Utilities Energizing Tomorrow
Preparing Utilities for IT Challenges
It may have taken longer than in other sectors, but the digital age has fully arrived for the electric utilities sector. The stable part of the sector has been shaken by the tech of the future, finding itself the topic of the recent national conversation about security concerns and energy policy. As ever, achieving safe, reliable, and affordable energy infrastructure remains the primary motivating factor influencing industry-wide decision-making and change. Beyond this, utility companies must now train their workforces to configure and monitor vital new technologies into their existing infrastructure if they are to prosper in the coming years. Their future success depends on adaptive training for an efficient and effective transformation. The IT managers of energy and power utility companies face technical and personnel challenges that adequate training will prepare them to solve. Two of these central technical challenges include:
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Protecting against cyberattacks
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Configuring and monitoring intelligent energy technology with advanced networking skills
While the industry is busy revolutionizing its tech, it is also struggling to capture the extent of this modernization by rebranding its image. As we know, this means struggling to attract new and younger professionals into the workforce. In addition to their technical challenges, IT managers experience many pressing personnel challenges, including:
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Redefining and rebranding the job for the tech-age
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Upskilling current employees in response to emergent technologies
Having a fully trained workforce to address each of these challenges will only become more urgent and essential to the industry's long-term success. Chauster UpSkilling training prepares power utilities for today's and tomorrow's technological evolutions.
Compliance Alone Isn’t Enough: Ensuring True Security
The energy sector is highly regulated, which leads to better-than-average cyber hygiene and cybersecurity practices. However, compliance alone does not ensure security. Cybersecurity training equips security, network, and systems teams to handle upcoming and ongoing cyberattacks.
Power Utilities: One of the Most Targeted Sectors Globally
Cybersecurity is a top priority for the power industry, and for good reason. According to a leading analytics and data company report, the US Department of Defense Task Force on Cybersecurity states that "the cyber threat to critical US infrastructure, especially power, is outpacing efforts to reduce pervasive vulnerabilities." Their report further noted that "due to our extreme dependence on vulnerable information systems, the United States today lives in a virtual glass house."
The False Sense of Security in the Power Utility Industry
Because the industry must comply with external regulations, some may need more confidence that proper security measures have been met simply by adhering to these standards. A study found that 74% of chief information security officers and 67% of operations managers in utility organizations considered their IT security sophistication to be upper-middle or high. However, 73% of the over 1,700 surveyed security professionals reported having experienced a public security breach.
The Ever-Evolving Landscape of Cybersecurity Threats
It is the responsibility of IT managers within the industry to stay ahead of these evolving threats. They must continuously update their knowledge and skills to defend their security, networks, and systems from malicious attacks. This requires staying informed about the latest cyber threats, implementing advanced security measures, and ensuring their teams are well-trained and prepared to handle any potential breaches. Effective cybersecurity management is crucial for maintaining the integrity and reliability of the industry's critical infrastructure.
How IT Training Strengthens Defense Against Threats
Chauster UpSkilling offers extensive cybersecurity training from leading providers such as CompTIA, Cisco, Juniper, and other security vendors to prepare IT managers to keep grids safe and secure. Their training programs include:
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Chauster UpSkilling's comprehensive library of materials ensures mastery of security best practices and cybersecurity principles, equipping professionals to counter the cyberattacks of today and tomorrow.
Advanced networking training equips network engineers to deploy and maintain emerging technologies like automated demand response (ADR) systems and smart meters. The industry is experiencing a rising demand for the wide-scale integration of various smart technologies. Over half of all meters in the United States are now advanced, with the number continuing to increase. Additionally, the industry invests in realistic ADR implementation, which "requires a workforce that understands the technology and the new ways of using it." This necessitates upskilling personnel in advanced networking automation and programming skills to meet the evolving demands of the sector.
Managing Smart Energy Technology with Advanced Networking
The smart grid won't change what we do, but it will transform how we do it.
