The IEEE PES Workforce Initiative has been established to increase the value of membership for those seeking:
- New professional opportunities
- Improving skill-sets
- Assisting our industry participants in identifying qualified candidates
- Supporting STEM education programs
- More
Program Information
This new initiative is for PES to launch a coordinated action on workforce development while taking advantage of all what has been already considered at PES level and expand outreach to the secondary and pre-secondary education levels and further engage with governments, educational institutions, research agencies, vendors, and others, to develop and execute plans based on local industry needs and resources in the following areas of Education and Career Fostering.
This new initiative aligns with the PES long-range strategic direction – grow life-long learning and expand student offerings worldwide. At present time, PES only supports K-12 students through the
IEEE TryEngineering program.
In August 2022, the IEEE TAB Society and Council Review Committee completed its society review of PES, and recommended PES more aggressively invest in new initiatives to deliver value to members. This new initiative will expand outreach to attract K-12 students into energy careers and the science, technology, and engineering disciplines and meet industry’s urgent workforce needs.
Activities
As the world transitions to a low-carbon energy system and societal pressures mount to tackle the climate change, new public/private capital infusion has created a massive number of grid infrastructure projects. Power and utility executives across the globe report too few workers have the right skills to adopt digital technologies, for example,
- 60% of electrical contractors in Germany have vacancies.
- Installation companies in Sweden seek to hire an estimated 28,000 workers in the next 5 years.
- In the UK, electrical contractors will need 15,000 more new apprentices over the next 5 years.
From a recent IEEE PES webinar “Importance of T&D Grid Modernization to Mitigate Impacts from and Adapt to Climate Change,” also identifies that one of critical pillars for power sector to modernize the grid and combat climate change is to make concerted efforts at the secondary and pre-secondary education levels to attract students into energy careers and the science, technology, and engineering disciplines.
“Power industry is undergoing remarkable transitions driven mainly by decarbonization and resulting intensified electrification and grid modernization. In this context, the need for a qualified workforce for tackling these challenges has been pointed out as top priority by major power industry professionals. This need concerns all categories of key competences and levels ranging from technicians to engineers and R&D experts.”
— Nouredine Hadjsaid, Vice President New Initiatives/Outreach
Subgroup 1:
IEEE PES Web-based Tutorial
Topic: Solar Design and Installation Training – 101
This Web-based Tutorial aims to provide fundamental knowledge and guidelines on how to conduct solar photovoltaic system design and installation process. The webinar aims to provide an easy understanding way, with minimum theoretical involvement, to establish with quick understanding and skills on how to design and install a solar PV system. The topics include solar panels, solar inverters, batteries for solar PV systems, racking of solar panels, PV system design guidelines, PV system installation guide, and testing and troubleshooting. A significant number of practical figures, drawings, videos, and presentation animations will be utilized in the webinar series to build fundamental skills that would speed up trainees to get into the solar industry.
Subgroup 3:
IEEE Global Power & Energy Workforce Collaborative Analysis-preliminary draft in development
Subgroups 4 & 5:
- Launch of on-line platform for Career Fairs and Mentoring 2023 – Complete
- On-line R8 Career Fair in collaboration with 2023 ISGT Europe – Complete
- Conducted interviews at 2023 PES GM and 2023 ISGT Europe – Complete
Subgroups 5 & 6:
Workforce Panel Sessions planned for:
- 2023 ISGT Europe – Complete
PES Workforce Panel held on 24 October. Panelists included: Roberto Zangrandi, General Secretary of EDSO Europe; Philippe Vie, President CapGemini, Regis LeDrezen, General Manager think Smartgrids. An in-person and virtual Career Fair took place the evening of 24 October and the morning of 25 October.
- 2023 ISGT LA – Complete
- 2024 ISGT Asia
- 2024 ISGT Europe
- 2024 ISGT NA
- 2024 T&D
- 2024 IEEE PES General Meeting
Subgroups
The PES Workforce Initiative consists of 7 subgroups focused on following areas:
Subgroup 1: (Community Colleges, Career Fairs)
Officers: Shuhui Li and Jessica Bian
The focus of Subgroup 1 is to increase the number of students from 2-year trade schools and 2-year community colleges getting into the clean energy or power and energy systems workforce. Tasks include reaching out to the 2-year trade schools and community colleges, helping them develop or improve educational or training programs in the clean energy area, and helping students navigate the clean energy job market.
Subgroup 2: (High School (9-12), Career Fairs)
Officers: Shuhui Li and Jessica Bian
The focus of Subgroup 2 is to increase the number of students from Grades 9 to 12 getting into the workforce or advanced study in the clean energy or power and energy systems area. Tasks include reaching out to high schools or associated student sectors, helping them develop or improve educational or training programs in the clean energy area for Grades 9 to 12, and helping students navigate the clean energy and power and energy systems job market.
Subgroup 3: (Global Initiatives i.e., LRP-SC4)
Officers: Nirmal Nair and Shay Bahramirad
Subgroup 4: (Website and Communication Tools, New Initiatives)
Officer: Chan Wong, Anand Shah
Subgroup 5: (University Outreach, Career Fairs)
Officer: Babak Enayati, Anand Shah
Subgroup 6: (Industry/Government Outreach, Career Fairs)
Officer: Masood Parvania
Subgroup 7: (IEEE PES Scholarship Plus Initiative, Membership and New Plans etc.)
Officer: Thiago Alencar, Julio Aguero
