Eddie-Erasmus

Tools

Assessment of the current skills of professionals and students

A diagnosis of the current competences and skills of professionals in different sectors and students will be performed regarding the digitalisation of the energy sector and considering the identified skill gaps. This diagnosis will provide insight on the actual competences and skills of students and professionals and will provide the basis for “building” new skills and knowledge at the EDDIE project.

Identification of current and future skill needs in the Energy Sector

Stakeholders in the Energy Value chain (Industry, Suppliers, Researchers, Education providers, Recruiters, Policy makers and Social representatives) will be specified to identify their skill gaps regarding digitalisation. The current skills and competences of professionals and students from university and pre-university will be assessed in relation to the identified skill gaps and also how the curriculum is performed, to assess how they respond to the emerging industry needs.

This goal requires facing relevant challenges in order to match the current and future demand of digital skills, such as:

  • Contribute to the evolution of the training ecosystem to include the required digital skills -Vocational Education and Training (VET) and beyond.
  • Contribute to an effective re-training in digital skills of the current and future workforce of the Energy Sector
  • Improve the attractiveness of the Energy Sector as a career choice for digitally skilled workforce.

EDDIE Project - Skill Gaps dissemination and validation Survey

The survey aims to identify the main challenges the industry faces in the scope of the digitalization of the energy system and the new skills needed. Relevant skills will be identified and classified in accordance with their impact and importance to improve education and training in this field. The purpose of this questionnaire is to disseminate and expand the scope of our partial results about skill gaps in the energy sector.

We asked industrial and educational stakeholders to indicate how major they consider each skill gap regarding multiple digital technologies.

As depicted in the Figure on the left, more than 50% of all participants have rated the skill gaps with at least a score of 3, indicating that the majority of the stakeholders have identified these gaps in their area of operation, yet, some of them do not have significant impact at this point. Nevertheless, in most of the skill gaps presented, there are several participants that have attributed scores of 4 and 5, highlighting the importance of these gaps for a few stakeholders in the energy value chain. Data related skill gaps and cybersecurity are amongst the ones that seem to be the most impactful.

The participants were asked to rate the gaps of knowledge in a list of digital technologies, where each technology represents a set of skills and they easier for the respondents to assess.

The results are presented in Figure 6 below, and it is evident that the outcomes from the previous skills become more concrete. Big Data/Data Analytics, Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence are the rated as the most significant gaps by the participants. Blockchain and IoT are also among the top-rated gaps in the list.

We asked the industry about the major challenges they face towards the digital transformation of the energy sector. This is what they answered.

  • Technology integration (compatibility with existing technologies) and IT security issues are the main technical challenges organisations are facing in all the sub-sectors.
  • Lack of adequate skills from employees is a very warning challenge and a useful insight for the EDDIE project since the blueprint will attempt to mitigate those skill gaps.
  • Data management is also a significant challenge for the digital transition.

We asked the industry about the major challenges they face towards the digital transformation of the energy sector.

  • Business model adaptation, funding and low commitment from the top management are the major economic and organisational challenges.

We asked the industry about the major challenges they face towards the digital transformation of the energy sector.

  • Privacy concerns and the acceptance of new technologies are the most significant social obstacles that have to be addressed for the smooth digital transition.

We asked the energy industry about the importance of utilizing certain digital technologies daily. We also asked the education and training providers regarding their provision of knowledge in the same list of technologies. The analysis proved insightful.

We asked the energy industry about the importance of using the certain digital tools on a daily basis and we also asked the education and training providers regarding their provision of knowledge in the same list of tools.

We compared the industry’s need in several digital skill sets and the provision of those skills from education and training providers for different categories of employees.

Do you know about the leading factors of the skill shortage in the energy sector?

The Energy Industry is changing and adapting to new trends and technologies due to the current digitalization of the sector. As every other sector, transformation is necessary to ensure the sector’s continuity in the future. As the energy transition advances, so do the challenges faced by the relevant stakeholders in the sector. It is important to understand that skill gaps must be addressed by both businesses and education centers in order to avoid future problems.

EDDIE Project - Education and Training Providers Challenges - Questionnaire

A review of university and pre-university curriculum on relevant topics will be performed, partly based on the European Atlas of Universities in Energy Research & Education. As a result of the activities in this task, the EDDIE project will contribute to the definition of a general taxonomy of digital skills with the review of the ones related with the energy sector
This questionnaire aims at addressing the main challenges the industry faces in the scope of digitalization of the energy system. Challenges will be listed and certain relevant skills will be identified and classified in accordance to their impact and importance.