Across the black, grey and green energy industries, we are facing a major skills gap. According to Manpower research cited by Forbes, 71% of energy sector employers struggle to find the skilled talent they need, and Boston Consulting Group estimates there will be seven million unfilled jobs in the global green energy industry by 2030[2]. These are alarming statistics in a market already stacked with emotion and uncertainty. This skills gap puts at risk not only our ability to meet decarbonisation targets but also our capacity to safely produce traditional energy. This is a problem for us all – both within the industry and without – and demands a collective response.
There are a host of reasons behind the skills gap. An ageing workforce is not being replaced, and we’re not doing enough to capture the knowledge and experience leaving the industry. Barriers to entry remain high and the working environment is seen as old fashioned. Workplace culture hasn’t kept pace with modern learning and inclusion expectations. Ultimately, the energy industry is just not as appealing to today’s emerging talent as we need it to be.


So, what’s the answer?
There is no silver bullet. But we need to start with a fundamental reset in how we talk about and describe the energy industry. We need to shift the focus from profit to purpose, show potential talent that they can help shape the path to the future of energy production, and give them concrete opportunities to make a positive difference as part of their working lives. At KBR, for instance, we run One Ocean, a global collaboration between our employees, schools, youth and environmental networks, which supports our sustainability commitments and reflects our ‘Zero Harm ‘ethos. This has proven hugely popular, from Surrey to Saudi Arabia. We’ve also recently launched ‘All In’, an employee-led volunteer community, aiming to bring the KBR employee value proposition to life and reinforce our commitment to being a place where all employees can all belong, connect and grow.
Crucially however, in an era of disinformation, fake news and green wash, we must be authentic in describing our place in the energy industry. We have to be honest about the role we’ve played in carbon-based energy – in the past and still today. We need to talk about the journey we’re on, with our customers, and invite people to be part of it.
Every employer in the energy sector has a responsibility to help meet the challenge head-on. We need to take active steps to help bridge the skills gap and give our people the chance to develop new expertise. At KBR, for example, we’re teaching Python coding language to our engineers, encouraging them to think about how they can embed AI in their existing tools, an opportunity which has been enthusiastically embraced.
We also need to consider learning and development (L&D) even more carefully, investing in our people for the long-term, embedding a mindset of agility and continuous learning into our organisational cultures, and making it a genuinely lived experience that empowers our people to adapt, grow and thrive in a constantly evolving environment. For instance, at KBR we run an international Technical Fellows Program, aiming to foster innovation and knowledge-sharing, provide a distinct career opportunity for our top engineering experts, and help to attract, mentor and inspire the next generation of talent.

The how of L&D is crucial too. We need to find a way of delivering training that reflects the 21st century, encompassing microlearning, digital, and gamification. We need to really lean into different learning styles and expectations. We now have five different generations in the workplace so one size does definitely not fit all. In the Sustainable Technology part of our business, for example, we run KaliBeR, a regular global design and innovation competition for our people, which has proven immensely popular.
Perhaps most importantly, we need to acknowledge that no single player can solve this challenge alone. We need to create a new energy ecosystem, underpinned by better relationships between industry and the education sector, and proactive support from government. Across industry, both major and minor players alike need to come together for the sake of the bigger picture. And individuals need to play their part too, to actively drive their careers and be voracious in their appetite to learn and develop. A great example of such collaboration is our work with bp on the Rumaila Operating Organisation in Iraq, where we’ve helped set up an in-house training academy, focusing on core and technical skills and leadership, with digital engineering a strong theme running through our programmes.
The future of energy depends on collective action—and bold leadership. We need to articulate our ideal for the industry and then step towards it together.


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