Women make up a smaller percentage (24%) of the workforce in every one of the energy and utilities sector than the UK average (43%).  The density of female workers is particularly low in the electricity and waste management industries, where women account for less than a fifth of all employees.  The gas upstream sub-sector and water industry employ slightly more women although both still employ far fewer women than the average across all sectors.

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

For more information on the gender composition of the sector workforce see:

 Source: Energy & Utility Skills Sector Skills Agreement Stage 1 2006, p.30. Data from the Census of Population (2001).

Data relating to the ethnicity of the workforce is difficult to obtain, and therefore data has been taken from Census of Population 2001.  Data from this source shows that 8% of the UK’s total workforce is from a black or minority ethnic (BME) background.  Across the four energy and utilities sector, only the gas (upstream) sub-sector approaches this national average. 

The vast majority of each industry’s workforce is White (93-96%), with Asian/Asian British and Black/Black British the only other ethnic groups to account for 1% or more of the workforce.  The water and waste management industries have the lowest BME workforces, with only half the average BME employment rate.

Across England, Scotland and Wales there is little variance from the UK average in terms of workforce ethnicity.  However, in Northern Ireland, the electricity industry is almost entirely White (99%).  This does, however, reflect the ethnic make-up of the Northern Ireland population and workforce as a whole, and is not unique to the industry.

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

Source: Energy & Utility Skills Sector Skills Agreement Stage 1 2006, page 32. Data from the Census of Population (2001).

In the energy and utilities sector a common theme is the above average concentrations of employees within the 35-44 and 45-54 year old age bands.  There are also higher proportions of the gas (downstream) and waste management workforces from the 55-64 year old age group than the UK average. 

There is a strong correlation between the age profile of a sector and its tendency to employ certain occupations. In short, the more senior positions are filled by older employees, while sales and customer service attract younger employees. This appears to be a straightforward reflection of the nature of the roles.

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

For more information on the age profile of the workforce see:

Source: Energy & Utility Skills Sector Skills Agreement Stage 1 2006, p.32. Data from the Census of Population (2001) and CORGI Register.

It is estimated that 0.7% of the energy and utilities sector workforce regards themselves as disabled.  If true, it would suggest that approximately 3,700 energy and utilities employees have a disability. However, as the disability estimate is based upon a fairly small sample size, an accurate figure is not available.

Due to the physical and dexterous nature of many of the activities undertaken across the four industries, it is unlikely that a relatively significant proportion of the workforce will be classified as disabled.  However, there is anecdotal evidence that suggests that the waste management industry does employ a number of people with learning disabilities to undertake activities that require no or low-level skills. However due to the nature of the workforce and the problems in identifying people with learning difficulties, quantifying this issue is problematic.

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