Tools for working with the Regulator
Engineering skilled labour is becoming an increasingly
scarce resource across the whole of the utility sector.
Issues such as an ageing workforce, extensive capital
growth programmes and a diminishing pool of potential
recruits, especially those with Science, Technology,
Engineering and Maths (STEM) qualifications, are creating
a growing skills challenge.
Lead times to competency are significant (between 2 and 5 years depending on the skill level) and as a result skills investment profiles will need to lead both capital investment and leavers profiles.
EU Skills have built a resource model to identify the long-term skills needs together with the estimated costs, across the Electricity and Gas Networks and Water Companies. The model provides long-term investment forecasts covering the next 15 years.
The model has three elements:
- Data Entry – input of workforce age profiles, current trainees, natural wastage and workload projections
- Scenario Planning – analysis of different recruitment strategies to address any manpower deficits
- Results & Reporting – sensitivity analysis and reporting
Where the model identifies a defecit in manpower, it enables companies to determine both the numbers and costs of new recruits, at each level, for different recruitment strategies. The model also provides an opportunity to undertake sensitivity analysis by simply changing key variables, such as natural wastage.
Each company can produce their own specific reports (which are confidential to them); in addition EU Skills will aggregate the data to provide sector-wide reports.
This model has/is being used to support the respective price reviews with Ofgem and Ofwat and in the case of the Gas Distribution Networks an additional £72million was made available for skills recruitment and training directly as a result of this work.