THE UTILITY industry faces a severe staffing shortage as the majority of its workforce plans retirement in the US a study conducted by Hay Group has found. According to the results, 40 per cent of senior electrical engineers and 43 per cent of shift supervisors will be eligible for retirement by 2009. The study found that on average these employees are older than their counterparts in other industries and represent approximately 50 to 60 per cent of the industry’s knowledge assets.
THE UTILITY industry faces a severe staffing shortage as the majority of its workforce plans retirement in the US a study conducted by Hay Group has found. According to the results, 40 per cent of senior electrical engineers and 43 per cent of shift supervisors will be eligible for retirement by 2009. The study found that on average these employees are older than their counterparts in other industries and represent approximately 50 to 60 per cent of the industry’s knowledge assets.
The study also found that more than two-thirds of utility companies surveyed have no succession plan for supervisors and 44 percent have no plan for vice presidents. This corporate crisis began in the tumultuous years of deregulation 15 years ago when utilities were in the business of merging and downsizing. Few utilities achieved the anticipated gains from the mergers and staffs were cut across the board.
The study also found that this issue goes way beyond human resources issues of retirement, recruitment and retention and needs a comprehensive approach that includes academia. The utility industry’s staffing problems start at the undergraduate level. Universities are now graduating an average of 10 power engineers per state per year, compared to 2000 graduates in the 1980s. In contrast, such countries as India, China, and Russia graduate a significant number of power engineers each year.
Surprisingly, salaries are more than competitive, with senior power engineers earning 30 to 40 per cent more than computer science engineers. The base salary for these engineers is $US100,000. Yet today’s most talented, promising students are focused and directed toward careers in aerospace, biotechnology, software development, and chemical engineering.
Diversity is also an issue. According to the US National Academy of Engineers, the number of women in engineering is declining. Women account for less than 17 per cent of engineering graduates compared to 20 per cent a few years ago.
