Practical and working-life oriented solutions to tackle the energy sector’s skills shortage and transition

Electrification, digitalization, and renewable energy solutions are rapidly increasing the demand for expertise in the energy sector. The ongoing energy-sector projects form a complementary, working-life-oriented whole. They develop practical learning and innovation environments, education models and pilots, strengthen skills, and enhance cooperation with companies.

Thanks to an active steering group, the projects stay on target and genuinely respond to the needs of working life. Their perspectives, cooperation, skills development and networks are at the core when building the future of the energy sector.

Heikki Yli-Rämi

The steering groups include companies, development organisations and expert organisations from the Pirkanmaa region. Business perspectives are provided by companies such as Avant Power Oy, Lempäälän Lämpö Oy and TamControl Oy. In addition, representatives from Business Tampere, Finnish Energy, Renewables Finland, and research and educational organisations such as Tampere University, VTT and TAMK are involved

“In the first steering group meetings, we received valuable observations on how to make the projects’ objectives and results more concrete, usable and easier to adopt”, Yli-Rämi says.

Photo: Heikki Raivio

Three solutions to the energy sector’s skills shortage

The Digi EnergIA project, funded by the Economic Development Centre, is developing a flexible education model for the energy sector. The project produces open and free micro-courses that offer an accessible way to update skills or enter the field.

According to Project Manager Tomi Salo, there is currently no equivalent training provision in Finland. An open, free-of-charge model built from small competence modules, also known as micro-credentials, provides a new option for continuous learning.

We address the growing skills shortage in the energy sector, the need to upskill people already in employment, and the need to reach new target groups such as those interested in entering the field and immigrants with electrical and automation engineering backgrounds. The increasing demand for professionals has also been strongly reflected in the steering group work.

Tomi Salo

The ResHil EnergIA project, funded by the Council of Tampere Region, is building a working-life-oriented innovation platform where companies, students and researchers develop and test energy system-related technology solutions.

The Smart Grid Knowledge project, co-funded by the Electrical Engineering and Energy Efficiency Promotion Center (STEK), strengthens expertise related to smart electricity grids and develops engineering education to meet the needs arising from the energy system transition. 

Weather-dependent electricity production, increasing electricity consumption, price-driven demand response and new flexibility solutions are all central to this transition. Understanding them requires new kinds of expertise in both technology and system management. 

Cooperation is key to addressing the skills shortage 

Close cooperation with companies, regional developers and other stakeholders ensures that the expertise developed in the projects is transferred into practice.

The three projects show that complex challenges require multiple parallel solutions. When education, research and working life operate together, expertise turns into concrete solutions that support the transformation of the energy sector.