The next decade could see skills issues for the energy industry, a survey conducted by the Energy Institute (EI), Norman Broadbent and Deloitte revealed.
With the recent decline in the birth rate of western nations, and the large scale downsizing and lack of recruitment in the sector since the 1980s, the energy industry now finds itself with an ageing workforce rapidly approaching retirement.
Year on year, large scale retirement and a lack of experienced professionals for key energy jobs led 70% of respondents to believe that there will not be sufficient leadership talent to meet the challenges of an expanding industry.
As the world moves to prepare its economies for the move to a more carbon neutral future to combat climate change and provide energy security , it is likely that the energy sector will grow rapidly and provide career opportunities with it.
Eliot Davies, Director of Hays Energy, comments, "The top skills that are currently requested by employers are engineers with design, project delivery, budgetary and commercial and health and safety skills. Demand is strong for engineers in the traditional, nuclear and renewable power generation sectors as we seek to plug the impending “energy gap”, engineers in the networks sector to upgrade the UK`s transmission and distribution network and engineers working in the water and gas utilities sector."
In addition, the steadily decreasing pool of new entrants to the labour market is accompanied by a decline in the scientific, engineering and technical (SET) skills of these new entrants, as other industries compete for these skills. While many companies have grown in terms of personnel, many have found that many skills are in short supply.
"The more specialist the candidate, the more in demand they are and the higher salaries they can command. The industry can also be an ideal choice for those people working in related industries, such as mining, building services and civil & structural engineering and manufacturing. Often, they possess transferable skills but must be prepared for an element of retraining and learning specialist new technical skills appropirate to the energy sectors.This obviously limits their earning potential in the short to medium term but should prepare them for greater rewards and job security in the future." adds Eliot Davies.
Another key finding to result from the survey was that almost three in four working in energy jobs have enjoyed their work and would recommend the sector to others.
Sarah Beacock, Professional Affairs Director, Energy Institute, says, "To counteract the decline in relevant skills, the energy industry must broaden the scope and diversity of its workforce and sell energy as a worthwhile and interesting career. An energy career is an exciting option for young people and offers some of the biggest technological challenges of the future."
The research targeted 300 energy organisations, 2,400 individuals employed in the energy industry and HR personnel from EI partner organisations and other company contacts.