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Working in Britain’s Utilities
The utilities include electricity and renewables, gas, waste management and water, all of which hit the headlines from time to time. This article will consider employment and training for individuals working at the customer end of the business. Much employment is contracted out by the major organisations to a number of smaller companies, which in turn subcontract the work to local firms – this work is, therefore, available locally and is not advertised nationally. Increasingly, utilities companies are merging or being acquired so that an organisation supplies more than one utility or the utility is combined with other operations. Some are foreign-owned. The Sector Skills Council for this area is Energy & Utility Skills Limited.
Electricity generation, transmission, distribution, metering and supply involve 76,000 employees directly and another 10,000 indirectly. There are now 42 major power producers, with increased competition for customers and a significant reduction in the market shares of the largest generators. Transmission is a monopoly activity – National Grid (England and Wales), and Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern Energy (Scotland) operate in their respective countries, while Northern Ireland is connected to the Irish Republic’s system. Distribution is also a monopoly, although several different groups of companies are involved. All licensed electricity suppliers can sell electricity to customers – using other companies’ distribution networks. Renewable energy employs 4,000 people and currently produces just 7 per cent of the UK’s electricity, with a target of 10 per cent by 2010.
The gas industry covers storage, transmission, distribution, metering, and supply and installation of both natural and liquefied petroleum gas, but does not involve offshore operations. It employs 97,000 people directly and another 84,000 indirectly in both ‘upstream’ activities (those carried out as far as the meter) and ‘downstream’ ones (everything done past the meter). Privatised since 1986, the industry has opened to competition – particularly in retail supply, connections, storage and the operation of independent distribution networks. National Grid (England, Scotland and Wales) and Phoenix Gas (Northern Ireland) undertake the high-pressure transmission of gas from the onshore terminals to the distribution networks through a total of 160,000 miles of pipes. (For details of activities offshore or in terminals, generating £1 billion a year to the UK’s economy at the rate of 2 million barrels of hydrocarbons a day, refer to Cogent – the Sector Skills Council for this area.)
Waste management involves collection, re-use, recycling, recovery, treatment and final management. These areas directly employ 85,000 people, a large number of them in the public sector. The waste industry is very fragmented, with about 3,500 companies within it, but around 12 groups controlling most operations. Most of these companies operate regionally due to the high cost of transporting waste. Until recently, local authorities undertook most waste collection and also operated many landfill sites.
The water industry includes its catchment, storage, processing, transmission, distribution, metering and supply, as well as the sewerage collection, transmission, treatment and disposal of wastewater. It has 101,000 direct employees with an infrastructure that is much the same as it was before privatisation in 1989 because regional monopolies were maintained. Eleven water companies hold licences to provide water supply and sewerage services (water service companies), and 15 water companies are licensed to supply water only (regional supply companies), with the relevant water service company being responsible for sewerage. Water service companies supply around 75 per cent of water, with the regional supply companies providing the remainder. In Wales, the principle water company is publicly owned as a non-profitmaking organisation, while, in Scotland, Scottish Water, a public-sector company provides water and wastewater services across the nation. The Northern Ireland Water Service is responsible for water and wastewater services in the Province.
Utilities and the Services
There is little direct relationship between the utilities and the Armed Forces. Nevertheless, many of the skills required and valued by employers are taught and practised by a number of people in the Services. Generalist skills, such as supervisory management, project management and administration, are wanted, as are all manner of specialists. Some specific Service skills or trades include:
- fuel specialists
- people trained in fuel technology
- water engineers (some RN engineers and Army Royal Engineers)
- electrical engineers (RN electrical engineers and Royal Engineers trained in power generation and distribution).
The Career Transition Partnership offers resettlement training courses in some disciplines useful for the utilities at Aldershot and also through its preferred suppliers. Individuals should talk with people working in the area to establish a reasonable starting point based on their skills and experience, and then look for the right courses and training.
Working in the utilities
In the electrical engineering industry, projects are contracted and then subcontracted to many different entities. Most people start as an electrician’s mate or work for a contractor for a minimum of two years to gain experience. All contractors must inspect and test their own work, and they may also inspect and test other electrical work.
