You are currently viewing Individuals in the energy sector are taking time out to develop their careers- however are companies keeping up with them? What do leaders need to do?

Individuals in the energy sector are taking time out to develop their careers- however are companies keeping up with them? What do leaders need to do?

People score themselves 6.4 out of 10 in terms of clarity about their future career and they see opportunities in new skills, new companies and restricting of the sector and organisations. Above all they are excited by the change to make a difference, seeing a new generate driven by climate change entering the workforce and the opportunity to change old ways

This is consistent with last year where people highlighted new skills, career opportunities and more rewarding work as the opportunities they saw.

In contrast how are companies supporting individuals develop their careers through this energy transition? The vast proportion of people say that companies are sharing strategy and explaining what that means to them, this has increased on last year (61% vs 53% last year) however only 20% of people are talking about their future career in terms of the energy transition as part of their career discussions/annual appraisals and only 20% of companies are discussing the skills transition.

And this year 17% of people say companies are doing nothing in this space

Individuals themselves are being more proactive:

·      45 % of people taking time out of the day job to learn about new tech,

·      53% actively networking to understand opportunities and make connections

·      36% of people working on transferable skills

And 44% of respondents feel they are working in a role that contributes to the energy transition.

There is an increase in people doing nothing 10% vs 5% last year and this may well be due to the higher levels of activity in the sector vs last year and more homeworking

Individuals interesting score themselves more highly in terms of being ready with 48% saying the they are as ready as they can be and 42 % say they are starting to get ready

From this data it is clear that individuals are devoting a lot more time to their careers and development that the companies themselves. It is clear that for the energy transition talented skilled people are the key to make this happen, both in mature companies to support the shift in operating models and the new entrants to grow the organisation capability. Yet from the data companies are not currently investing significantly in their staff for leaders.  This is a big risk as losing key staff will potentially derail their growth and transition plans. The market conditions are challenging with the cost of living and particularly if individuals don’t feel supported in their career direction this may well increase turn over particular in new entrants or acquisitions where the integration is not well managed. This does not need to be expensive  there are a number of activities that can be done to showcase options, one company held a week long series of events around the opportunities and the direction the company including a number of individuals talking about their own career transition journeys.