Skills Challenge

The Power Sector, critical to the UK economy and pivotal to the delivery of the Government’s energy challenge, is facing critical skills issues. An ageing workforce, replacement and growth of electrical infrastructure, rapid advancement of new technologies and strong competition for talent in the marketplace will all impact the Power Sector over the next 5-15 years, with dramatic results if not addressed now.

With manufacturing and the transport infrastructure dependent on power, we are seeing significant and growing skills shortages at technician and engineer levels, with specific skills gaps around designers, planners, project engineers, system controllers and project managers, and increasing demand for more and more power.

By 2024, the sector will need to have recruited around 35,000 new employees and increased the availability of quality Education and Skills Providers by almost 80% in order to adequately skill these new people. This is as well as upskilling existing staff, whilst managing the loss of 80% of its existing workforce.*

* Energy & Utility Skills' Workforce Planning Model: June 2009.