, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Labor (DOL) released National Guideline Standards for the Battery Workforce Initiative (BWI), giving guidance for those pursuing apprenticeships with battery machine operators.

Meant to aid growth of this particular manufacturing sector – a segment critical for electric vehicles – the standards offer training guidelines created in partnership with battery manufacturers, community colleges, and unions. They will serve as a foundation for BWI training materials offered to companies and training providers, in concert with ongoing work for BWI’s Pilot Training Project and the Battery Workforce Challenge (BWC) Program Regional Workforce Training (RWT) Hubs Project.

“President Biden is leading a renaissance in American manufacturing, and nowhere is that more evident than with the rapid growth of investment in electric vehicle production,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we have seen over 400 EV and battery manufacturing facilities announced in the U.S. in just three years, underscoring the need for a strong and supported skilled workforce.”

The offerings will be condensed into a complete package of training materials and guidelines, meant to help speed up DOL’s overall approval process for new battery training programs and lay the groundwork for national credentialing.

“Good jobs have the power to change lives, and today, we are expanding the pathways into those good jobs through Registered Apprenticeships in the fast-growing battery manufacturing industry,” U.S. Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su said. “In just under a year, the Battery Workforce Initiative has built a strong partnership between government, industry, technology, and labor to make sure workers, including those who have historically been shut out of opportunities, can find their place in the middle class now and well into the future.”

Since 2021, when President Joe Biden took office, the DOE noted that EV sales have quadrupled and nearly 300 new or expanded battery facilities were announced. Looking ahead to related programs, the DOE also announced its National Energy Technology Lab will launch the BWI Pilot Training in April, and the Argonne National Laboratory will launch BWC’s RWT Hubs in Summer 2024. Further, BWI has begun gathering stakeholders to work on battery-grade materials processing and recycling to figure out what skills these efforts require as well.