The collaboration, made up of members of the Energy & Efficiency Industrial Partnership, includes big six energy companies British Gas, Eon, SSE and Scottish Power along with five other partners, supported by Energy & Utility Skills and the National Skills Academy for Power.
Employers within the network are hoping its efforts will tackle the skills gap currently affecting the industry, by training young entrants and retaining experienced talent in what will become effectively a ‘clearing house’ for the sector.
The network aims to have built a pool of 1,500 potential employees by September this year, before achieving 5,000 by 2016.
Energy and Efficiency Industrial Partnership chair and National Grid chief executive Steve Holliday, said: “Over the next ten years we are looking for over 200,000 people to join the Energy and Utilities sector to meet the challenges of providing our future energy needs.”
“The Partnership has proved that as organisations and industries, we are stronger together. It is joined up employer-led innovation that will help us build the economy we need. The Network will connect talented people to the exciting and rewarding well rewarded opportunities that are on offer.”
Emma Wilcox, Programme Director for the Energy and Efficiency Industrial Partnership, will be discussing what can be done to improve the image of utilities as a target employer and plug the skills gap.
The Utility Week HR Forum 2015 takes place on the 9th of September in central Birmingham, to register your place and see the full programme please visit: www.uw-hr.net.