Over the past few days I’ve been attending one of the biggest industry events of the year – The Future of Utilities event in central London. It’s a great opportunity to get excited about what the future looks like and to understand the direction the Utilities industries are taking. Which makes the results of our most recent Skills Survey – which we’ve launched at the event – even more disturbing.
The overwhelming response from industry participants, was that the biggest challenge the industry faces in terms of attracting the talent it needs to succeed, is the ‘Image’ the utilities sector has. We were amazed by the negative impression people have of their own sector, and the way they feel it impacts on the talent we can attract. Comments such as ‘boring’, ‘not sexy’, ‘stagnating’ and ‘hasn’t moved with the times’, proliferated, which for me, is desperately worrying.
Events like Future of Utilities really showcase the best of the industry – the exciting projects and innovations that are impacting the future of the sector. Smart meters, data, digital channels – they are all blurring the lines between technology and utilities. And that makes this sector a really exciting place to be right now. The pace of change is accelerating all the time – the energy revolution is happening today.
But clearly – we’re really poor at doing our own PR. If people within our industry don’t understand where we are and what we’re doing, how are we ever going to resolve the challenges we face with poor customer perception?
How can we as industry experts challenge this perception? How can we make people realise that this is a sector with a really innovative future. As industry people we need to better articulate this exciting future – and bring the talent with us.
What steps will YOU take?
Download the Skills Survey 2018 Whitepaper here
