Skills the next "energy" crisis
30 Oct 2008
Today’s global energy crisis was preceded by years of warnings about our over reliance on fossil fuels. While paying lip service to these warnings, everyone went about their business as usual without doign much, if anything, to address the basic issue.
It was only when developments in China and other emerging economies disrupted the supply/demand balance that we saw the current mad dash to develop alternative energy sources, including the technologies, infrastructure and supply chains they require.
The clear lesson that nothing really happens until the problem starts hitting people in the pocket is equally relevant to the skills gap in the process industries, which, like energy, has been the subject of dire warnings for the past few years.
Coverage in this issue of Process Engineering clearly highlights how skills shortages are now hitting company profitability and underlines how the time for action has clearly arrived. As Nigel Hirst, managing director of Haden Freeman puts it in our news analysis section: “Unless we attract graduates into the profession now, then we won’t have anyone to turn the lights back on.”
In the same section, our article on events at CB&I shows how the US engineering firm is facing costs of over $300 million as a result of labour-related problems on two LNG projects in the UK.
While the UK’s strict interpretation of labour rules was a key factor, the basic problem has apparently been that the company and its subcontractors have been unable to source enough suitably skilled workers for these important projects.
Likewise, skills issues in the sector could hamper the UK process industries from realising the significant potential cost savings and efficiencies offered by the emergence of wireless technology.
As highlighted by the findings of our Attitudes to Wireless survey (p29), the skills requirements for implementing and applying this technology and interfacing with IT departments could represent a significant barrier for the adoption of this technology.
