Apr 14, 2019

In a recent interview with the The National Post, Electricity Human Resources Canada CEO Michelle Branigan said the need for workers in Canada’s electricity industry is “extremely critical.”

The industry directly employs almost 107,000 people, but less than 1 in 20 is aged 25 or under, only 1 in 4 is a woman, and just over 1 in 10 is from a visbile minority.

These statistics are from EHRC’s Workforce in Motion, a labour market intelligence research initiative for the years 2017-2022. The research report is a planning and informing tool for a wide range of electricity sector stakeholders and provides critical information to the sector for both short and long term resource planning.

This ongoing study provides industry with information on the most up-to-date issues and statistics affecting the electricity sector and the subsequent implications for the demand-supply gap.

The study is an update to EHRC’s 2011 “Power in Motion,” which provided electricity companies with concrete, actionable steps to help them address HR challenges on a number of different fronts. As part of the current iteration, Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC) asked industry stakeholders to complete a survey on the number of employees by occupation within their organizations, and areas of expected employment growth.

Developing a pipeline of skilled labour to ensure an adequate pool of trained and experienced workers for both today and tomorrow is critical to ensuring the long-term stability of Canada’s electricity supply.

Watch for more on the report in an upcoming issue.