Schneider on the skills shortage: The energy industry must become attractive to more segments within the labour market

“A diversified electricity industry” is the name of the major initiative launched by several industry players on the second day of Elfack.
– The industry as a whole is crying out for increased gender equality to drive greater diversification and innovation, so we want to work together to make the industry attractive to more people, says Jenny Larsson, CEO of Schneider Electric, one of the companies behind the initiative.

All installers, distributors and suppliers in the electricity industry have a critical role to play in transforming society in a green direction. This critical role means that the industry is growing, which in turn means that virtually every company is crying out for expertise.

– The industry as a whole must attract more people, and we must realise that we need to become attractive to more groups in society, says Jenny Larsson.

A homogeneous industry requires a coordinated approach

On the lapel of her Schneider green jacket, she wears a pin that reads “we are working for a diversified electricity industry”, because on the morning of the second day of Elfack, she, together with Eva Thorén Hultman of Rexel and Salli Hara of Prysmian Group, invited representatives of several other companies to launch the new initiative.

– You only have to look around at the exhibitors and visitors at the fair to realise that the electricity industry is still fairly homogeneous. Of course, we all do good things in our own companies to reach more people, but we also want to take a collective approach in the industry.

This includes, for example, spreading knowledge about the electricity market’s important role in the transition to a sustainable society, so that more people appreciate the opportunity to make a difference; but it also means reviewing how we meet and communicate together to ensure that we don’t unintentionally exclude under-represented groups.

– It is electrification and digitalisation that, together, will allow us to reach our decarbonisation targets, but we need to find even more people to do the job.

It’s important to lead the debate

To achieve these goals, Schneider Electric is also dedicated to driving the debate and has a number of programmes on the various presentation stages at Elfack.

– For us, thought leadership is important, we want to be part of the discussion.

Combining solutions is key

This not only includes diversity, but also the importance of combining electrification and digitalisation in order to reduce carbon emissions.
– It is electrification that reduces carbonisation, whether we are talking about fuels in the transport sector or removing carbon from industrial processes. But the best kilowatt hour is the one we don’t even have to use, and that’s where digital tools have an important role to play.

On the stand, Schneider Electric will showcase a range of tools to create this combination, including an innovation in smart home control.

– Electrification requires us to take advantage of the smart strategy and optimisation tools offered by digitalisation. It is when we get that combination right that we really have a chance to achieve our goals.