A new government-funded course that will support local authorities with deploying charge points is launching in the UK to help drive public charging infrastructure.

The new course is designed to help local authority officers “rapidly upskill in EV infrastructure to develop and deliver ambitious tailored local EV charging infrastructure”.

It’s also intended to encourage consistency and continuation of sharing of best practice.

The Government sees local authorities at the forefront of charge point rollout, particularly for on-street charging. It recently confirmed its intention to mandate local transport authorities to produce local charging strategies if they have not done so as part of local transport plans and the new course will help equip local authorities with the knowledge to do so.

Key topics will include technology, users and stakeholders, charge point strategy and procurement, deployment, operations and more.

The course is being run in line with the local electric vehicle infrastructure (LEVI) fund in England, which supports local authorities to work with the charge point industry to improve the availability of charging.I

It’s funded by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) and developed by the LEVI support body, which includes Cenex, Energy Saving Trust and PA Consulting.

The training course is currently being trialled by a group of local authority officers recruited through the LEVI capability fund. Their feedback will further refine the content and the course will go live in spring 2024, when applications will open.

Chloe Hampton, EV infrastructure strategist and training course project manager from Cenex, said: “We are thrilled to collaborate with OZEV and the LEVI support body to create this comprehensive training course. Equipping the workforce is integral to transitioning to zero-emission transport. We believe this training initiative will build the necessary capacity and enhance the skills of staff within local authorities, and enable them to rollout local electric vehicle infrastructure effectively.”

The full course will be CPD-accredited and will be available to all UK local authorities, including London Boroughs and local authorities within a Combined Authority, from spring 2024, with priority access given to new EV infrastructure officers.

Each eligible local authority working on LEVI will have one UK government-funded place, with additional places available to purchase.

Local authorities in England can also access the National EV Insight & Support (NEVIS) service, which provides key information on EVs and EV infrastructure.