For the past five years, the Global Energy Talent Index Report has been released with the purpose of helping companies within the energy sector attract and retain vital talent. It draws upon data and insights from tens of thousands of professionals throughout the industry. Every year, insights help the sector strategise and evaluate for the year ahead.
2020 saw arguably the biggest transformation and disruption within the energy sector. As companies strive for a ‘green-recovery’ post COVID-19 and the race to decarbonise is more prominent than ever, the renewable energy sector, despite the initial set back by the pandemic, looks set for continued growth.
According to the report, how have the events of 2020 impacted renewable energy employment?
COVID-19 brought uncertainty and forced new ways of working for almost everyone. Questions arose like ‘Will there be a new normal?’ and ‘How can the uncertainty and fear be managed going forward?’
However, it appears those within the sector remained optimistic of growth. 76% of people believed the sector had grown over the past year and 79% of hiring managers believed the same. Further to this, when it came to the resiliency of businesses, survey respondents are generally confident in employer efforts, with two-thirds saying their business is overall resilient to current and future changes.
When it comes to helping to increase resiliency amongst businesses, it was found increased training and mentorship were at the top of the list, alongside greater adoption of automation and digital technologies, with a third saying workspace flexibility would help to improve resiliency further.
The report noted, that ‘the renewables sector is already seen as very innovative, with comparatively high levels of automation and digital technologies in place… These kinds of technologies are not just a key element in operational resilience, they also contribute towards a robust skills pipeline.’
Respondents are even more optimistic for the medium-term future: 85% expect the sector to grow in the next three years, with 52% expecting that to be strong growth.
Despite the sector growing off the back of government investment and policy implementation, there is still an issue with employee retention in renewable energy employment.
78% of respondents already working in the sector would consider switching careers within the next three years and two-thirds of professionals feel less secure in their jobs than a year ago. The most popular alternative was the power sector, with 54% of people interested in this sector. Three quarters (76 per cent) of both professionals and hiring managers put this down to the disruptive impact of COVID-19.
However, alongside the instability of COVID-19, there is blurring amongst different energy sectors, especially as many lean towards clean energy. The report notes, that ‘now that other sectors are pivoting towards cleaner energy, innovation is increasing elsewhere. Advances in electric vehicles or energy storage, for example, bring renewables and the power sector closer together.’
There is also a wave of people willing to work abroad in the sector. The report found 85% of employees would consider moving and 46% said their employers provide cross-regional job transfers. As for preferred destination, Europe remains top of the list. It’s the preferred choice of 28% of people, followed by North America and 16% and Asia 14%. Middle East comes fourth with just 9%. As shown in the graph below, career progression is the main reason for working abroad, with 47% of people agreeing.
The graph below highlights the key reasons for respondents wanting to work abroad, career progression looks like a major focus for the majority.
How can employers help improve opportunities of acquiring and retaining the right talent?
The report found three key elements that could help employers acquire and retain top talent. The first is through training and mentoring programs. By ensuring these are made accessible and encouraged both internally and externally, can help employees feel motivated and provide a way to gain additional training.
Another way to help attract and retain talent is to ensure employers are up to date and remaining focused on using innovative techniques as ‘these are all appealing to the young people, graduates and apprentices with STEM qualifications that all sectors need to attract and retain’ (according to the report). Employers should also consider how best to create and communicate opportunities for graduates and apprentices as part of their talent programmes. Despite a growing industry, there is still a lack of knowledge and understanding of the opportunities both for graduates and those wanting to transition into the industry.
Further to this, the importance of flexibility has been highlighted in acquiring and retaining the right talent. As remote working looks set to continue, it’s important employers are able to be adaptive and flexible to ensure everyone remains motivated, supported and has the appropriate resources to do the job accordingly.
The graph below highlights desired measures respondents want their companies to take, vs actual measures taken by companies.
To summarise
Despite the pandemic and the drastic requirement for businesses to adapt, the renewable energy sector has proved resilient. It’s benefitted from the focus by oil and other fossil-fuel industries to adopt a cleaner approach.
Further to this, the increase in investment and public demand for greater transparency of how organisations invest, have proved to have a positive impact on the sector.
However, the skills gap looks to continue to prove problematic. Businesses need to offer incentives for graduates and those in other industries to join the renewable energy industry. This can be achieved through ‘greater emphasis on the innovative nature of the work, the role of automation and digitalisation, and the potential for individual career advancement.’
If you would like further information about hiring the right talent, or mobilising your workforce into another location, get in touch with a member of our team today.
