Five Questions Every Utility Training Manager Should Be Asking Right Now

The utility industry is facing a period of rapid change driven by workforce turnover, evolving technology, and increasing operational demands. Training managers are expected to ensure knowledge transfer, prepare workers for new systems, demonstrate measurable impact, and develop the next generation of leaders. The challenge is not just building a training program, but building one aligned with business outcomes and future needs.

To assess whether your training strategy is keeping pace, here are five critical questions every utility training manager should be asking. These questions help identify gaps, prioritize improvements, and ensure your workforce is prepared for what comes next.

1. Is my organization prepared for retirements?

Most utilities are not fully prepared for retirements unless they have formal knowledge capture and workforce transition strategies in place. Organizations still relying on tribal knowledge will struggle as experienced workers leave.

A key step in preparing for retirements is to put processes in place to document information and standardize procedures. Leading utilities realize they can no longer rely on their long-term employees to own and communicate information. They are developing:

• Job task analyses and formal job descriptions
• Structured mentoring programs
• Digital knowledge bases and/or simulation training

Utility worker retirements have been a key discussion point for many years. The numbers reflect the challenge. According to the McKinsey & Company Global Energy Perspective 2023, as many as 400,000 utility employees are approaching retirement in the next 10 years. These retirements can lead to a mass exodus of critical company knowledge. Since 56% of current workers have less than 10 years of experience, your organizational knowledge may be leaving with your retiring workers.

It’s not just retiring workers. As the skilled worker gap increases, utilities are subject to poaching from other industries. Plus, the younger generations, including Millennials and Gen Z, are 11x more likely to leave their jobs than Gen X.

HSI works with utilities to develop procedures, and capture and document workforce knowledge by targeting:

• Explicit knowledge – what’s documented or specifically shared
• Implicit knowledge – how workers apply explicit knowledge in a real-world context
• Tacit knowledge – insights gained through experiences, observations, and personal insight

2. Are we training for technology and equipment to come?

Most utilities are not fully prepared for new technology and equipment unless training begins before implementation. Waiting until new initiatives are in place often means delays, performance gaps, and increased operational risk as workers get up to speed.

With the acceleration of digital transition in utilities, it’s critical your team is ready before new systems are deployed. Forward-looking utilities partner with vendors for training and use simulation or scenario-based training to prepare workers in advance. This process often includes early engagement with vendors, pre-deployment training plans, and hands-on practice in simulation environments.

HSI helps utilities prepare for key areas, including:

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Digital tools and platforms
• Virtual power plants
• Distributed energy resources

Today’s utility landscape is evolving rapidly, and training strategies must keep pace. Key considerations for preparing your workforce include:

• Identifying needed expertise
• Updating processes
• Budgeting for training

3. Can we prove training effectiveness?

Many utilities struggle to prove training effectiveness because they measure training completion, not job performance. The best way to prove training effectiveness is to tie it to an improvement in performance.

Proactive training is a business investment, not a discretionary cost. Demonstrating ROI can be as simple as pointing to a lower incident rate or a perfect safety score. You need to determine the key performance indicators that work best for your organization. Some areas to focus on include:

• Time to competency
• On-the-job performance
• Reductions in safety or operational incidents
• Increased employee retention
• Enhanced productivity

Training is often on the list when organizations are looking to reduce costs. However, you need to consider what is less expensive: training or dealing with the consequences of an untrained staff?

4. Are we building future leaders?

Most utilities are not building future leaders fast enough to replace retiring team leads and managers. Providing training for younger workers is key to building a pipeline to fill positions as those leaders retire or leave.

In a survey by The Manufacturing Institute and the American Psychological Association, 2/3 of workers under 25, a key demographic for filling the pipeline, said training and career opportunities are motivating factors to stay with an organization.

Utilities can build future leaders by:

• Investing in early career leadership development
• Fostering a culture of continuous learning
• Implementing structured succession planning

This development is critical for utility roles such as crew leads, control room supervisors, and field managers, where experience has traditionally been the primary qualifier.

Leading utilities take a more structured approach by conducting skill inventories and identifying high-potential employees to fill roles. HSI works with utilities to build programs designed to develop key leadership traits such as:

• Curiosity
• Insight
• Engagement
• Determination

These skills go beyond the technical ability and are essential for managing teams, making decisions, and maintaining safe and reliable operations.

5. Is our training proactive or reactive?

Many utility training programs are still reactive, addressing issues after they occur rather than preparing workers in advance.

Proactive training anticipates future needs and prevents issues before they impact operations, instead of reacting to the latest incident. It involves planning, professional development, and addressing identified gaps. HSI partners with utilities to implement proactive training strategies that:

• Close skills gaps
• Support organizational objectives
• Ensure the right people receive the right training at the right time

Reactive training is an immediate response to a specific situation, such as an accident, performance failure, or customer complaint. Reactive training is necessary but should be the exception, not the foundation of your training strategy.

Proactive training doesn’t require a huge investment, but it does require structure and consistency. It can include microtraining, peer-led safety huddles, and digitized job aids in addition to eLearning and on-the-job training.

Utilities that can confidently answer these five questions are better positioned to manage workforce transitions, adopt new technologies, and maintain safe and reliable operations. For most organizations, the answers will highlight opportunities to move from reactive training to a more structured, proactive approach.

HSI works with utilities to build training programs that go beyond compliance and completion, focusing on performance, knowledge retention, and long-term workforce development. By taking a more strategic approach to training, utilities can reduce risk, improve productivity, and ensure their workforce is ready for the challenges ahead.