Already now this key branch of the economy suffers a significant shortage of employees, especially of the young ones.
Canadian energy providers say they need a huge number of various workers to keep the country’s lights on.
According to a report by Electricity Human Resources Canada, at least 20,500 new workers will be needed in transmission systems and power plants by 2022.
“It’s extremely critical,” said Michelle Branigan, the CEO of the organization created 15 years ago to solve the problem of hiring in this sector.
Nowadays, the electric power industry employs almost 107,000 people involved in a full cycle of work form power generation to energy delivery. Currently, this sector is not that diverse as in Canada in general with women accounting for one-fourth of the total number of employees and representatives of certain immigrant groups accounting for just one-tenth. Plus, the sector is rapidly aging: just every 20th employee is younger than 25.
The majority of the new workforce will not just replace old employees. The industry is expanding rapidly due to the growing demand for electric cars, battery-powered electronics, and digital systems. The future workers are required to be more agile as they are going to work with renewable energy sources and digital technologies that are transforming the industry at a dizzying rate.
Finding new workers is complicated by the fact that many jobs in this industry require to have serious training and specific skills. The report notes that many candidates for jobs in the electric energy sector must have the same skills as, for instance, engineers, cybersecurity experts, information and communication specialists. And power companies have to compete with more popular corporations for the same workers.
According to Michelle Branigan, failing to meet this critical demand for workers creates the risk that Canada’s power systems will become less reliable.
“But do you know Google, do you know Shopify, do you know these types of organizations? Yes, you do. Those resonate with young people,” says Nirav Patel, the director of human resources at Ontario Power Generation. “Where are they going to think about when they start thinking about an industry that is sexy and cool and is going to be exciting for them? While the industry is changing, there is one thing electricity can offer that some other industries cannot: security. The jobs are going to be around for a long time.”