How to remedy the Energy industry’s skill shortage

Did you know that one of the biggest challenges facing the Energy industry is a lack of skilled staff?

As the Energy industry shifts and transforms, it experiences growing pains that are necessary in order to become a more sustainable and long-lasting sector. One clear example is a shortage of the skills needed to make this transition, due in part to an aging workforce and a lack of training opportunities for new and emerging technologies. 

What else has contributed to the Energy Industry’s skill shortage, and what can be done to remedy it? Here, we take a look at insights from our 2021 Energy Outlook Report to break down the biggest factors contributing to the skills shortage and what your company can do today to reverse the trend.

For more insights into the latest trends transforming the Energy industry in 2021, download our free 2021 Energy Outlook Report. 

When asked about the main reasons for the ongoing skills shortage in the Energy industry, over half (56%) of recruiters said the biggest challenge they face is an aging workforce and lack of skilled staff, while 40% felt the biggest driver of the skills shortage is insufficient education and training. This is due in part to the surging renewables sector, with its new technology and innovative projects growing faster than the available training and education. This difficulty for companies and institutions to keep their training and education programs up-to-date creates a lag that results in a global skills gap. 

Further, a lack of support or resources to help laid off workers find new roles is leading candidates to seek longer-lasting career opportunities, impacting the industry’s ability to rehire members of the workforce and further intensifying the skills shortage.

Other factors include inadequate succession planning and knowledge transfer (24%), strict immigration laws that prevent companies from sourcing talent globally (16%), and a loss of expertise due to retirements (15%). In addition, less and fewer younger candidates/specialists are entering the industry.

Overall, the impacts of skills shortages are being felt across the industry, but in particular in fields such as Operations and Maintenance (cited by 27%), Subsea Pipeline Construction (23%) and Health & Safety (21%). 

Let’s look at some of these factors in more depth.