If You Build A Training Program, They Will Come

A Discussion On The Urgent Need To Solve Workforce Gaps And Severe Labor Shortages In Energy And Skilled Trades As They Relate To Addressing Energy Infrastructure Issues.

The U.S. is facing a critical workforce bottleneck in energy and infrastructure—one that threatens economic stability, energy security and grid resilience. While industries across the board are struggling with labor shortages, the energy sector’s challenge is uniquely urgent. Without a skilled workforce to modernize the grid, increase energy efficiency, and sustain infrastructure projects, the nation risks delays, rising costs, and missed opportunities for small and local businesses that play a key role in delivering energy solutions.

The Workforce Bottleneck: A Growing Economic Threat

According to the 2023 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), the energy sector added more than 300,000 jobs in 2022, yet employers continue to struggle to find skilled workers. The largest shortages exist in:

• Electricians and HVACR Technicians upgrade homes and businesses with energy-efficient technologies, including electrical grid updates and building retrofits. These roles are the foundation of the country’s ability to meet energy efficiency goals, yet the workforce is aging, and fewer young workers are entering these fields. The JPI Group’s workforce development and planning expertise has helped organizations across the country design training programs that target these critical roles, ensuring that job seekers are matched with high-demand positions.
• Energy Auditors and Retrofit Specialists play a key role in assessing energy performance and optimizing efficiency, crucial for reducing energy waste and improving building performance. Many workforce programs fail to produce enough skilled energy auditors due to a lack of employer-driven training models. The JPI Group has seen that integrating real-time labor market data into workforce planning significantly improves job placement outcomes, ensuring that training aligns with employer demand.
• Transmission and Distribution (T&D) Workers are critical for grid modernization, storm resilience, and ensuring a stable power supply. The U.S. grid is outdated, and modernization efforts require a highly skilled workforce. However, without accurate data on workforce readiness, states and utilities struggle to predict hiring needs.
• Renewable Energy Technicians support solar, wind and battery storage installations. Clean energy growth is accelerating, but without a steady workforce supply, deployment efforts will slow, impacting grid reliability and the expansion of renewable projects.

The energy sector is at a critical crossroads—without strategic investment in workforce development, the industry will struggle to keep pace with growing demands. Addressing gaps in training, hiring, and talent pipelines is not just about filling jobs, it is about securing the future of our energy infrastructure.

Paul Douglas, President of The JPI Group, a workforce planning firm, shares that “The workforce shortage isn’t just an industry challenge—it’s a national economic threat. Without a skilled labor pipeline, energy and infrastructure projects will face costly delays, putting grid resilience, economic growth, and energy security at risk.”

Barriers to Workforce Growth

With a national perspective on workforce development, many groups are collaborating with state governments, utilities, and local organizations across the country. As Barbara Stapleton, Director of Workforce Planning Solutions with The JPI Group states, “Workforce training programs often operate in isolation from employer needs. The key to solving the labor crisis is aligning training directly with hiring demand, ensuring job seekers are not just trained but immediately employable.”

Having worked across multiple industries to develop workforce strategies that directly address labor shortages, The JPI Group has identified some key barriers impacting the challenges mentioned above:

• Lack of Real-time Workforce Data—Many programs lack access to real-time labor market data, making it difficult to train for employer-specific skill needs. Without a system to track training outcomes, employer demand, and hiring trends, workforce programs often miss the mark in aligning talent supply with demand. CareerEquity has helped bridge this gap by offering transparency into training effectiveness, job placements, and hiring needs, allowing workforce programs to make data-driven decisions that lead to better results.
• Disconnection Between Training and Hiring—Many workforce programs are not directly connected to employers, resulting in training that does not translate into immediate job placements. By ensuring that workforce training programs integrate real-world industry demand, organizations can dramatically improve retention rates, job readiness, and long-term workforce stability.
• Aging Workforce with No Replacement Pipeline—30% of the energy workforce is nearing retirement, yet there is no structured pipeline to replace them. States and utilities struggle to attract younger workers into these careers, particularly in rural and urban communities where access to vocational training has declined. Without intervention, the loss of experienced energy professionals will further strain grid resilience and efficiency efforts.
• Limited Small Business and Contractor Workforce Capacity—Many local trade contractors who are essential in executing energy efficiency projects and grid upgrades, struggle to scale due to workforce constraints. Broader investment is needed to equip small businesses with the skilled workers necessary for large-scale infrastructure projects. Without this support, critical energy projects could be delayed due to insufficient labor capacity.

The Business Impact: Why This Matters Beyond Energy

The workforce crisis extends beyond the energy industry, creating economic and operational risks for businesses, local governments, and consumers.

• Delays in Energy and Infrastructure Projects. Workforce shortages increase project timelines and costs, putting pressure on utilities, municipalities, and contractors to complete essential upgrades. Without skilled workers, many planned energy projects could face years of setbacks, resulting in stalled economic growth and missed business opportunities.
• Strain on Small and Local Businesses. Many trade allies and contractors lack the labor needed to meet project demand, causing workforce bottlenecks that impact both urban and rural economies. Small businesses, which make up a significant portion of the energy workforce, are disproportionately affected, making it harder for them to compete for contracts and grow sustainably.
• Rising Consumer Costs. Higher labor costs translate into increased prices for consumers, affecting home energy upgrades, efficiency improvements, and infrastructure services. Without enough workers to meet demand, the cost of labor-intensive energy projects will continue to rise, making energy efficiency improvements less accessible to businesses and homeowners.

The Call to Action: Workforce Development Must Be a National Priority

To secure the U.S. energy future, workforce development must be a top priority across government, utilities, and the private sector.

• Policymakers must expand funding for workforce training programs that ensure direct connections between training and hiring needs.
• Employers and utilities must prioritize long-term workforce planning, leveraging data-driven platforms to track hiring outcomes, workforce gaps and real-time employer demand.
• Training organizations must modernize curricula to reflect real-world industry needs, ensuring that workers graduate with job-ready skills and industry certifications.

Paul Douglas, President of The JPI Group, summarizes the challenge ahead, “Our goal is not just to place talent, but to create lasting workforce development strategies that sustain industries and build long-term economic resilience. Workforce development must be more than just a response to labor shortages, it has to be a proactive, strategic investment in the future of energy and infrastructure.”

Without immediate action, the workforce gap will continue to widen, leading to higher energy costs, longer project delays and increased risks to grid reliability. However, with the right strategies in place—leveraging real-time data, ensuring accountability and fostering strong employer-training partnerships—we can build a workforce that supports economic growth, energy innovation and long-term infrastructure resilience.