In France, the Ministry of Labor had commissioned eight professional organizations from the electrical industry and territorial in 2019 to conduct a major study on employment and skills in the electrical industry (FFIE, FIEEC, Gimelec, IGNES, Industries Méditerranée, SERCE, UFE, Think Smartgrids). Conducted by PwC and coordinated by the Union Française de l’Electricité (UFE), the study’s objectives were to take stock of existing jobs in the electricity sector, analyze their future prospects and identify the jobs that are in demand.
600,000 jobs mobilized for the energy transition in France
Aimed at companies, professional branches, employees in the sector, as well as young people in training and employment institutions, the study revealed a number of lessons:
- The French electricity sector has 600,000 skilled and permanent jobs throughout the country, including 300,000 in the electricity system (production, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity), 220,000 in construction, 40,000 in industry and 40,000 in urban and mobility infrastructures;
- 30% of these jobs are considered “short-staffed”, with high recruitment needs;
- The electrical sector includes 30,000 companies spread across the entire value chain, 40% of which are SMEs;
- The implementation of the “Pluriannual Energy Program”, a strategic document for steering the energy transition in France, could create 200,000 jobs by 2030, including 80,000 for the energy renovation of buildings and 60,000 dedicated to renewable energies and their integration.
- The energy transition, which involves the digitization of networks and the collection and use of data, is disrupting many professions, with new skills to be integrated.
By mapping the jobs that are in short supply and establishing detailed projections, the study has made it possible to draw up a set of recommendations to meet the challenges the electricity sector is facing. At the end of March 2021, the organizations of the electrical industry involved in this “Commitment to employment and skills” defined three areas of work to meet the challenges of the industry in terms of recruitment and skills development.
The first priority is to adapt the continuous professional training offer to the evolution of jobs and skills in the electrical sector. The training offer must correspond to the current and future needs of the industry. This involves pooling existing training courses, creating short, operational training modules and co-constructing new programs with training organizations, and then facilitating access to continuing vocational training for all, particularly within VSEs and SMEs.
The second priority is to make the electrical industry and its professions more attractive to young people, employees and job seekers. This will involve broadening the recruitment criteria and creating additional training modules to manage shortage jobs and increasing the participation of electrical industry players in national and regional employment events.
The third priority is to strengthen the role of the regions in anticipating employment and skills needs. In particular, the challenge is to support regional initiatives aimed at anticipating skills needs and managing career paths in connection with the energy transition.
Finally, support for VSEs/SMEs is seen as essential to meet the sector’s future needs. At the European level, the prospective approaches of the sectors and regions must be shared and promoted.
View the study (in French): https://www.thinksmartgrids.fr/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/EDEC-Fili%C3%A8re-%C3%A9lectrique-2020-Rapport-vf.pdf