POWER August 2018 - 52

COMMENTARY
Raising the Next Generation
of Energy Leaders
Jake Brooks
A
s the electric power industry moves forward with new
technology, the workforce that is needed to design,
build, and manage the next generation of systems will
undergo an equal if not greater transformation. It is no small
task to ensure education and training systems are attuned to
the real needs of the system and produce the right kind of
graduates.
To excel in the intensely competitive and interactive markets
of the future, power companies must recruit people whose
strengths include a working appreciation for what lies ahead
and the nature of change. Future employees must understand
how to adapt and remain flexible.
The corporate workforce is one of the few factors that management
can control. As such, it's central to many energy companies'
strategies for dealing with a rapidly changing market.
Educational institutions need to be just as aware of the evolving
needs of the sector as investors and project developers.
But are they?
More than 100 years ago, Woodrow Wilson-the 28th president
of the U.S. and former president of Princeton University-
famously said, " It is easier to move a cemetery than to change
a curriculum. " He probably ran into more than a few people in
educational institutions who were still committed to producing
the proverbial buggy whip.
Multiple Planning Horizons Are the New Reality
Power project investments require both long-lived and shortlived
components. Unfortunately, providers of capital and participants
at all points on the supply chain may develop divided
loyalties. They may be committed to long-term projects. At the
same time, they may be tempted to look over their shoulder
at shorter-term alternatives, particularly when new technology
comes with significantly lower per-unit energy production
costs, inconvenient as that may be.
Under these conditions people with long-term investments
may find themselves pitted against others who want to finance
new investments, sometimes in the same company. There are
often healthy debates on when it's wise to accept a slightly
higher risk and higher cost of capital in order to take a position
in what may be more-competitive options. For some, the
answer is a no-brainer-they can't afford not to invest in the
future. For many others, arriving at a dependable answer requires
new analytical skills.
How can one project, company, or industry be the paragon
of stability when it is trying to attract long-term capital, while
exhibiting the latest innovative thinking when planning and
deploying new technology? It is a uniquely human challenge to
reconcile the predictability necessary to secure financing with
the flexibility necessary to capitalize on new ideas. You need
52
a smart, perceptive, motivated workforce that is capable of
learning new tricks, dealing with the unpredictable, and recognizing
the consequences of recent events.
Adapting Educational Programs
Unsettled employment conditions are in the forecast. New jobs
are expected to focus less on achieving scale and securing major
long-term investments. Instead, they are likely to value
intelligent deployment of systems that achieve high degrees
of efficiency and coordination at a more-granular level, high
levels of trust with consumers, and the ability to change course
and adapt to circumstances.
Dynamic abilities, responsivity, and real-time awareness will
be prized, not just in the systems being built, but in the employees
working in the sector. Which educational programs and
which institutions are most effective at imbuing a readiness for
change and a capacity for managing it?
To identify effective sources for relevant education, consult
the experts in education, but don't stop there. Look at the
people who embody the skills and talents required, and find out
where they got their training and how it was honed. There is no
substitute for talking with your staff and their professional colleagues,
as they will undoubtedly have a strong sense of what's
going on and what's needed in their respective areas.
When talking to the existing educational institutions, ask
them to re-craft their offerings to meet your needs. They need
to hear from you. In fact, it's central to their own vitality that
they listen and respond to you.
The workforce of the future must contend with the very real
possibility that a major investment project could be outdated
before it goes into operation. This requires different styles of
work where participants are constantly scanning for better options
and devising strategies that mitigate risk for projects
once they are committed.
Although building a high-quality workforce is essential in
every business, it may be that the management of human resources
will be the defining feature for success in a sector like
electricity that has to face the continuing challenge of reconciling
constant change with long-term financing. The energy
leaders of tomorrow must be creative problem solvers, agile,
team players, able to think outside the box. They are likely to
experience a lot of dislocation in their own work and, rather
than bristling at the prospect of change, they must look forward
to it as an opportunity to develop and demonstrate their
own dynamic capabilities. ■
-Jake Brooks is executive director with the Association of
Power Producers of Ontario (APPrO) a non-profit trade organization
representing Ontario's independent power producers and
related businesses (www.appro.org).
www.powermag.com
POWER | August 2018
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POWER August 2018

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