Does your labor partner power its people? Three key questions to ask about contractor training programs.

The looming mass retirement of thousands of baby boomers has been a critical concern for the power industry for most of the past decade. In that time, industry groups and associations have tracked and published workforce trends in hopes of raising awareness to prevent what could become a full-blown crisis if left unaddressed. Recently, there have been signs of progress. Studies from 2013 from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and the Center for Energy Workforce

Development show the number of energy industry workers under age 37 has steadily increased during the past five years.

Even with modest improvements, the competition for talent, specifically skilled labor, will be fierce during the next few years. The NEI estimates that as soon as 2015, the energy industry will have to replace 100,000 skilled workers, 25,000 in nuclear power. That means the best and most highly-skilled workers will have their choice of projects and employers.

Power plants have always relied on outside partners and contractors to fill talent gaps. These partners have long been judged on their deep networks and experience in effectively and efficiently staffing projects. But as the labor pool continues to shrink and worker options grow, past performance will not be the only thing that leads to future results. Contractors must prove that in addition to relying on established pipelines, they are capable of effectively training and retaining new workers. To put it another way, they must prove that they are helping build careers for craft people, not just finding them isolated jobs.

Download this article, Does your labor partner power its people? Three key questions to ask about contractor training programs,to learn what to ask a contractor to best utilize  and develop your power plant labor resources.