THE ENERGY TRANSITION

The Energy Transition is not a single transition but a series of interrelated challenges that have as their ultimate goal the production of energy sufficient to meet the needs of the growing world population, but with Net Zero emissions. The sectors that will be affected include heating and cooling; mobility and transport; food production; sanitation, water and waste disposal; and manufacturing including petrochemicals.

Many energy companies whose workforces are selected for their expertise in engineering and related technical skills rely on techno-economic solutions. When these are unable to deliver energy on the scale required while staying within planetary boundaries, the least worst alternative pathway is considered. The challenge is primarily problem-solving, and engineers are good at that. But this approach does not work when the danger of climate change threatens citizens, along with their children and grandchildren. 

Sustainable solutions are critical. Ticking the box is not enough. Energy companies have been criticized for decades, but the old polarisation of the industry versus environmental lobby groups remains counter-productive, and in many cases holds back positive change. Faced with lose-lose choices, the biggest energy companies often follow the path of least resistance and sit on their hands. Or they make token gestures to appease the public but keep their options open, compounding the public distrust.  

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

Defining a strategy is never easy, but it is a particularly knotty challenge given the huge uncertainties of the energy transition. Faced with a range of scenarios for climate change and technological change, it is unlikely that staff — even the experts — will agree on the techno-economic parameters, let alone the solution. Competitive position within the industry is a key unknown. Even if your company succeeds in reaching a Net Zero target, others might fall short.

Once the jungle of internal stakeholders has been negotiated, the strategy will also have to meet the divergent needs of external stakeholders, including regulators, shareholders, financiers, ethics committees and so on. These may have strong opinions on timeframes for implementation of any strategy. 

The strategy will also take into account the realities of where the company and staff are now. It is not realistic to change the DNA of a company overnight. In most cases, staff will have been carefully selected for hire based on their expertise, aptitudes and personal qualities, and these will have been important ingredients in shaping corporate culture. These will only change gradually, through a process of training, retraining, coaching and mentoring.

This brings into focus the need to simultaneously change mindsets, the underlying values and assumptions that guide and motivate a company’s decisions. Again, this will only happen through concerted effort by providing coaching and mentoring.

WORKFORCE AND SKILLS

STEM skills (Science, Technical, Engineering and Mathematics) have for many years been the bedrock on which coal, oil and gas companies have built themselves. These skills will be in strong demand as the energy transition progresses.

But the need for creative and talented individuals in the energy sector has never been fully acknowledged, and this need will only become greater as the sector moves from monolithic centrally-planned structures to more entrepreneurial highly distributed networks with a high degree of interdependence.

As a linguist and creative graduate (BA Cantab in English Literature and Oriental Studies, 1982) I am passionate about the opportunities and potential for young creative talent in the energy sector. I have talked at schools and universities about the buzz of working in energy, and I am keen to get the message across to attract the diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity and personal backgrounds that the industry needs. 

WHAT I OFFER 

The Energy Transition will require new skills, new business models, and adaptive learning solutions. Is you company ready for this?

The quality of staff will be critical for implementing energy transition strategies, but this is not just about hiring talented STEM graduates. Diversity and individuality will be key to attracting young staff with the right mix of aptitudes. Most youngsters I have interviewed for jobs have asked about training and skills development programs, as well as career progression.

A learning culture may also be important for experienced staff. As the strategy is put in pace, experienced staff may need re-skilling, and this may be met with resistance if the corporate culture does not encourage life-long learning and skills development.

HOW WE CAN HELP

Resource Economist provides several training courses to help companies develop their strategy to meet Energy Transition targets while maintain their competitive position in the industry:

• Strategies for Energy Transition
• Energy Transition: Strategy, Culture and Dynamics
• Energy Transition: Science, Technologies and Economics

These courses are supplemented by individual and team coaching that can encourage employees to reframe their attitudes and assumptions about the energy transition. Polarisation of attitudes often becomes a barrier to constructive approaches to business transitions, and coaching can be a way to open employees to change, and to help teams work together to overcome their differences and harness their energy to make a real difference. 

We have strong contacts with experienced energy engineers and economists and can arrange mentoring programs for individual staff if required.

We also provide a full range of techno-economic courses covering traditional and new energy, from oil and gas, to power and renewables.