Working in gas encompasses a wide range of activities. Scientists and technicians work to produce improved fuels and more efficient energy; while engineers and construction workers build and maintain the plant and pipelines. Other jobs in gas include laying mains supplies, plumbing, and appliance installation, inspection and maintenance.
Certain waste management operations, like collections, are outsourced on short-term contracts; and now some authorities contract for integrated waste management systems for far longer periods. Many of the smaller companies have been acquired by the larger ones to achieve economies of scale, with most waste still going into landfill sites, but around 35 per cent of industrial and commercial waste and 12 per cent of household waste being recycled or composted.
Water industry employment tends to be advertised locally. The industry generally is experiencing recruitment difficulties and skill gaps. There has been recent growth in subcontracting, with concern over employer investment in skills as a result. There has also been a drive towards multi-utility operations, with gas, electricity and water being provided by just one company.
Training and development
Cogent is the Sector Skills Council for the oil and gas extraction, chemicals manufacturing and petroleum industries. It has developed NVQs/SVQs in the gas supply chain area.
Energy & Utility Skills Limited, the Sector Skills Council for this area, is developing a set of occupational standards and qualifications as follows:
– Utilities Control Centre Operations Level 2
– Utilities Metering Operations Level 2
– Utilities Network Planning and Management Level 4
– Electricity System Technology Engineering Support Level 2
– Electricity System Technology Engineering Level 3
– Domestic Natural Gas Installation and/or Maintenance Levels 2 and 3
– Complex Domestic Natural Gas Installation and Maintenance Level 3
– Emergency Service Operation Level 3
– Gas Networks Operations Levels 1, 2 and 3
– Gas Network Engineering Management Level 4
– Pipelines (Oil and Gas) Engineering Management Level 4
– Controlling Water Operations (Process) Level 3
– Maintain Water Supply (Network) Level 3
– Monitoring the Water Environment Level 2
– Water Fittings Regulations Enforcement Level 3
– Water Industry Operations (Sewerage Maintenance) Level 2
– Cleaning and Support Services (Highways and Land) Levels 1 and 2
– Waste Management Operations Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4
– Waste Management Supervision Level 3
– Managing Waste Collections Operations Level 4
– Recycling Operations Levels 1 and 2.
Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies Alliance (SEMTA) is the Sector Skills Council for the engineering field. It has a series of NVQs at Levels 2 and 3, as well as additional qualifications in other disciplines. For electrical engineering, the basic requirement is 16th Edition Wiring Regulations and the City & Guilds 2380 qualification. The next step is the Inspection and Testing of Electrical Installation City & Guilds 2391 qualification.
Anyone working on gas appliances or fittings as a business must be competent and registered with the Council of Registered Gas Installers (CORGI). Competency can be proved under the Accredited Certification Scheme (ACS). CORGI provides a route to ACS through a distance learning programme. ACS has a two-day core domestic gas safety assessment and a number of appliance assessments that take half a day each.
Contact details
Cogent SSC Ltd, Unit 5, Mandarin Court, Centre Park, Warrington, Cheshire WA1 1GG Tel: 01925 515200 Website:
www.cogent-ssc.com
Energy & Utility Skills Limited, Friars Gate Two, 1011 Stratford Road, Shirley, Solihull B90 4BN Tel: 0845 077 9922 Fax: 0845 077 9933 Website:
www.euskills.co.uk
Council of Registered Gas Installers, 1 Elmwood, Chineham Park, Crockford Lane, Basingstoke, Hants RG24 8WG Tel: 0870 401 2200 Fax: 0870 401 2600 Website:
www.corgi-gas-safety.com
Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies Alliance, 14 Upton Road, Watford, Herts WD18 0JT Tel: 01923 238441 Fax: 01923 256086 Website:
www.semta.org.uk
Water UK, 1 Queen Anne’s Gate, London SW1H 9BT Tel: 020 7344 1844 Website:
www.water.org.uk
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