On November 6, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the domestic energy industry, focusing on the available workforce and ways to expand it. Two panels, comprised of Department of Labor (DOL), Department of Energy (DOE) representatives, as well as utility and union CEOs, testified about the need for policies which will encourage more people to pursue technical careers in the utility industry.
The purpose of the hearing was to find out what needs to be done to ensure that there are sufficient skilled employees in the utility sector as many begin to retire. Each witness had data that indicated that there would soon be a shortage of skilled employees, such as utility linemen. The average lineman age is currently 48, with only a small percentage being under 30. Within five to ten years, over half of the employees for many utilities will be eligible for retirement. The CEO of Southern Company said that in ten years, 31% of its workforce will be eligible to retire.
The witnesses all offered suggestions as to what policies could encourage a spike in employment in this sector. The DOL, for example, described programs it is pursuing to educate young people about the high paying jobs that exist in this sector. They have given grants to universities to encourage engineering training specific to the utility industry and have founded partnerships with community colleges to assist in training this part of the workforce.
All of the Senators present at the hearing agreed that this is a problem that needs to be addressed quickly. They asked the witnesses for more suggestions on how to encourage young people to pursue these types of careers and said they will work to promote federal policies that will achieve this.