The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) predicts a growing industry skills crisis with the industry requiring a further 60,000 recruits by 2023 to meet growth demands and replace retiring employees.  Its report, ‘Building the Capacity and Capability of the Engineering Construction Industry’, says “the skill mix is diverse, from traditional craft skills to advanced engineering and project management.”

Examining future issues and challenges for skills development and recruitment, the energy skills conference ‘People: Powering the Future, skills for energy’, will bring together the energy sectors to debate and determine the routes for addressing the industry’s skills challenges, on 4th July, in Norwich.

As a major player in the global oil and gas industry, headquartered in Norwich, Patrick Phelan, managing director of Aquaterra Energy, will deliver a presentation about graduate recruitment during the morning of the conference programme.  Phelan will provide an update on the sector skills required, the options and obstacles to attracting new and diverse blood into the industry, the opportunities for collaboration with education providers, and the benefits of apprenticeship provision and training programmes.