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The pressure of retraining or upskilling after decades in the job, is leading to premature retirement within the energy and utilities sector.
On average, workers in energy and utilities expect to retire at 59 years old, some seven years ahead of UK state pension age.
It is also two years ahead of the national average retirement age of 61 across all sectors.
The figures are revealed within a survey commissioned by Osborne Clarke which also reveals that 57% feel under pressure to learn new skills, but a large percentage of these (48%) are concerned they would not be able to gain the skills required.
It also concludes that more than half (52%) of workers in energy and utilities feel they are undervalued by their employer – compared to an average of 37% across other industries.
Matthew Lewis, Osborne Clarke’s UK head of energy and utilities, said: “There seems to be a bit of a malaise about the respondents we surveyed in the energy and utilities sector – with many respondents being more negative than their counterparts in other sectors.
“They want to retire earlier, feel less certain about what they might do with their time when they do retire, feel that they are under more pressure to learn new skills and under more financial pressure than other sectors. It is clear that something has to change given the ongoing need for senior skilled individuals in the sector.”
Workers in this sector also report lower levels of ambition, with 52% saying they want to better themselves compared to 62% overall.
Olivia Sinfield, partner, employment and international head of urban dynamics at Osborne Clarke, added: “A third of all UK workers are now aged over 50. The majority of these workers are out of work by the time they hit state pension age.
“For some, falling out of the labour market is driven by a rigid job market and employers not being ‘age-friendly’. But with the government now trying to encourage more workers to stay in work (or return to work) will these people have the requisite skills for a digital-first economy and what benefits will be most attractive to them?”
In a bid to tackle the growing skills shortage within the industry, the government awarded funding to three new power-related apprenticeships in December.
The three new apprenticeships have been developed by Energy & Utility Skills (EUSP) in collaboration with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).
They include: power industry overhead linesperson, substation fitter and cable jointer. The three new apprenticeships replace the overarching power network craftsperson apprenticeship.
The top band of funding of £27,000 is now available for each of these new apprenticeships, an increase on the current funding for the now superseded power network craftsperson apprenticeship.
Earlier this year, EUSP named SGN chief executive Mark Wild as its new chair. Speaking to Utility Week, Wild vowed to “tackle the shortfall of engineers” and said he would be promoting the value of “multiskilled engineers”.