Source: SSDA Skillsmatrix 2006

Click here for the national qualification profile for the sector workforce:

• England
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland

Approximately half (51.5%) of employers in the energy and utilities sector have not trained any staff towards an S/NVQ in the previous 12 months. This compares to an England average of 43%. The 2005 Employer Skills Survey suggests that this is because of a preference for in-house training on sector specific skills, possibly driven by the specialist nature of the training and the lack of external provision.

In addition, many occupations have reasonably high entry requirements, ranging from S/NVQs to Degrees. There is an inclination for these qualifications to be generic with only partial relevance to distinct occupational groups. In the 2006 Employer Survey, employers noted the acceptability of non-industry specific Degrees.

Source: Energy & Utility Skills Sector Skills Agreement Stage 1 2006

Apprenticeships have historically been a significant entry route into the energy and utilities sector. Even with the downsizing that occurred post privatisation, the level of Apprentice recruitment remained relatively high. In the Energy & Utility Skills Employer survey 2006, 61% of respondents employed Apprentices at Level 2 or 3.  However, contractors noted that they do not take on Apprentices due, in part, to insurance and driving issues, as well as the specific health and safety concerns associated with employing a young person.

Employers believe that greater promotion of the energy and utilities industries is needed to attract Apprentices, as this may not always be their sector of first choice.  Most employers are aware of the Apprenticeship Framework and those who choose not to employ Apprentices cite internal business concerns and not the Apprenticeship Framework as the reason.

Generally, employers find the recruitment of Apprentices not to be a problem. This suggests that the current Apprenticeship system is largely appropriate for employers needs. However, employers want to see improvements made to the Apprenticeship Framework in terms of the context, delivery style and funding resources for the programme. Employers particularly ask for further development of the Framework in order to make the Apprenticeships more business and sector focused.

Apprenticeships are currently largely focused on 16-17 year olds; in many areas the industry requires older Apprentices. There is also an employer requirement for specific Apprenticeships for the different industries. This correlates well with the sector need for technical and craft skills.  However, some employers recruit and plan to recruit Apprentices at Level 3 with the aim of developing the recruits to fill future gaps in a variety of roles in the company. To underpin this, there is a need for Apprenticeships to address business as well as technical topics.

Source: Energy & Utility Skills Sector Skills Agreement Stage 2 2006

Employers who have embraced the Foundation Degree concept see it as a vehicle for attracting further candidates into the sector, as well as offering opportunities for existing employees to up-skill or retrain. Nevertheless, there are also widespread misconceptions amongst employers about the exact nature and format of Foundation Degrees.

There are only a few Foundation Degrees currently being offered by universities or Further Education colleges which relate to the energy and utilities sector.

Source: Energy & Utility Skills Sector Skills Agreement Stage 2 2006

For information on sector-specific Foundation Degrees and location see:

Data from the Labour Force Survey suggests that approximately 28% of employees within the energy and utilities sector had received employer sponsored training over the previous 13 weeks.  This was almost identical to the all sector average of 27% of employees who had received training over the same time period.

The sector carries out a significant amount of in-house training. This is generally unaccredited and does not appear in the qualifications statistics. Given the very high level of productivity of the sector compared to the UK it appears that the sector productivity performance may be driven at least in part by the in-house training.

Source: SSDA Skills Matrix 2006

For more information on training see:

There is increasing evidence that those organisations which effectively plan their training and development activities are the ones that derive the most benefit from them.  Energy and utilities sector employers make greater use of business plans, training plans and dedicated training budgets than the all sector average.   Furthermore, over three quarters (76%) of energy and utilities employers have at least one planning tool as compared with only just over two thirds among the all sector average.

Source: NESS 2005

For more information on workforce planning tools see: