The Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership has published a new White Paper, calling for the value of a resilient and sustainable UK workforce to be better understood and recognised.

The  Paper - ’Is enough value placed on human capital to deliver vital infrastructure?’ argues that investment in people is key to addressing the critical skills gap in the energy and utilities sector. The sector powers the UK economy, delivering the majority of the UK’s vital infrastructure.

The White Paper was written by Energy & Utility Skills and SSE, working on behalf of the Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership. SSE has invested in a ‘human capital’ report which measures the economic value of the skills and capabilities of the people it employs. SSE commissioned professional services firm PwC to help estimate the economic value of the energy company’s human capital.

Collectively, the energy and utilities sector is the largest single contributor to the National Infrastructure Delivery Plan (NIDP).

However, the White Paper says that despite being accountable for delivering around 56% of the half a trillion pound investment plan, there is no clear strategy in the National Infrastructure Plan for Skills for electricity, gas, water and sewage, and waste management to enable the successful delivery of the NIDP.

John Stewart, HR Director at SSE, explained:

“SSE is committed to the work of the Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership to address the significant skills gap facing the sector. Working in partnership, we hope we can create a paradigm shift in company reports and policy making by integrating the value of human capital into corporate and government thinking.

“The White Paper demonstrates that both a company and society benefits from proper investment in its workforce through increased earnings for individuals and resulting increased tax payments. People, and the skills those people have, are the key to turning investment in infrastructure into energy, clean water and a better environment.”

The Paper covers the:

• importance of valuing Human Capital
• payback from long-term investment in talent
• challenge of quantifying people as a critical asset
• value of a resilient and sustainable workforce
• future outlook

Chief Executive of Energy & Utility Skills Nick Ellins commented:

“The Energy & Utilities Skills Partnership recently published the sector’s first Workforce Renewal and Strategy, showing that collective action is needed to secure the talent the sector needs. As a whole, the sector is the largest single contributor to the National Infrastructure Delivery Plan and plays an essential role in narrowing the productivity gap between the UK and our international competitors.

“Failure to secure the skilled workforce required to deliver such infrastructure projects could lead to higher project costs, delays, reduced quality, reliance on overseas skills, loss of intellectual property, stifled innovation and damage to the UK economy and its global competitiveness.”

The White Paper is warning that there is intense competition for talent in the sector, with 36% of sector vacancies identified as hard to fill due to a lack of skilled applicants. This is now higher than in any other sector  - the overall UK figure is 23%.

“Policy makers and regulators have yet to approach the challenge as sector-wide or to quantify the value of people as a critical asset.” the report says.

Click here to download the White Paper