Utility Week Live

UtilityWeek 18 | 16th - 22nD JAnUAry 2015 | UtILIty WEEK Sector must act now to avert looming skills crisis New talent is needed to fulfil the growing demand for highly qualified occupations. B usinesses in the energy and utility sector are entering a period of signif- icant change and this will have clear implications for the skills they need. Although the total number of jobs is expected to fall, the proportion of those jobs that require higher level skills is set to increase. This is perhaps particularly pronounced in the waste management sector, where we will see a shi from high volume, low skilled refuse handling to demand for sophis- ticated process engineering and deployment of scientific exper- tise to support resource efficiency and the circular economy. Rising demand for highly qualified occupations, such as different types of engineering, will be reinforced by familiar demographic trends in our age- ing workforce. Around two out of every five workers in cra, techni- cal and engineering roles within electricity distribution network operator companies will hang up their hard hats and retire by 2026. It is vital we do more to attract new talent into the sector. Despite efficiency gains, the energy and utility sector will still need to fill approximately 200,000 vacancies by 2025 in the UK alone, and will account for more than one-third of the 2025 workforce across the EU28. It seems that the UK may be succeeding gradually in decoupling economic growth from energy consumption. However, there is still much more to do and, increasingly, the onus will be on the energy sector to under- 1. ENaBLE THE aMBi- TiOUS TO PROgRESS Create opportunities for advancement: the relatively low turnover in utilities can make it seem there is little scope for the ambitious to progress. 2. STRikE THE RigHT BaLaNCE Money isn't the only motivator: the work-life balance and working environment are important too. 3. SECURE STaFF BUY-iN articulate the company's values and strategy clearly to get staff buy-in, particularly during periods of change. 4. gET FEEDBaCk Staff surveys are a good way to identify employees' expecta- tions and concerns. Encourage people to put forward opinions and improvements. 5. EXiT iNTERviEwS when staff leave, perform an exit interview and act on the findings. Skills gap/Talent for change stand patterns of consumption and reduce demand further. In the medium term, rollout of intelli- gent network management technologies and smart utility metering will require greater levels of customer engagement from a range of technical roles, while those employed across smart networks will need a more robust understanding of data sci- ence. Corporate consumers will also be looking to bring about large-scale behavioural change in terms of energy and resource usage across their workforces. Finally, persistent skills gaps and shortages, combined with mounting pressure to increase efficiency and reduce costs, suggest that health and safety could become an even greater con- cern in years to come. The intro- duction of new tech- nologies and ways of working will com- pound this issue, calling for industry- wide interventions to help address it. Neil Robertson is the chief executive of Energy & Utility Skills 5 wAYS TO RETAIn TALEnT 2/5 200k 87k 51,000 Two out of five workers in electricity distribution will retire by 2026 vacancies will need to be filled in energy and utilities by 2025 in the Uk Estimated number of new engineers the Uk needs every year for the next ten years Number of qualified engineers currently coming on stream every year "it is vital we do more to attract new talent into the sector" nEIL roBErtSon, EU SKILLS Change

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