What lies beneath: the skills shortage

The water industry must deliver on all the above in exacting timescales, but does it have the people to do it? According to The Future Water Association, 27% of the workforce will retire in the next decade leaving the sector to recruit or retrain 48% of the current workforce. That represents a whopping 277,000 vacancies over the next 10 years – there’s trouble ahead if we don’t act now.

• Talent pipeline: The water industry needs to attract young talent. Currently, less than 8% of the sector is aged under 24, while some 63% have over 10 years of experience. These numbers reveal an ageing workforce that isn’t attracting succession talent.
• Focus on tech recruitment: AMP8 has created urgent need for digital transformation, at a time when such skills are increasingly scarce in the sector. We need to either build a pool of developing talent that can respond to shifting skills needs, or source skilled people from other industries – preferably both.
• Positive sector promotion: Let’s face it, water only hits the headlines when something has gone wrong, skewing public perception. Other sectors, like oil and gas, are pretty good at claiming column inches when they make breakthroughs towards net zero. The water industry must do two things: improve strategic self-promotion and continue to promote positive work on climate change (a concern hard-wired into most young professionals).
• Capture imagination: 75% of water engineers value the visibility of their projects when considering a new job opportunity, and it seems we’re not yet harnessing this. If we can positively associate water projects with the national sustainability agenda, they can become immediately attractive to young professionals whose values and career aspirations are closely aligned.
• Understand what’s important to people: 45% of survey respondents cite pay as the leading factor in their priorities. However, the numbers also reveal that within this, pay is most important to those with 10+ years of experience, whereas less-experienced engineers place value on a holistic recruitment proposition, with flexible working and the sustainability agenda being key motivators.
• Slow, stop, and reverse the ‘brain drain’: 70% of respondents are actively considering work in other sectors, notably oil and gas, nuclear, and renewables. There are higher profits in other industries, potentially impacting pay and career trajectory. The water sector needs to think creatively about how to nurture and reward talent, alongside improving employer branding and shifting public perception, too.
• Intelligent recruitment: Workers are not just motivated by their pay packets, but by a complex tapestry of job satisfaction, opportunities for innovation and CPD, trust in their management, and alignment with personal values. They’re motivated by how their job ‘looks’ to the public around them, and they care about the reputation of their employer. They want to feel like the job they do is improving themselves, their community, and the environment. And crucially, these values shift throughout their career journey and must be reflected in responsive recruitment.