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UtILItY WeeK | 31st OctOber - 6th NOvember 2014 | 25 Operations & Assets business priorities. According to Gartner, within seven years, 25 billion smart devices will be in communication with each other without human involvement. Meeting the challenges and opportuni- ties of the internet of things requires a flex- ible architecture that will support the plug and play addition of new devices on the grid. This approach will help ensure that the internet of things can support multiple devices, applications and value streams that go beyond just smart metering. For example, Austrian utility Salzburg AG, an energy supplier for 260,000 custom- ers in the Austrian province of Salzburg, is conducting a smart grid pilot project using a network architecture based on IP (internet protocol) standards to test smart grid use cases, including remote service switch capa- bilities, on-demand meter reading and net- work resiliency. In addition, the project helps Salzburg AG take an important initial step in meeting European and national mandates requiring 95 per cent of meters be "smart" in Austria by 2019. Certainly there are myriad opportunities for utilities to transform their business mod- els using smart technologies to improve the reliability, efficiency and flexibility of the grid. According to the Itron Resourcefulness Index, 94 per cent of global utility execu- tives say the industry needs transformation and nearly 75 per cent believe investing in big data tools is critical to modernising infrastructure. As utilities make these investments, it is vital to safeguard the reliability, resilience and certainty of supply. And, as they face up to the challenge of bringing new tech- nologies on stream, utilities need to put in place infrastructure that supports those vital requirements while also creating new oppor- tunities for the future. Pieter Coetzee, senior director, Smart Grid Solutions, Itron Key points • Energy efficiency is now a political strategic priority across Europe; • Smart technology enables energy efficiency and better utilisation of renewable generation assets; • A focus on smart-enabled energy effi- ciency offers business model innova- tion opportunities for energy suppliers who could also become capacity providers and data aggregators; • Realising the benefits of an intercon- nected smart energy system requires flexible architectures. Analysis Get (back) in How one skills initiative, TRS, is trying to tap into the country's wealth of unused female engineering skills. Jane Gray reports. I would think twice before encouraging any young girl to enter a male domi- nated field, because most women are not allowed to succeed." This is how one woman responded to a recent survey conducted collectively by trade union Prospect, the Women in Manufactur- ing Initiative, the Women's Engineering Soci- ety and Talent Retention Solution (TRS). The latter is an organisation that redistributes engineering talent from declining sectors to those with skills gaps. Most engineering-based sectors in the UK admit to having grave concerns about a lack of qualified people, and whether that fact will hold them back from meeting the chal- lenges of rapidly developing markets and cli- mate change, as well as limiting their ability to adopt and exploit innovative technologies. Utilities are no exception. According Energy & Utility Skills, the sector will need to recruit 40,000 technical employees in the next ten years simply to replace those who are due to retire. In isolation, this is a big challenge. Despite national initiatives to encourage uptake of Stem (science, technology, engi- neering and mathematics) degree courses and apprenticeships, output from the edu- cation system remains stubbornly below the levels required. Then there is the pulling power of other skills-hungry and competitive sectors to contend with. Viewed in this light, the prospect of establishing a robust high-tech, low-carbon society in the UK looks dim. But TRS could change that outlook. The organisation was set up in 2011, with strong support from business secretary Vince Cable, to capture talented engineers being laid off because the Strategic Security and Defence Review and reassign them to the automotive sector, which at the time was straining at the leash to grow. The concept worked, and over the past few years TRS has invested, with the help of industry sponsors including EDF and Siemens, in building a sophisticated data- base to match make talent with employ- ment. It has broadened it horizons from only redistributing ex-service personal, and has proved helpful in averting mas redundancies from failing firms by a process of "managed transfer". Now TRS and it supporters have turned their attention to the issue of recruiting women who have le Stem-based jobs for various reasons – oen to raise families. A review of engineering skills in the UK by chief scientific officer professor John Per- kins identified the recapture of women who had stepped out of Stem jobs as a key strat- egy in meeting short and medium-term skills requirements for UK engineering. TRS is attempting to develop a mecha- nism through which to do this effectively but a first step was to understand why women had not returned to their roles of their own accord – or why they did not pursue Stem careers at all despite being qualified. To do this, it issued a survey which received over 5,000 responses and will be published in full at the end of this year. Women responding to the survey identi- fied a number of barriers and concerns about entering or re-entering Stem roles, including the cost of childcare and a perceived lack of flexible working opportunities. The opening words to this article also indicate that frus- trated ambition and disillusionment should not be underestimated as factors. Most responses to the survey however, show that many Stem-qualified women – 67 per cent of respondents – would be ready to return to Stem jobs if they were given the careers advice, mentoring and other support they feel they need. Attracting qualified women into experi- enced Stem roles would serve two impor- tant purposes for engineering businesses – including utilities. First, it would help address imminent skills shortages. Second, it should help safeguard skills security for the long term by increasing the number of female role models for young women. TRS's ambition is both noteworthy and laudable. We await further news of its activi- ties in this area with interest. See an online version of this article for indus- try comments on TRS "