30/10/2018

The Future Energy Professional: Curious, Agile And Disciplined

Individuals, companies and training providers can now refer to a new Skills Framework for Energy and Power. This framework identifies the necessary skills, as well as training needed, to stay relevant in an increasingly digitalised energy sector. It was launched by Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Chan Chun Sing, today at the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2018. 

2 The energy sector is rapidly evolving, driven by technology developments and climate change. Digital technologies like data analytics and machine learning are employed in new areas such as cybersecurity protection, smart metering and condition monitoring. At the same time, there is a growing impetus to develop greener energy systems. 

3 The Skills Framework for Energy and Power captures these developments in Singapore’s energy landscape and translates them into key jobs and skills information to support the sector. The framework offers 122 job roles across 11 tracks, including power generation, energy trading and portfolio management, electricity transmission and distribution and energy retail, amongst others. 

4 A total of 136 technical skills and competencies and 18 generic skills and competencies were identified in the framework. Some of the critical emerging skills and competencies outlined include demand management operations, operational technology, security design, Internet-of-Things management and digital marketing management. 

5 Key information on the sector and relevant training programmes for each job role are also available within the framework. Moving forward, soft skills are just as important as engineering and technical skills. The future energy professional has to be curious, possess a blend of soft and technical skills and be disciplined in both deepening current skills and mastering new ones. 

6 The Energy Market Authority (EMA) together with SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and Workforce Singapore (WSG), developed the framework in close collaboration with the industry, Institutions of Higher Learning, and the Union of Power and Gas Employees (UPAGE). 

7 Individuals can reference the framework to explore their growth opportunities along and across job tracks. The Skills Framework for Energy and Power will also benefit companies in developing training roadmaps and programmes for their employees, and in their hiring processes. Training providers can reference the framework to design and offer relevant curriculum. 

8 SP Group, for instance, needed to re-skill workers to assume roles in new work areas such as the installation of electrical and power systems and sustainable solutions. They worked with WSG to develop a Professional Conversion Programme (PCP), incorporating the competencies outlined in the Skills Framework to help workers undergo skills conversion and allow them to assume expanded job roles in the company. One such beneficiary, Mr Mohamed Asadullah bin Mohd Khalid, was a meter reader with SP Group who underwent the PCP. He said the PCP gave him the opportunity to gain new skillsets, and allowed him to enhance his career in a more skilled technician role.

9 Mr Abdul Samad Bin Abdul Wahab, UPAGE General Secretary, said of the updated framework: "This is a timely initiative as the energy sector is increasingly digitalised, decentralised and decarbonised. The Skills Framework for Energy and Power provides clarity on the pathways and competencies for our workforce. This complements the Government’s national SkillsFuture movement to build a strong culture of lifelong learning and skills mastery. This will enable Singapore to transform into an innovation-driven economy."

10 More information on the framework can be found at the Powering Lives Portal (www.poweringlives.sg/) and at www.skillsfuture.gov.sg/skills-framework/energyandpower and also in the Annexes below.

Annex A - About the Skills Framework for Energy and Power

Annex B - Illustration of Career Progression Pathways for the Energy Sector