Moreover, energy companies also face a lack of candidates who should work in latest generation fields of the energy market, such as smart networks. Technology is changing and unfortunately market supply is not highly abundant, says Enel, while CEZ had to organize several sessions until it found 100 people in the technical field.
“The average age of the group’s employees in Romania is 45 and this comes naturally at industry level as the energy field is a traditional one”. Getting specialized in this field takes longer than in other technical fields and it has not equally been appealing in the past two decades, say CEZ Romania representatives.
Highly skilled personnel in niche segments, such as smart networks, is also hard to find. “Last year, we offered over 100 technical positions and for some geographical areas it took several recruitment sessions to find the right candidates. Highly specialized people in certain areas of the energy field are also difficult to find,” say CEZ representatives.
Italy’s Enel, the largest private electricity distributor in Romania, also says the age average in its case is 45. “Technology is changing and unfortunately the market supply is not highly abundant, says Florin Tatatu, vice-president human resources&organization at Enel Romania.
According to him, the average age in the company varies with departments.
In the field of nuclear power, things are even more complicated. In the case of Nuclearelectrica, the age average is 48. Considering the skill level, almost all new employees need training on the job and new employee retention is a problem amid the high level of competitiveness in the field globally.
Thus, identifying and particularly retaining new employees is a challenging task.
At Romgaz, the largest natural gas producer, the age average is 46. The problem is finding employees that should work directly in the field, as conditions are not among the friendliest.
Hence, energy companies organize training programs on a yearly basis. CEZ takes students to wind project Fantanele Cogealac or the small hydropower system of Resita to explain to them how the new technologies work. It trains almost 45 students annually.
Romgaz trains around 100 young people annually, while in the case of Nuclearelectrica the number of students attending training programs revolves around 17-32.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)