About
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.
Subgroups
The PES Workforce Initiative consists of 7 subgroups focused on following areas:
Subgroup 1: Engineering Introduction Lead Shuhui Li
Focus: 9-12 (High School), 2-year Trade School, Undergraduate, Young Professional (YP)
Subgroup 2: Regional Outreach Lead: Kamal Garg
Focus: Identify regional collaboration opportunities and support regional effort of other subgroups. These members work directly with appropriate subgroup(s).
Subgroup 3: Global Initiatives Lead: Bill Hederman
Focus: Current Global Initiatives, i.e. LRP-SC4.
Subgroup 4: Communication Lead: Chan Wong
Focus: Website and Communication Outreach for Workforce Initiatives
Subgroup 5: Education & Government Outreach Lead: Masood Parvania
Focus: Education & Govt Outreach
Subgroup 6: Industry Outreach Lead: Wayne Bishop
Focus: Engage with industry and identify opportunities for collaboration on the topic of Workforce Development
Subgroup 7: Certification Opportunity & Strategies Leads: Jianhui Wang & Mengmeng Zhuang
Focus: Certification viability analysis.
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,
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- 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:
- In 2024, nine webinars conducted-more than 1,000 PES members attended each session. Each session included a 20 question quiz.
- In 2024, a mentorship session during ISGT Asia event was held. It was a success with 50-100 people participating.
- Planned Activities for 2025
- Outreach to High schools and K12
- Partner with IEEE Reach and TryEngineering to enhance general education and outreach, including webinars, online educational and outreach materials, PES chapter activities established through Reach and/or TryEngineering
- Utilize the Workforce Initiative to call for PES member volunteers to staff TryEngineering events locally.
- Career Fairs
Subgroup 3:
IEEE Global Power & Energy Workforce Collaborative Analysis-preliminary draft in development
Subgroups 4 & 5:
- 2024 PES GM Interview with SEL CEO Dave Whitehead
- Conducted interviews at 2023 PES GM and 2023 ISGT Europe – Complete
Subgroups 5 & 6:
PES Workforce arranged 3 panel sessions in 2023, 6 panels in 2024, with three planned for 2025. Multiple interviews and discussions with industry leaders occurred at multiple events each year.
- 2023 ISGT Europe 24-25 October Career Fair
- 2023 ISGT LA – Complete
- 2024 ISGT Asia
- 2024 ISGT Europe
- 2024 ISGT NA
- 2024 T&D
- 2024 IEEE PES General Meeting
