On the 15th June, we exhibited at the Many Skills: One Vision Conference, which focused on the Workforce Renewal and Skills Strategy recently launched by The Energy & Utilities Partnership. Held by the National Skills Academy for Power at St George’s Park in Burton on Trent, in the evening, there was an award ceremony - The People of Power Awards – celebrating the best young talent entering the sector.
Speakers at the event included Dr. Tony Cocker, Chief Executive of E.ON UK, who gave the keynote speech about strategy and how the sector can work together to address the skills gap. We face an ageing workforce, growing complexity within roles and a rapidly changing technology environment that call for more diversity of skills and the people who perform them. 20% of our sector's workforce will retire within ten years, which means we need around 221,000 new recruits to fill the gap over the same period.
The People of Power Awards reflected the exciting prospects for young people in the industry, featuring awards for the Power Graduate of the Year, sponsored by Northern Powergrid and Power Apprentice of the Year, sponsored by SSE. These awards were won by Navdeep-Singh Kahlon, of Cadent Gas Ltd and Zarina Zoe Finch of E.ON, respectively.
We were at the conference showcasing our smart meter courses and had a lot of interest. In partnership with utility providers, EDF Energy and Lowri Beck, Logic Certification is offering smart meter training, covering both electrical only and dual fuel meters. Suitably qualified installers can expect potential earnings of between £24,000 and £30,000.
Smart Meters are very much in the news these days, with a focus on the Government's plans to equip every household and small business in the UK with a smart meter before 2021. Isabell Palmer, Head of Industry Reporting at the Smart Meters Implementation Programme, gave a talk on the benefits of smart metering and how smart meters can be used to make householders more aware of the energy they are using. She presented figures illustrating the challenges facing the power companies and their commitment to offer around 50 million smart meters to over 30 million properties in the UK by the end of 2020.
If smart meter training is something that interests you, you need to apply for work through the energy companies. Once you are offered a position, your employer will put you through a training programme. Jobs are being advertised on energy company and contractor websites, or through specialist recruitment agencies.
With over 13 years' experience in the gas and electrical industry, our smart meter training is ideally placed to provide the skills needed by this growing and potentially rewarding sector. For more details click here
To find out about smart meter vacancies through Lowri Beck, click here and for vacancies at EDF, click here.