LEADER'S CORNER

Power Engineers Needed

What PES is doing to attract the talent

Wanda Reder

 
In the May/June 2006 "Leader's Corner," I noted the emerging need for power engineering technical talent and emphasis placed on it in the IEEE Power Engineering Society's (PES) long-range plan. Efforts were identified to improve the image of the power industry while attracting and developing the necessary technical talent to the industry and to the Society. Throughout 2006, much has occurred to support this vision.

To convey the criticality of the workforce situation and build upon an awareness campaign, numerous presentations, articles, and reports have been produced. For example, I wrote an article for Transmission & Distribution World titled "Look at the Numbers" that was released in late August focusing on attracting engineering talent and promoting the image of the power industry. The challenge has also been highlighted at numerous conferences and at chapter meetings. For example, workforce panels were organized and moderated by Prof. Alex Flueck at the 2006 PES General Meeting in Montreal and also at the 2006 PSCE Conference in Atlanta. A summary of the highlights is tentatively scheduled for public release in 2007.

A Crisis Situation

The industry is waking up to the crisis. In August, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a report to the U.S. Congress, and it noted the capacity to educate power engineering students at universities is at a critical juncture. The report can be found at http://www.oe.energy.gov/DocumentsandMedia/Workforce_Trends_Report_090706_FINAL.pdf. The report did not identify or predict a shortage of technical talent, perhaps because the major source of data was the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which needs new occupational skill categories and codes to better quantify the workforce outlook. The report did make two broad recommendations:
  • to foster better math and science education at all levels of education for students to pursue engineering
  • to build interest in energy related careers by highlighting the significant opportunities for creativity and innovation needed in energy related fields in the 21st century.
However, the report did find that "without strong support for strategic research in power systems engineering and without qualified replacements for retiring faculty, the strength of our Nation's university-based power engineering programs will wane…"

In October 2006, the North American Electric Reliability Council, now designated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as the Electric Reliability Organization established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, published its 2006 Long-Term Reliability Assessment. It can be found at ftp://www.nerc.com/pub/sys/all_updl/docs/pubs/LTRA2006.pdf. The report echoes the U.S. DOE report's call for more attention to workforce and education issues. Its prominent "Aging Workforce" section cites four key recommendations for "innovative measures to bridge the emerging knowledge gap":

  • Establish needed cooperative programs with academia and reinvigorated power engineering education in North America.
  • Identify key personnel approaching retirement and implement mentoring programs to impart the experience realized by these individuals.
  • Reassess compensation and benefits packages to attempt to retain aging personnel, either part or full time.
  • Hire engineers and other utility professionals from outside the United States.
An article by Michael Ebert of George Mason University titled "An Emerging Issue We Cannot Ignore: Meeting the Twin Challenges of Education and an Aging Workforce in the Electric Power Industry," published in Critical Infrastructure Program's November 2006 newsletter, provides more context for the DOE and NERC reports. It is located at http://cipp.gmu.edu/archive/cip_report_5.5.pdf.

With the increasing sounds of alarm about reliability and its linkage to the "human infrastructure," it is essential that the demand for future power engineers be understood. To stimulate interest in technical fields, we need to motivate students to pursue math, science, and engineering degrees while conveying the exciting career opportunities in power and energy. At the same time, a better understanding is needed of what it will take to sustain university electric power programs. There must be sufficient university capacity to meet predicted engineering workforce needs and skills and to contribute to the strategic research needed in the industry.

What PES Is Doing

IEEE PES is responding proactively by working in collaboration with the multiuniversity Power Systems Engineering Research Center (PSERC), at http://www.pserc.org, to better understand the engineering workforce challenges and to explore possible solutions. Prof. Chen-Ching Liu at Iowa State University, one of the PSERC universities, is coordinating this collaborative effort. We are looking at such possible actions as 1) conducting an employer survey to predict future demand for power engineers, 2) establishing a Web site that will explicitly target engineering workforce needs and job opportunities, 3) expanding our analyses of survey data on university power engineering programs currently collected biannually by the PES Power Engineering Committee, and 4) conducting an executive workshop to explore solutions to the workforce challenges that have been identified. To update demand information, and to connect technical power talent recruiters with job seekers, a Web site is being scoped that will align or link with the PES Web site. The project will be piloted in Regions 1–6 and later expanded to Regions 7–10.

Furthermore, a meeting in Washington, D.C., on 17 November 2006 with the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD), at http://www.cewd.org, resulted in plans for the PES and the CEWD to coordinate and share industry survey findings and link Web sites to the extent as it is practical. CEWD is a nonprofit consortium consisting of utilities, their associations, contractors, and unions to focus on the need to build a skilled workforce pipeline that will meet future industry needs.

While it is important to support policies and awareness for workforce development, it is also important for PES to take steps that help overcome existing barriers for those considering entry into the industry. During the General Meeting in Montreal, Canada, PES held its fourth event PES GOLD Outreach to determine how to increase the value of IEEE and PES membership for young engineers. In addition, more courses with continuing education credits will be offered and online courses are in development. At future conferences, GOLD member networking opportunities will be pursued. Technical committee and standards working group leaders are also encouraged to welcome GOLD member participation and identify volunteer openings for them.

To recruit new members, in 2007 Membership/Chapters will be implementing a new membership contest to increase the Society membership. The contest will provide monetary prices for those chapters that achieve the highest growth in 2007 based upon evaluation comparing the membership at the end of 2006 to that at the end of 2007. Prizes of US$1,000, US$500, and US$250 will be presented to winning chapters. Final rules are being prepared by M/C Membership Development Committee chair. Details will be announced shortly; a poster and recruitment materials for membership marketing are also in development.

Industry outreach has also been initiated. Given the challenge to attract talent, employers and T&D Conference supporters have been presented with the opportunity to increase the visibility of their business to engineering students by contributing to the Grainger Foundation Matching Fund. This is a fund that the Grainger Foundation of Lake Forest, Illinois, created to match the annual PES US$50,000 contribution to fund student activities. The PES student program provides a unique avenue for attracting young engineers into our technical discipline by showcasing the latest technology and engineering challenges. Through participation, employers can also meet the brightest and most driven students available. Those interested in making a contribution can contact Prabha Kundur at p.kundur@ieee.org.

We Need Talent

In conclusion, the emerging need for talent in the power industry is being recognized; as PES members the opportunity to provide leadership is now. Each of us can tell our engineering story to grade school, middle school, and high school students to encourage them to take math and science while advocating the facilities provided at http://www.tryengineering.org to promote engineering as a career. Once students take engineering, their participation in the PES student program is a good way to attract them towards power engineering. If you or others you know are interested in expanding the student program, donations to the Grainger Foundation are being accepted. Both student and employed power engineers and technicians are sought-after members and need to be recruited; Chapter outreach is essential. To take advantage of the new membership contest, invite candidates to a meeting, explain the benefits, and ask them to join. Once they are members, encourage them to actively participate in volunteer, networking, education, and developmental opportunities. We are at a critical juncture where reliability is directly linked to human infrastructure. I encourage you to get involved and make a difference in the future. If you have further questions or comments, feel free to contact me at wreder@sandc.com.