Utility Week

UTILITY Week 1st April 2016

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The Topic: Skills SKILLS THE TOPIC 6 | 1ST - 7TH APRIL 2016 | UTILITY WEEK A worker is only as good as his tools, according to the old saying. But a business is only as good as its work- ers, a truth causing UK utilities some strife. Like many engineering-based sectors, util- ities face troubling shortfalls in the recruit- ment of both general technical and specialist science and engineering skills at the same time as veterans are retiring. Furthermore, as the sector and markets evolve, these tal- ent strains are being added to by the need to develop new technology expertise and more service-oriented, empathetic abilities. In facing up to these challenges, which pose a risk to the resilience and reliability of critical services, utilities are having to address core problems around sector attrac- tiveness, and the visibility of careers. And they are doing so actively – through invest- ment in apprenticeships, schools and more. This Topic feature explores some of the Utility provision is not about the technology, it's about the people key concerns and focus points for utility companies looking to develop robust skills strategies. From broadening their talent pool by appealing to more women, to support- ing excellence in the teaching of important school subjects and considering how the skills profile of tomorrow's engineers might vary from today's. These talking points will be central to seminar and debate content at Utility Week Live, the utility sector's exhibition, being held in Birmingham on 17-18 May. See www.utilityweeklive.co.uk WHAT'S IN THIS ARTICLE? l Water industry boom and bust, p9 l The importance of STEM, p10 l Women and utilities, p11 l Apprenticeships, p12 l The engineer of the future, p13 800,000 700,000 600,000 500,000 400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 0 JOBS SUPPORTED IN KEY SECTORS, 2013 Number of jobs Number of employees Fabricated metal products IT Architectural Education Electrical equipment Advertising/marketing Construction Employment services Financial services Service of head office Source: EY analysis, Office for National Statistics, 2014 EMPLOYMENT IN THE ENERGY SECTOR, 2013 ECONOMIC IMPACT OF WATER SECTOR IN 2012/13: EMPLOYMENT Source: Deloitte analysis Direct Second round Total Note: the number of jobs represents the number of full-time equivalent employees per year and excludes self-employment. The water and sewerage total employment impact of 42,000 jobs includes both direct employment of 41,000 jobs and the indirect and induced impacts on the sector of 1,000 jobs 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Transport 2.8k jobs Distribution 14k jobs Hotels/catering 4.4k jobs Construction 4k jobs Other 15k jobs Water and sewerage 42k jobs Other services 12k jobs Business services 34k jobs UK water sector employment 127k jobs

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