Hitachi Energy Q&A: The Impact of The Energy Skills Gap

The green talent gap is widening rapidly, with demand outpacing supply twofold between 2023 and 2024. 

Demand surged by 11.6%, while supply grew by only 5.6%.

This trend suggests that by 2050, green jobs will outnumber qualified candidates by a factor of two.

Hitachi Energy, a global leader in sustainable energy technology, is proactively addressing this challenge. 

The company is investing heavily in green-skilled jobs and driving innovation in sustainable power grid solutions. 

Its strategic investments, including a US$155m commitment in North America, aim to enhance manufacturing capacity and create hundreds of new jobs in the green energy sector.

Anthony Allard, EVP of North America at Hitachi Energy, is uniquely positioned to observe how both Hitachi and the broader energy industry are tackling the green hiring challenge head-on.

In this Q&A, he shares how.

How is Hitachi Energy adapting its recruitment and training strategies to bridge the growing gap between green job demand and available talent?

Hitachi Energy is a major player in the clean energy transition and offers excellent opportunities for potential employees who would like to pursue a career in the energy space, particularly in renewable energy. 

Like most fast-growing companies, we are looking for young talent —- and one of the things that has proven to be most attractive to our recruits is the opportunity to devote their time and energy to activities that make a positive contribution to society. 

Hitachi Energy is involved in a wide variety of exciting, high-profile renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure projects.

Promoting the kinds of projects we are involved in is a key element of our recruiting efforts. While we have deep roots in the energy industry, Hitachi Energy is a relatively new company and not a household name. 

We are also working to dispel the idea that the only people who can contribute to the clean energy transition are engineers. 

Yes, Hitachi Energy is a technology company, but we’re not just looking for technical skills. We are looking for people across a wide variety of disciplines in areas like marketing, finance, construction management, HR.

We also see diversity at the core of what moves us forward, and there are a number of dimensions to that. We’re looking for talented people across genders, cultures and backgrounds to plug into our diverse team and help us achieve our mission of advancing a sustainable energy future for all.

Historically, gender diversity has been a particular challenge in the electrical industry and we have developed programmes specifically designed to encourage women to enter the field and to foster female leadership in the company. 

By actively working to bring more women into the company — and the industry as a whole — we’re expanding the pool of available talent.

Finally, we are partnering with universities, community colleges and technical schools in the communities where we operate, developing curricula and training and certification programmes to directly address the skills gap.

What specific green skills are most in demand at Hitachi Energy and how are you collaborating with educational institutions to develop these skills in the workforce?

The energy sector is ripe with opportunities — from advancing sustainable energy to building smart infrastructure powering our cities. 

At Hitachi Energy, we're focused on recruiting individuals with tech skills and engineering expertise essential to digital solutions and sustainable infrastructure. 

In particular, there’s high demand for experts in data analytics, software design and engineering, cyber-security and project management skills related to renewable energy development and integration, including designing, monitoring and optimising energy systems.

Our collaboration with North Carolina State University (NC State) is a great example. This 33-year partnership has helped us co-develop curricula that equip students with the latest skills and hands-on experience for careers in clean energy. 

At a recent career fair with NC State, we aimed to fill more 225 US-based roles across a wide range of functions geared toward supporting our customers’ energy transition and pursuing research breakthroughs that can shape the grid of the future.

Beyond creating new jobs, how is Hitachi Energy working to upskill its existing workforce to meet the evolving needs of the sustainable energy sector?

We’re investing heavily in upskilling our current workforce to ensure they are prepared for the evolving needs of the sustainable energy sector. This includes a significant focus on digital transformation. 

We’re enhancing our employees' abilities to leverage data for grid modernisation, which requires understanding digital tools, real-time analytics and predictive modeling. 

We’re also expanding our teams’ knowledge and skill sets around AI, which is certain to have a key role to play in managing and optimising grids in future. 

These digital skill sets are essential for improving efficiency in monitoring and maintaining energy assets.

We’re also engaging our workforce in specialised training programmes that focus on the latest advancements in renewable energy and smart grid technology, helping employees master new, complex technologies. 

We’re forging educational partnerships with universities and technical institutions, creating programmes that benefit both new and existing employees. 

These programmes offer continuous learning opportunities, focusing on areas like AI, robotics and data analytics. 

These collaborations apply to both our ‘white collar’ technical staff, as well as employees in our manufacturing facilities, through programmes with local universities, community colleges and technical training programmes, enabling them to secure new certifications, participate in degree programmes and generally expand their knowledge in the fast-evolving energy sector.

Given the rapid growth in green job demand, what challenges do you foresee in maintaining a skilled workforce in the coming years? How is Hitachi Energy preparing to address them?

One of the main challenges in maintaining a skilled green workforce is the growing skills gap, especially in areas like digital expertise and data-driven energy management.

As the energy sector evolves, the shortage of workers with both engineering backgrounds and digital competencies poses a risk to achieving climate goals.

To address this, we’re prioritising early talent engagement and expanding educational partnerships to build a robust pipeline of young, skilled professionals. 

Through mentorship, internships and hands-on project exposure, the company aims to cultivate new talent familiar with digital tools essential for the energy sector and we offer rotational programmes to expose recent graduates to a variety of fields and specialties, to help round-out their education and training opportunities.

Additionally, by promoting diversity and inclusivity in recruitment efforts, Hitachi Energy hopes to attract a broader range of perspectives and skill sets, helping to build a resilient and innovative workforce capable of tackling future challenges in sustainable energy.

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