North American water and wastewater utilities are in the middle of a major workforce transition. Retirements anticipated since the mid 2000s are happening. The US is close to full employment and competition is fierce for dedicated employees with strong technical and customer service skills. New technologies are changing how water utility work is being done and utilities are thinking about more flexible and innovative approaches to employee recruitment and retention.
If you are facing workforce challenges, or are just curious about planning for the future, our recent Communicator article, “Meeting the Challenge: Preparing for a Changing Workforce” has some good ideas about what you can do. The article summarizes some of the key features of the “Workforce Skills of the Future” project completed by the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) and the Water Environment and Research Foundation (WE&RF) in 2017. The project examined how global drivers of change and water industry trends, including the introduction of new and disruptive technologies, are affecting today’s workforce and shaping the knowledge, skills, and experience needed for the workforce of the future. It crafted recommendations around eight success factors that could be pursued by individual utilities, through regional and state collaboration and at the national level.
Here’s the article. EMA Communicator Issue 1 2018 Meeting the Challenge- Preparing for a Changing Workforce
If you would like to learn more or discuss some of your workforce issues, just fill in the form below, and be sure to mention workforce issues in your message.
