Engineering news
Major utilities companies including Amey, National Grid, SSE, Thames Water, and UK Power Networks, along with 22 key supply chain companies, have pledged their commitment to a new Skills Accord which will see the firms collaborate to widen the talent pool in technical areas including engineering.
Launched at the House of Lords, the Skills Accord is one part of the sector’s new approach to ‘strategic workforce renewal’ and seeks to ensure market contractors remain competitive.
The companies that sign the Skills Accord pledge to contribute to a 5% utilities sector target and the specific skills training is based upon their own company’s requirements. The eligible criteria for the training includes the roles, skills areas and corresponding courses that are operational, design and or technical in nature.
Some examples of engineering-related training that the Skills Accord commitment will cover include a BTec Diploma in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, an NVQ extended diploma in Engineering Maintenance, apprenticeships, including higher and degree level, traineeship programmes and foundation degree programmes in technical fields, as well as graduate programmes in technical and operational roles.
The training is to have a duration of more than three months and must contribute directly to the development of skills or capability to perform the role.
Jan Ward, chair of the Energy and Utility Skills Group, said: “This Skills Accord is one of the key priorities of the new sector partnership now underway, and I applaud these companies for testing the art of the possible and by collaborating with each other to recruit and train skilled workers, increase mobility and efficiency, widen the available talent pool and consequently bring about strategic workforce renewal.”
Nick Ellins, chief executive of Energy and Utility Skills, said: “Five asset owning companies have driven the development of the Skills Accord as a pilot initiative over the last 12 months, supported by a further 22 supply chain companies, to address the sector’s workforce challenge.
“With one fifth of the energy and utilities sector’s skilled workers approaching retirement age, 36% of vacancies proving hard to fill in the sector (higher than any other UK sector), and 14% of all employers reporting skills gaps amongst their existing workforce, it is extremely apparent to us that we need to take action.
“Energy and Utility Skills will be encouraging more asset owner partners to sign up to the Skills Accord and bring their supply chain on board. The energy and utilities sector is now poised to deliver its commitment to skills through the supply chain for many years to come – leading to a future sustainable workforce.”
An annual review of the Skills Accord pilot will commence at the beginning of 2017.