Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/730827
www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | OCTOBER 2016 | 31 In the know Digging deeper: skills Meeting the utilities skills gap challenge How can the water industry make sure it attracts and retains the skilled individuals it needs to replace retirees in a rapidly changing industry? Here, Conrad Ashby, Framework Director at Thames Water contractor Lanes Group, looks at how to step up to the workforce challenge Conrad ashby FRAmEWORk DiRECTOR, THAmEs WATER WNs CONTRACT, LANEs GROup T he water utilities industry is facing major challenges in the recruitment and retention of the skilled and committed personnel it needs to continue to deliver the best services to customers. As Thames Waters' sole waste water network services maintenance partner, we're feeling the force of that The recruitment challenge comes as we're also working with Thames Water to make our services ever more customer-focussed. So, we want to be imaginative and forward thinking about how we train and engage our workforce to provide more than just a transactional service. Skills shortages have been a concern in the utility sector for some time. The Energy and Efficiency Partnership, set up in 2014, is a collaboration between Government and utilities, including Thames Water, to promote skills development. It says half of the current employees will leave the UK utility sector by 2023, resulting in the need for 200,000 new recruits to bolster an already ageing workforce. We are committed to a resulting Skills Accord that sets annual targets for apprenticeships, employer- sponsored learning and/or graduate programmes. Our jobs market, the south east of England, is particularly competitive. We have to be honest and think, why should someone choose to work in wastewater, when they can work for a high-profile global company in the centre of London? At the same time, the recruitment well for key skills is running dry. Lanes Group staff receiving a first aid training course challenge here in the south east. In my view, it's more about embracing the challenge, than feeling daunted. We're having to be smarter in the way we recruit, and in terms of retention. It can only be positive that we're doing more to develop the excellent colleagues we already have.