Skills ‘particularly important for energy managers’

Skills are particularly important for energy managers as they have to adapt to “rapid changes” in the industry. That’s according to Sarah Beacock, Skills and Capability Director at the Energy […]

Skills are particularly important for energy managers as they have to adapt to “rapid changes” in the industry.

That’s according to Sarah Beacock, Skills and Capability Director at the Energy Institute, who believes energy managers have to “continuously update their knowledge”.

She told ELN: “You come into the job with some beginning level of skills, some technical skills but overtime you will need to develop much more in the way of managerial skills and understanding of the regulation and legislation around energy and really being able to influence people in the management team and the whole organisation to ensure you can get the best out of everyone and really make a difference.”

Ms Beacock added one of the key skills is “identifying where your limits are and when you need to call in expertise from outside”.

She said: “Energy managers will typically call on consultants who have specific skills in perhaps one or more technologies and take additional advice and guidance from them.”

 

On the challenges some energy managers face, she added: “I think in the past boards have been guilty of perhaps underestimating the impact of energy bills on their organisation and particularly the level of savings that can be made. We have seen an organisation taking the first step in energy efficiency can actually save quite easily 20% or 30% on energy costs.

“Sometimes there can be a bit of complacency, either they already think they’ve got the best technology and the best kit but if it’s not being applied in the right way and you haven’t got somebody you really understands that system properly, then they’re not getting the best out of it. They could actually be wasting quite a lot of energy and a lot of money without knowing that they’re doing it.”

Last week Phillipa Coan, Business Psychologist at Stride, said energy managers and psychologists could be the “perfect marriage” for effective management.

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