Hiring trends in the utilities sector predict a talent shortage of over 310,000 professionals by 2030. Labour shortages have been plaguing the sector for a while, however, an ageing workforce, sudden increases in resource requirements to support the UK’s Net Zero targets, and the integration of new technologies, have changed hiring in the sector significantly.

Being aware of the hiring trends impacting the sector and addressing the challenges in utilities recruitment, will help organisations hire the talent they need, both immediately and long-term.

Main hiring trends in the utilities sector

Rise in demand for workers

One of the main hiring trends affecting the utilities sector is the rapid creation of new jobs within the sector. By 2030, over 205,000 new jobs will be created in the UK’s utilities and energy sector, increasing the workforce by 32%.

These increases are partly due to the:

• Creation of Great British Energy, a new publicly owned clean energy company
• Energy transition – which refers to our changing reliance from fossil fuels to clean and renewable energy
• New £1.3bn investments into modernising infrastructure projects through the National Grid

Whilst this is fantastic news, the significant labour shortages and hiring challenges many organisations in the industry are experiencing may delay projects and limit the sector’s growth.

Emerging technologies

In addition to new job creation to support infrastructure upgrades, the utilities sector itself is also embracing new technology. The landscape for technology is shifting for the utilities sector, with a variety of new tech being utilised including smart grids and smart meters, as well as an increasing use of AI to monitor systems. These elements are all affecting hiring trends in the utilities sector.

Increasingly, there is a growing demand for tech professionals to join the utilities sector and for current utilities workers to upskill, so that they possess core tech skills, such as cyber security, data literacy and AI. This means that utility companies need to understand how to hire individuals with tech skills effectively through the right assessments of competencies, as well as putting in place specialised training to teach utility workers to use new technology.

Challenges in utilities recruitment

Replacing an ageing workforce

The utilities sector is facing a pressing issue. Its ageing workforce is adding to labour shortages. With over 106,000 professionals expected to retire in the next 5 years, that’s the equivalent to a loss of 17% of the UK’s utilities workforce. Whilst there are professionals entering the sector all the time, losing a high percentage of the workforce on top of increasing demand to fill new vacancies, is beginning to pose significant challenges.

This ever-increasing ageing workforce means that a large portion of talent in the industry will soon leave, taking valuable experience and knowledge with them. This could cause a chasm that will need to be filled. Overcoming hiring challenges and improving training can help to fill this gap with targeted efforts.

Attracting professionals to utilities jobs

One of the major challenges in utilities recruitment is in attracting the right professionals. The industry has struggled to encourage newcomers to the sector over the past few years.

However, there are challenges to attracting professionals into the utilities sector to fill roles. These include a number of jobs in the sector that require:

• Long distance travel to remote sites
• Availability for weekend and evening work
• Customer facing responsibilities

Depending on the role, there may be multiple obstacles in attracting new people. However, as new technology becomes integrated in the sector, there may be more opportunities for remote working or a reduced need for professionals to work unsociable hours. Until these demands reduce, these challenges will continue to present themselves and cause issues in  utilities recruitment.

Lack of interest from the younger generation

In order for the utilities sector to sustain itself, there needs to be a continuous flow of newcomers to the industry. The problem the sector is facing currently is the concern that 17% of the workforce will be retiring in the next 5 years, taking key skills and experience with them.

With only 8% of the workforce in the sector aged 24 and under, which is significantly below the national average across all sectors, the utilities industry needs to ensure they are creating avenues for new workers to get involved. These routes might include internships, apprenticeships and university / industry work placements to try to create a flow of younger workers to join the sector.

Struggling to attract and retain a diverse workforce

The utilities sector has one of the lowest rates of diversity in its workforce. With only 30% of utility professionals being women, and only 7% of workers being from ethnic minorities, failing to hire a diverse workforce will exacerbate the talent shortages in the sector.

Statistics show a woeful image of retention, with the women in utilities network (WUN) finding that 31%  female utility workers want to quit the industry in the next 1-3 years, due to unconscious bias. Whilst EUSkills identified that 14% of energy and utilities professionals who left the industry in 2023 were from an ethnic minority background, increasing from 11% in 2022.

Unfortunately, the sector will continue to struggle to gain mass hiring appeal unless major changes are made. Addressing issues such as unconscious bias in the workplace and within recruitment practices can help to make hiring fairer and improve the experiences for professionals in the sector.

Consult Energy is a utility specialist recruitment agency that can help you to overcome any hiring challenges you may face. For more information, get in touch with our team here.