Issue link: https://read.utilityweek.co.uk/i/665572
NETWORK / 26 / APRIL 2016 elements of policy – including → economics, education and employment – as well as regulatory levers and objectives such as resilience says Ellins. What does it all mean for the workforce? And how can this meaning be expressed in a way that helps companies confidently plan their requirements – both immediate and longer term? For government, achieving a joined up and strategic message about the human resource pressures companies should expect in the future has an obvious starting point. Ellins says it is the National Infrastructure Plan (NIP). This document sets out the infrastructure projects government wants to be completed in the next decade to support its economic ambitions. It includes projects that will demand huge investment in national transport and energy infrastructure – investment that pushes beyond what is set out in business plans submitted by the networks to Ofgem. In a skills document that accompanies the NIP, government acknowledges that achieving its goals will demand quick thinking to make the most of the available skills resource. By 2019/20 progress on the infrastructure programmes listed in the NIP is expected to reach a zenith, creating a peak in skills demand across multiple sectors, many of them requiring similar capabilities such as pipe and cable jointing and overhead lines skills, not to mention data handling and analysis abilities. Despite this, the NIP and its accompanying skills document have not yet been used to significantly influence the way in which skills policy is developing, says Ellins, pointing to the new National Apprenticeship Levy as an example. The levy, which will effectively be an apprenticeship tax, taken from all employers over a certain size to fund investment in apprenticeship training – is aligned only with the government's target to spur three million apprenticeship starts in this parliament. In other words, without adjustment, it is a mechanism that might well stimulate more apprenticeship training, but not necessarily in those skills areas or even sectors that are critical to delivering the government's parallel economic ambitions. "If it doesn't do this, there's clearly a question about how fit for purpose the levy is in delivering what the nation needs," says Ellins. Policy mismatches such as this mean industry must waste valuable time and resources picking through red tape, says Ellins. "There are many, many small changes to policy coming out – the levy, minimum wage, migration policy, pensions changing, the Enterprise Bill, the Finance Bill – but there is no link between all of these that might give someone sitting in an organisation any idea of the overall impact," he says. A joined-up impact assessment from government is necessary to take a high-level look across all policy initiatives and map the likely impacts for a range of different business types. Such an assessment would be valuable to businesses in their workforce and investment planning, says Ellins, it would also be in line with the government's commitment to the principles of "better regulation", which aims to clarify and reduce the cost of bureaucracy and red tape to British businesses. Ellins says civil servants are "working hard" on achieving some of this more joined-up thinking, adding that the current lack of alignment across policy areas "should be relatively easy to change". While we wait for the fruits of this labour, what steps should industry take to improve on the impact their past and existing skills initiatives are making? Ellins has two areas in his sights – sector attractiveness and skills mobility. There's no doubt that the utilities sector as a whole struggles to project an alluring image to young people – or more experienced individuals looking for a career change SkillS utility skills shakeup Changes to skills funding have caused upheaval, but the future looks more stable. One of the most important steps taken in recent years to address the skills gaps faced by energy networks was the establishment of the Energy and Efficiency Industrial Partnership (EEIP). This body, set up with support from the government under its Employer Ownership of Skills initiative, brought together an array of transmission and distribution operators across the power and gas sectors, as well as other utilities, to work together on emerging skills challenges. Among the most significant outputs of the EEIP has been the launch of eight trailblazer apprenticeships tailored to the specific needs of modern energy and utility businesses. Last year it was announced that government funding for the EEIP would be pulled from April 2016, leaving the future of the partnership, now to be funded solely by employer contributions, in doubt. However, after intensive negotiations between EU Skills and industry leaders, it has been confirmed that a compromise has been reached to ensure the EEIP can continue to function. Club funding and resource commitments will ensure it keeps working in a way that protects networks from skills risks. Under the new approach, chief executives will commit collaborative resources to solve common skills problems – such as sector attractiveness, skills mobility and creating a common approach to assessing and assuring accreditation of workers, especially those working in potentially dangerous roles. The EEIP will co-ordinate joint delivery groups comprising employees from member companies and ensure that work aligns with, but does not unnecessarily duplicate, the efforts of the National Skills Academy for Power. If financial investment is needed to take projects forward, proposals will be made to interested EEIP members to provide club funding. Investment will usually take the form of time and resource provision. A new chair for the EEIP is shortly to be announced after the retirement of Steve Holliday, outgoing chief executive of National Grid, who has the led the EEIP since its inception and is a well-known evangelist on the subject of energy sector skills requirements. →