Sector unites to address the skills gap

09 Feb 2017

The Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership has come together to build and launch the first ever joint Workforce Renewal and Skills Strategy for the sector.

The Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership has come together to build and launch the first ever joint Workforce Renewal and Skills Strategy for the sector.

The Strategy has been created to take the first steps towards ensuring that the UK's vital energy and utilities sector retains a safe, skilled, resilient and sustainable workforce. It sets out for the first time, in one place, the reality of the challenges faced, immediate initiatives that are underway and the ambitions the Skills Partnership shares in moving towards achieving a more sustainable future.

Nick Ellins, the Chief Executive of Energy & Utility Skills, who will manage the Strategy on behalf of the energy and utilities industry, said "The National Infrastructure Plan is now widely recognised as forming the backbone of industrial strategy, and more than half (56%) of that plan is required to be delivered by the power, water, gas, wastewater and waste management industries. To date the accompanying infrastructure skills strategy has not explicitly recognised this critical contribution or done enough to ensure that the businesses involved have the right environment to ensure a sustainable and talented workforce exists.

"The Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership has come together to develop the first-ever workforce renewal and skills strategy, and construct a solid foundation for sector-wide collaboration. This document begins the discussion, providing a framework that seeks to secure successful UK-wide skills provision through to 2020.

"The Skills Partnership now wishes to engage the whole industry in tackling the issues uncovered and work with central and devolved government, regulators and key interest groups to build initiatives that can address the skills challenge. By working together we can ensure a highly skilled, safe and productive workforce that ultimately invests directly back into society and our communities."

The Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership has already started to take action by committing to a new 12-month Talent Source Network pilot programme that seeks to encourage people into industry careers and develop a significant future sector talent pool.

Watch the Skills Strategy Video > http://bit.ly/2kpsW3q