Skills Strategy 2017

Virtual Launch 2020

We are excited to announce, that on Tuesday 9 June the Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership will launch the Workforce Renewal and Skills Strategy 2020 – 2025.

To view our Workforce Renewal & Skills Strategy 2020 – 2025 web page click here.

A collaboration of 30 major organisations in the sector, known as the Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership (EUSP), has come together with a mandate to ensure that all employers have a safe, skilled, diverse and sustainable workforce needed to deliver essential services to the public now, and to meet the fast changing requirements in the future.

The pending strategy builds on the inaugural 2017 publication and outlines the urgent actions required by the sector, policy makers, employers and regulators to help mitigate the impending workforce crisis.

We will look back at the actions taken by the sector whilst acknowledging that we are operating in changed times. Factors such as, COVID-19, Net Zero carbon, exiting the European Union as well as increased competition for skills with other high-profile sectors – makes the skills challenge real and urgent.

Please do look out for further updates to our website and social media channels on 9 June.

What Is It?

The Energy & Utilities Workforce Renewal and Skills Strategy was developed by the Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership and launched in February 2017. 

The Skills Strategy sets out how the sector’s leaders will act together to ensure sustainability. It also shows where policymakers and regulators need to play their part in ensuring resilience and a sector-wide approach. Focus and collaboration are required now from central and devolved governments to protect one of the most essential sectors to the UK economy and society.

Ensuring resilience of the workforce is achievable through a concerted effort by policymakers, regulators, regulated businesses, delivery partners and the whole supply chain. While it is difficult to quantify Brexit’s impact in advance, it is clear that now is the time for concerted, proactive action.

The Skills Strategy for the water, gas, power and waste management industries makes the case clear for acting together now. This is incumbent on all of us who are in the water industry: policymakers, regulators, the regulated, professional bodies, delivery partners and the supply chain.

Skills Strategy Priorities

The Skills Strategy is the start of the conversation and has three key priority areas for action:

 Priority 1: Sector attractiveness and recruitment

• Inspire young people through schools, colleges, universities and UTCs
• Attract more diverse talent that is reflective of the local communities we serve
• Use innovative recruitment practices to ensure retention of talent in the sector

Priority 2: Maximising investment in skills

• Develop high quality apprenticeships
• Maximise the apprenticeship levy to support investment in skills
• Encourage investment in skills throughout the supply chain
• Upskilling and reskilling

Priority 3: Targeted action

• Improve longer-term workforce planning intelligence
• Create a multi-skilled and mobile workforce through passport schemes
• Improve quality of training provision
• Consistent industry assessment
• Recognising the need for overseas talent

This is the start of the conversation and will deliver some tangible changes for the sector. We are clear in our plan and look forward to engaging widely as we turn this vision into reality.