Megatrend #2: Building Tomorrow's Workforce Today

The utility industry faces a critical shortage of skilled workers due to a retirement wave and greater demand as California electrifies and decarbonizes its economy and builds new water infrastructure.

The “silver tsunami” has hit public water and power agencies hard, as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed a wide range of older workers (those 55 years old and older) to retire. CMUA members report that a wide range of workers — from lineworkers to plant managers, electricians, and water-quality managers — have said goodbye for good.

Backfilling those jobs has not been easy: in some cases, such as lineworkers, the labor pool has shrunk as fewer young people see their future laboring atop a utility pole. In other cases, such as data analysts, investor-owned utilities routinely outbid public agencies for workers with cutting-edge skillsets.

The high cost of living in some areas makes it even harder to recruit and retain these essential workers.

Some CMUA members have unfilled job vacancies approaching 15%.

Electric, water, and wastewater systems, while increasingly automated, don’t run themselves. In some cases, leaving these positions unfilled could, over time, threaten electric and water operations.

CMUA is working to be part of the solution: It received a $4 million grant from the California Workforce Development Board's High Road Training Partnership Grant Program to implement the new California Water, Wastewater, and Energy Workforce Development Program.

“Some of our efforts are focused on attracting historically underrepresented groups, such as women, veterans, and persons of color, so that public water, power and wastewater agencies can become as diverse as the communities they serve,” said CMUA Deputy Executive Director Danielle Blacet-Hyden.

“The grant is developing a statewide workforce development program focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion resulting in trained workers who will secure jobs in the POU, water and wastewater industry throughout California,” Blacet-Hyden continued. “The program will create a workforce pipeline for underrepresented populations and stable industry partnerships to ensure ongoing placement of trained workers in industry jobs, which are high quality and well-paid with great benefits and opportunities for advancement.”

“These positions are called High Road jobs because they lead to meaningful, challenging, and well-paid careers,” she said.

The work, which commenced in April 2023, began with a review of the workforce training literature to ensure the program is built on a solid, real-world foundation. In 2024, the grant program is beginning to fund a new regional consortium in Southern California that will connect CMUA members and other utilities to workers, community colleges and universities, trade associations, nonprofits, vocational organizations, and other interested organizations. The program also is funding an array of other training programs with several providers across California for new and existing utility workers.

The program will use its findings to develop statewide resources and activities that will help public water and power agencies fill High Road jobs faster, including:

  • materials members can use for outreach and awareness of the industry;

  • best workforce development practices for industry utilities; and

  • grants for training at partner organizations and other stakeholders with existing training programs.

It’s can be difficult to fill many of these jobs because public power and water agencies operate in a dynamic environment that includes extreme weather that creates a feast-or-famine water supply, decarbonization, and increased emphasis on decision-making that incorporates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, Blacet-Hyden said.

“We’re moving aggressively to stand up this program and close critical workforce gaps among our members,” Blacet-Hyden said. “If you’ve grown accustomed to reliable electricity and clean water, we need your help in finding, training, and promoting workers.”

CMUA Recommendation: The utility workforce is an asset. Utilities must treat employees well and remain attractive places to work in order to maintain continuous operations.

Big Stat: One-third

-- The proportion of water and electric utility workers who will be eligible to retire within the next 5 to 10 years