Skills is one of the great challenges facing the energy transition and here at Opergy, we specialise in helping you build a workforce ready for the future.
“Our forecasts allow government, training providers and companies to identify the skills gap between the current workforce and what they will likely require,” explains our Associate Director for People and Skills, Mark Buckton.
“This information can drive meaningful action across a supply chain, revolutionising areas and improving individuals’ lives.”
So, how do we do it?
The long-term view
The skills landscape today is complicated.
Rapid industry shifts, digital transformation and the energy transition itself are all driving uncertainty, leaving it difficult to know what skills are required, where shortages are and how gaps can be bridged.
“We use a blended approach to developing data,” explains Mark. “We work ‘bottom up’, identifying the workforce or skill required at the most granular level, then extrapolating this using the known pipeline of projects that are being planned for.”
If data is not readily available, as is the case for emerging sectors such as carbon capture, we work with industry to establish models that outline the workforce and skills required throughout a typical project and operations.
“That leaves us with a very strong base to forecast future workforce requirements five to 10 years into the future,” says Mark.
That long-term view is crucial to our approach, as is looking at more than just an individual organisation.
“If no one looks at longer-term skills, there is a very real risk there will be a shortage of skilled labour,” outlines Mark. “This results in firms all trying to recruit from a diminishing pool of talent, with knock-on effects for quality and delivering contracts, with a host of risks that can damage businesses.”
As well as this, no organisation works in isolation. They need a supply chain as competent as they are.
“We can provide intelligence on a place-based basis, allowing employers to see the potential workforce in their area and highlight the gap between current resource and future needs,” says Mark.
“This intelligence is invaluable to allow them to plan and identify solutions in a timely manner. This information can drive meaningful action across a supply chain revolutionising areas and improving individuals’ lives.”
Of course, having this data at your fingertips is one thing, but understanding it and taking action is another step entirely.
With our People and Skills offer, we are able to take care of both.
Tools for change
With our tools, such as the Energy Skills Intelligence Hub, we can fuse data and forecasting with clear visualisations, telling a clear skills story.
The form that takes is up to you, whether it’s visual dashboards, reports, interactive tools or even a website that can provide this intelligence to a wider audience – Opergy can build it.
This then leaves you with no doubt of where you should be investing, be that training, talent pipelines, partnerships or funding bids. We can help businesses to link with educational institutions, align with energy sector bodies, or shape strategies that promise readiness and resilience.
“We can provide proven pathways from attraction to full competence that are adaptable and robust allowing businesses to address their future workforce requirements,” explains Mark.
