Change your focus not your workforce: Why upskilling is essential for energy organisations

Making a successful transition to cleaner energy requires more than just a change in technology - it also requires a change in mindset. For many organisations, that means making a pivot. Fundamentally changing your strategy like this is not easy. But if you can successfully pivot your organisation, then you stand a much better chance of not only making a successful switch to cleaner energy but also having a happier workforce.

The first steps- Addressing skills gaps

As you’ll know, the key to a successful organisation is having a skilled and motivated workforce. However, skills gaps can often prevent businesses from reaching their full potential. Experts say that the most lacking soft skills are critical thinking and problem solving, leadership, and teamwork. Data analysis is one of the most lacking hard skills. But why should you care? Because it's often easier and cheaper to address skills gaps than to hire new employees. By investing in training and development for your existing employees, you can close skills gaps and improve your bottom line.

Retention of employees saves you money, time, and energy

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, is a very real phenomenon in the modern workplace. With so much information readily available online, employees are constantly bombarded with messages about all the great opportunities that other companies are offering. This can create a sense of unease and dissatisfaction in your workforce, leading to high turnover rates

When workers leave your organisation, you not only have to replace that position, but you also incur associated costs. It can take up to six months or more for a business to break even on its investment in a new hire. Recruiting and hiring processes start over again, and you may have to pay for advertisement, salary and benefits, training, and workplace integration. To save money, it's important to reduce turnover by retaining employees. You can do this by providing good working conditions, engaging in positive communication, and offering opportunities for growth. When workers feel valued and appreciated, they are more likely to stay with your organisation. Investing in your employees is essential to reducing turnover and saving money overall

New hires aren’t always the answer try reskilling

As anyone who has been in the workforce for a few years can attest, the skills required to perform different job roles are constantly evolving. This could be because of automation in the workplace, new compliance rules or marketplace, and economic changes. As a result, reskilling employees - essentially retraining your existing talent for a new position within your organisation - can be an excellent way of moving employees from one role, which may become redundant, into a new role.

It also expands their skill sets, meaning employees become more versatile and better equipped to solve problems. Additionally, they gain valuable insights into how other areas of the business operate. As a result, reskilling employees can have a number of benefits for both individuals and organisations. When done effectively, reskilling can help employees to be more successful in their roles and contribute to the overall success of the business.

Thinking about the future

While it’s impossible to predict every change that will happen in a business, there are steps you can take now for when things do inevitably shift at your company. That's why training is so important- as an employee or manager -to prepare yourself and others with new skills needed during these transitions.

To stay ahead of the competition, companies need to be proactive about employee upskilling. By supplying the right company training, you are paving the way for your workers moving into leadership roles. That means, you always have a qualified successor ready to start in case a leader leaves.

In addition, upskilling your employees shows that you are invested in their growth and development. This can lead to increased morale and motivation, which can translate into higher productivity levels. So, while upskilling may require an initial investment of time and resources, it can ultimately help to prevent more disastrous consequences down the road.

An updated L&D plan can help your organsation

We have worked successfully with IWCF (International Well Control Forum), the only independent body focused on oil and gas training and accreditation. We have implemented online assessment to streamline the assessment and certification process of many candidates worldwide. This has enabled IWCF to easily access candidate information and monitor the skills of thousands of personnel across the oil and gas sector. The successful implementation of this system has helped IWCF to continue its mission of ensuring the safety of personnel working in the oil and gas industry. You can read the case study here.

What are you waiting for?

If there's anything the new post-2020 world of work has taught us, it's that talent needs to evolve alongside technology. The quality of your team is so important. Talented employees are not always easy to find and if you already have a talented team, it’s far better to reskill, than let them go to another company. To be fully prepared for the impact of the energy transition, every business should operate with a future-proof plan — a plan that has upskilling and reskilling at the forefront. We can help you do this, with over 25 years of experience in the eLearning and eAssessment industry we can work with you to reshape your L&D. Get in touch today.