SK Inno, Rapidly Charging Battery Talent... Comprehensive Hiring from Separators to Batteries and Patents

Expansion of Battery Production and Materials Business
Ongoing Recruitment of Entry-Level and Experienced Staff... Intensifying Shortage of Research and Design Personnel
Competition to Attract Global Talent Also Intensifies

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK Innovation is recruiting talent across all battery-related fields, from separators, cells and modules, to solid-state batteries and patents (IP). This decision comes from the judgment that securing talent is as important as large-scale facility investments to leap into the global top 3 battery companies.

According to the industry on the 29th, SK Innovation recently completed hiring new employees and is now recruiting experienced professionals in the battery sector. The recruitment scale is known to be at least several dozen. The application deadline is early next month, and the experienced hiring is expected to be completed by September at the latest.

The recruitment fields include approximately 15 areas such as ▲separator engineers ▲separator equipment maintenance ▲battery electrode process ▲battery module & pack ▲battery subscription service (BaaS) technical support ▲mid- to long-term battery research planning ▲battery patent discovery ▲finance experience ▲solid-state development ▲battery business security policy ▲battery business budget management ▲battery marketing ▲intellectual property (IP), and more.

SK Innovation is hiring both new and experienced employees across all battery-related fields because the workforce is insufficient compared to the speed of business expansion. The three domestic battery companies, including SK Innovation, have continuously requested government support for battery workforce development over the past 2-3 years. Earlier, Samsung SDI CEO Jeon Young-hyun said at the InterBattery event, "The secondary battery business is growing, but there is a shortage of personnel. The most important thing now is to expand production and research personnel," which aligns with this context.

According to the Korea Battery Industry Association, as of last year, the domestic battery industry is estimated to be short of 1,013 master's and doctoral-level research and design personnel and 1,810 bachelor's-level process personnel. Although the government announced a plan to triple the number of master's and doctoral-level personnel from 50 to 150 and to train more than 1,100 people annually, the situation remains challenging. Not only domestically but also overseas, cases of scouting due to workforce shortages are increasing. China's Evergrande Group has recruited many executives from the three domestic battery companies, and Europe's Northvolt is also continuously attracting talent from Korean battery firms.

Meanwhile, SK Innovation announced its mid- to long-term goal of reaching the global top 3 in both orders and sales in the global battery market through ‘Story Day’ on the 1st. Currently, battery production capacity is about 40GWh, but it is expected to reach 85GWh in 2023, 200GWh in 2025, and over 500GWh by 2030. In addition to battery production, the company plans to expand its lithium-ion battery separator (LiBS) business, a core material. The current LiBS production scale of 1.4 billion square meters will be increased to 2.1 billion square meters in 2023, and by 2025, when the electric vehicle industry is expected to grow significantly, it plans to expand to 4 billion square meters, three times the current size. Through this, SK Innovation has set a strategy to leap to the number one position in the global battery market.