Utility Week

20 | 25TH - 31ST JANUARY 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Operations & Assets Utility Week Awards winner case study Utility Partner of the Year Award winner: Energy & Utility Skills • Category title: Utility Partner of the Year • Award winner: Energy & Utility Skills Entry criteria: 1. Explain the nature of your business and the service you provide to utilities 2. Give examples of where you have helped specific utilities achieve their business goals, including costs, time- scales and outcomes 3. Give examples of how you have added value to the utilities sector – for example, through new networking practices, introducing innovation, long-term partnerships, etc 4. How have you provided quantifiable benefits to your utility partners, both directly in relation to this partnership and more widely? 5. How has your partnership provided quantifiable benefits to customers and other stakeholders? The Utility Week Awards are held in association with Capgemini, CGI and Microso E nergy & Utility Skills brings industry leaders together to identify and address the skills challenges the sector faces. The not-for-profit organisation was named the first ever Utility Partner of the Year at the Utility Week Awards in December 2018. It was recognised for its work in provid- ing membership, assurance and skills solu- tions to help employers attract, develop and retain a sustainable skilled workforce. The Utility Partner of the Year Award was one of four new categories for the 2018 awards, which were introduced to recognise a wider breadth of achievement within utili- ties. The category aims to shine a light on the partners that are instrumental in helping utilities go about their daily business. It called for entrants such as contractors, IT providers, suppliers and other partners to demonstrate how they have helped employ- ers achieve their business goals, added value and provided quantifiable benefits to part- ners, customers and other stakeholders. Collaboration With a membership of 81 major utility busi- nesses spanning the four UK nations, collab- oration is at the heart of the organisation. Energy & Utility Skills says it focuses on enabling a safe, skilled and sustainable workforce for UK infrastructure companies in water, power, gas and waste management – including tier one delivery partners. It has set out to bring a new level of sector-wide collaboration between key stakeholders – including policy makers, reg- ulators, asset owners, retailers, delivery part- ners, the supply chain, unions and training providers – to address well-evidenced con- cerns about workforce quantity, quality and transferability, what is known as workforce resilience. Individual and company commitments are the essence of this innovative partner- ship. The partnership: l created the sector's first ever Workforce Renewal and Skills Strategy, Award is industry-first for Energy & Utility Skills Energy & Utility Skills has become the first recipient of the Utility Partner of the Year Award. Utility Week finds out why. What the judges said… The Judges highlighted that it was a close contest, but Energy & Utility Skills stood out for its approach to collaboration. Judges praised the sector workforce and skills specialist body for being "a true part- ner to the entire utility sector". l launched the leading end-point assess- ment body for apprenticeships, l provided the technical skills and appren- ticeship framework for the largest infra- structure project in the UK – smart meters, l manages 1.1 million skills records for the sector using digital systems available 24/7, l created a new mass talent attraction ini- tiative Talent Source Network, and l developed a Procurement Skills Accord to drive investment in skills. Helping companies achieve business goals Utilities asked Energy & Utility Skills to implement reform and optimise recovery to assist the sector's adaption to the UK Apprenticeship Levy, which costs the indus- try about £40 million a year. The organisation created best practice policy networks across the UK, helping employers adapt to and optimise their levy recovery. It also built the necessary infra- structure to get apprenticeships and finan- cial recovery under way, including approval of ten apprenticeship standards. Having been operationally ready from the first day of the opening of the market, Energy & Utility Skills achieved 100 per cent of the available funding for utility employers. The hard work paid off as the body says it out- performed in every formal audit and outper- formed all UK business sectors in delivering reform and levels of levy recovery. Creating the infrastructure from scratch and setting out a "can do" attitude, utilities became the first to secure approval of a new apprenticeship standard by government,

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