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12.10

By Wanda K. Reder and George McClure

A recent industry survey (Ref. 1) by the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) found that 51 percent of engineers engaged in power generation or delivery for electric, natural gas, and nuclear utilities could leave their jobs by 2015, owing to retirements and other attrition.  Some ten thousand of these engineers could leave to take retirement, but, including attrition, the number of replacements required rises to 16,400. This figure does not include the power and energy engineers that are needed in other sectors of the economy, such as aerospace, manufacturing, energy service companies, research, and education. The Power and Energy Engineering Workforce Collaborative estimated that almost 30 percent of power engineering faculty could leave by 2013 (Ref. 2).

The CEWD survey found that in 2009, engineers eligible for retirement left at a lower rate than anticipated in the previous CEWD survey.  This was attributed to the weakening economy and loses in retirement savings plans.  Hirings were largely one-to-one for those leaving or retiring so that there was no net gain.  Personnel needs for new power plant construction, infrastructure expansion and the emerging green energy sector were not considered in the CEWD survey.

The previous (2008) CEWD survey found that nearly 2,000 fewer EEs would be required, but as time goes on more long-term engineers are eligible for retirement.  The current survey notes that

“Utilities have also been particularly challenged in filling engineering jobs with appropriately skilled applicants. To make up the shortfall, many have been willing to hire engineers who lacked electrical engineering degrees; in those cases, they’ve bridged the skills gap by providing company sponsored training to new hires. In the future, the companies report that they will begin requiring an electrical engineering degree, or relevant coursework, for electrical engineer positions. Approximately 23 percent of the engineer applicants did not have the relevant education or experience when they applied for positions. However, half of those utilities surveyed said they would help pay for employees to obtain an appropriate degree through tuition reimbursement plans.”

To increase the number of future power engineers, responding to the shortage seen, the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) is providing seed money for a campaign with the IEEE Foundation to start a scholarship fund that will eventually:

• Double the number of  power engineering graduates

• Create opportunities for 2,000 student internships in industry.

The first awards are anticipated in 2011.  Scholarship program planning is now underway, and announcements about the program will be published early next year.

In July, the PES Governing Board authorized a $1 million seed donation to create a PES Scholarship Fund within the IEEE Foundation.  That seed donation will be followed by a two-year fund-raising campaign by PES with the IEEE Development Office and the IEEE Foundation to raise $10 million.

The benefits of the campaign include:

• Mitigating a workforce shortage at a critical time when engineering expertise is needed to support electric power infrastructure investments, such as new central station power generation, increased penetration of renewable technologies, and adoption of smart grid technologies.

• Providing leadership to support the engineering profession and workforce pipeline development

• Strengthening relations with industry, universities, and government

• Serving as a blueprint for expansion  to appropriate geographic regions and for other entities within IEEE

• Creating IEEE loyalty for long-term membership growth

The capital campaign to build the Scholarship Fund will emphasize ”Value from Investment,” for corporate prospects, and a “Give Back” program for PES members.

References

1. “Gaps in the Energy Workforce Pipeline: 2009 CEWD Survey Results”, Center for Energy Workforce Development http://www.cewd.org/mem_resources/2009%20Survey
   %20Exec%20Summary.pdf

2. “Power and Energy EngineeringWorkforce Collaborative,” http://www.ieee-pes.org/workforce/workforce-collaborative

3. Dennis Ray and Gregory Reed, “IEEE PES Works to Meet Power & Energy Engineering Education & Workforce Needs,” IEEE-USA Today’s Engineer online, July 2008, http://www.todaysengineer.org/2008/Jul/PES.asp

Wanda K. Reder is past president of the  IEEE Power & Energy Society and vice president of Power Systems Services for S&C Electric Company. Reder has built her career experience working with utilities and utility service. Previously, she served as vice president of engineering and system planning and vice president of asset management for Exelon Energy Delivery.

George F. McClure is Technology Policy editor for IEEE-USA  Today’s Engineer and the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society's representative to IEEE-USA's Committee on Transportation and Aerospace policy.

Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.