Chauster UpSkilling: A Leader in Advanced Networking Training
Chauster UpSkilling is a leader in advanced network training for Cisco and Juniper systems, providing essential Python training to help engineers automate new industry systems. Their training programs include:
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Juniper JNCIS
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Juniper JNCIA
As a Vice President of Systems Planning for a leading organization noted, "The smart grid isn’t going to change what we do, but it’s going to change how we do it." With DevNet Associate and DevNet Professional certificate training, network engineers can harness the technical tools, knowledge, and skills to configure and monitor these technologies. Training in Juniper and Python hones the automation skills underpinning smart energy tech like ADRs. Rather than simply addressing the needs of today, you'll learn to think in terms of tomorrow’s advanced networking principles.
Transforming the Industry for the Next Generation
To succeed in the coming years, industry leaders need to redefine how people perceive the industry internally and externally. Despite being technologically sophisticated, power utilities are rarely associated with implementing modern technology. This perception has several adverse effects, including a failure to brand the industry as forward-thinking and actively modernizing and a generational labor shortage due to fewer young professionals replacing the senior workforce.
More digital skills are needed across all utility roles to support the product and service innovations transforming the industry. Engineers must have data skills to manage a more dynamic power system. However, beyond transformative digital skills, the industry has largely failed to appeal to younger, tech-savvy professionals.This transition should be viewed as something other than an all-or-nothing replacement of legacy technologies. Instead, the industry accomplishes two tasks simultaneously by incorporating technologies that operate through modern methods like advanced networking and the Internet of Things.By emphasizing its infrastructure adjustments, the industry can rebrand itself alongside contemporary tech giants and attract today's talent. Such a redefinition means replacing predictability with innovation in marketing and branding and in how we think about power as technology.
UpSkilling Employees for Emerging Technologies
Upskilling current IT managers and network engineers to master new technologies prepares the power utility industry for tomorrow’s grid challenges. Hiring expert and intermediate professionals is both expensive and a short-sighted fix to a long-term issue. The best approach is to identify and train eager and interested members of the current workforce.
The "power company employee of the future" is a tech-savvy professional who relies on connected yet independent systems, often collaborating with AI-integrated bots to accomplish tasks. But what if some of these professionals could also be established mid-career workforce personnel?
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Industry leaders are increasingly worried about the digital skill levels of their established workforces. A study found that 76% of energy, utilities, and resources company leaders expressed concerns about the skill level of their workforce.
Developing Your Own IT Talent
There's one solution: upskilling rather than hiring. Nearly half of companies prefer upskilling to address the shortage of skilled talent. Upskilling is about more than just providing access to training. It's about identifying the knowledge, skills, and experience that will be most valuable for future roles, and finding individuals who can excel in those roles.
How IT Training Fuels Future Technology
From foundational cloud courses to advanced cybersecurity skills training, Chauster UpSkilling offers an unparalleled library of IT-focused training covering the entire industry. Workforce leaders can build, manage, and assign specific training playlists, giving managers ownership, pacing, and control. Short, digestible videos ensure a smooth learning process from start to finish, enabling the industry to effectively meet its upskilling needs.
Chauster UpSkilling offers extensive training in IT and engineering, equipping individuals and the industry with the skills needed to excel. Our training addresses both the technical and personnel challenges the industry currently faces. By utilizing unique coaching techniques driven by accountability models, Chauster UpSkilling encourages workforce personnel to achieve their best. Our programs enable learners to apply their new skills inChauster UpSkilling offers extensive training in IT and engineering, equipping individuals and the industry with the skills needed to excel. Our training addresses both the technical and personnel challenges the industry currently faces. Chauster UpSkilling encourages workforce personnel to achieve their best by utilizing unique coaching techniques driven by accountability models. Our programs enable learners to apply their new skills in tangible and practical ways, solidifying their knowledge and enhancing their capabilities.
The result is a workforce prepared to propel the power utilities industry forward during this transformative moment. Chauster UpSkilling's extensive training library features thousands of courses, representing a clear path forward for the industry's workforce. Our training programs prepare power utilities for the technological evolutions of today and tomorrow, ensuring they are ready to power the future. tangible and practical ways, solidifying their knowledge and enhancing their capabilities.
The result is a workforce prepared to propel the power utilities industry forward during this transformative moment. Chauster UpSkilling's extensive training library features thousands of courses, representing a clear path forward for the industry's workforce. Our training programs prepare power utilities for the technological evolutions of today and tomorrow, ensuring they are ready to power the future.
Final Thoughts and Takeaways
