Over the coming decades, large investments will be needed to replace or refurbish substantial parts of the UK’s transmission and distribution networks.
The DTI’s latest Energy Review consultation document highlights some major questions that have to be answered to guide government decisions on energy policy. Over the coming decades, large investments will be needed to replace or refurbish substantial parts of the UK’s transmission and distribution networks. These upgraded networks will be rather different from those they replace. Not only will they need to be smarter, more flexible and more efficient, they will also have to accommodate a much broader mix of generation, including wind power and other renewables, as well as distributed generation such as CHP. Demand-side technology will also have a greater impact, providing changes in the way we consume energy and delivering greater efficiency to meet low-carbon requirements.
Work on key enabling technologies for the new smart networks, such as ABB’s HVDC Light systems, is well advanced. That, though, is only half the answer. No matter how good the technology, new skilled and experienced staff will be needed to complement the existing highly skilled engineers and managers to implement, deploy and maintain it. So the UK power industry will soon need the services of many skilled engineers, technicians and craftsmen both to replace those who are retiring, and also to reverse the decline in new entrants to the industry.
These problems have been masked in recent years, as the large-scale restructuring in the sector had created a surplus of trained engineers to fill any vacancies. Now though, this trend is beginning to decline, with many companies having reached their optimum balance and starting to increase staffing levels in anticipation of future growth.
ABB takes this incipient skill shortage very seriously indeed. That’s why we have joined forces with the IEE Power Academy to help attract more youngsters into this new era of exciting opportunities. The Power Academy - which includes all the major TNOs, DNOs, manufacturers, consultants and universities - offers an attractive mix of financial incentives, technical training and business education for entrants to power engineering courses. It also promotes the opportunities for an exciting and rewarding career in the industry through seminars, lectures and work experience.
The Power Academy is an excellent example of coordinated action between industry, academia and the professional institutions, and I am confident that it will achieve its objective of creating a critical mass of electrical engineering graduates. But there is still a great deal of work to be done, especially within schools. The challenge for all of us is to capture the hearts and minds of young people well before they make their choices of GCSE and A-level subjects, so that they know that engineering is a great career choice.