Attracting Younger Generations
Mary-Anna Holden is a former New Jersey BPU Commissioner and Butch Howard is a former South Carolina PSC Commissioner.
We’ve just returned from the NARUC Winter Policy Summit where we watched refreshing presentations by the Committee on Water. What made these sessions novel was their focus on longer-term industry problems that offered sound success stories.
This month, we focus on the presentation by Robert Powelson, CEO of the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC) titled, Addressing Today’s Challenges and Opportunities in the Water Utility Workforce. It examined the results and recommendations of a holistic approach as developed by NAWC and Bluefield Research.
Clearly, attracting younger generations to the water and wastewater industries is going to require a rebranding that underscores reinforcing public educational awareness as to the crucial role of water in public health and community development.
The Silver Tsunami
The NAWC/Bluefield report uses a phrase that is apt for all utility sectors and is what they are calling a fast-approaching silver tsunami. It’s a serious concern that many senior, experienced workers are or will be departing from the workforce over the next five to ten years.
The report observes that the 2019 coronavirus pandemic accelerated that retirement trend. Not only is their institutional knowledge and expertise lost, but many of those in senior technical roles are those of operators with Level 3 and Level 4 plant operating licenses.