Agratas and UCS College Group announce strategic skills partnership for UK battery industry

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Agratas and UCS College Group announce strategic skills partnership for UK battery industry

Published on

24 March 2026

Agratas and UCS College Group announce strategic skills partnership for UK battery industry

In a significant advancement for skills development in the South West, we have officially formalised a collaboration with UCS College Group through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

This agreement establishes UCS College Group as our designated training provider and coordinator as we build the UK’s largest battery manufacturing facility in Bridgwater, Somerset. Once complete, it will play a crucial role in advancing clean technology and sustainable energy, producing battery cells for automotive and energy storage solutions.

The MoU was signed by Andy Berry, CBE, Chief Executive Officer of UCS College Group, and Becki Robertson, Vice President Human Resources at Agratas. Marking the significance of this milestone, they were joined by Phil Smith CBE, Chair of Skills England. The collaboration comes at a crucial time as the UK seeks to enhance its manufacturing capabilities in response to the growing demand for renewable energy solutions.

Once fully operational, our overall facility is set to create more than 4,000 jobs and contribute over £700 million in annual economic value to the South West region.

Becki Robertson said:

“This partnership marks a powerful step forward for skills and workforce development across the South West, as well as for the UK battery sector. The formalisation of the collaboration between UCS College Group and Agratas reflects a shared commitment to building a future-ready talent pipeline and creating clear career pathways to support one of the UK’s most ambitious clean energy projects. Establishing UCS College Group as our primary skills partner and coordinator ensures that local people and our future workforce will have access to high-quality learning opportunities. This unlocks a wide range of accessible career pathways, empowering individuals with the skills needed to thrive in advanced manufacturing and sustainable technologies.”

Andy Berry said:

“Joint ventures between providers and investors are key to delivering national and local infrastructure and regeneration schemes, as well as boosting our international standing as a high-skilled investment environment. Today marks a key milestone and reinforces our commitment to delivering innovative solutions that support Agratas and develops the skills needed for the industry."

Phil Smith said:

“This new gigafactory will create thousands of jobs and apprenticeships in the South West and beyond. I’m proud of Skills England’s work at pace with sector experts to find a skills solution that works for them. The new battery manufacturing apprenticeship unit will be a valuable addition to the Growth and Skills Levy offer. By working together, we are building the jobs of the future, keeping skills training at the cutting edge.”

With construction progress on site well underway, we have recently launched an online portal that enables local people to register their interest in upcoming jobs at the facility. This signals the first phase of recruitment for around 1,600 jobs needed to start battery cell production. Opportunities span operations, maintenance, quality, technical, engineering, and logistics.