Young Energy Professionals Forum Young Energy Professionals Forum Annual Report 2016 For the year ended 31 December 2015
Introduction The Young Energy Professionals Forum (YEP) provides the next generation of energy professionals with a place to network, share experiences and learn from industry experts. With over 800 members, the Forum offers a number of events across the year including site visits to some of the UK s major energy centres and an annual YEP Awards ceremony that recognises success and leadership across the varied disciplines which make up the energy industry. The UK energy industry attracts and retains highly skilled staff because the sector offers challenging, demanding and, above all, interesting and rewarding careers. Over the last year, membership of the Forum has grown rapidly and is very well supported by Energy UK s membership. June saw the first YEP Awards ceremony celebrating success and achievement amongst today s young professionals, as they prepare to become tomorrow s leaders of our industry. The Forum has also been taken on the road with events in Glasgow, Birmingham as well as London. We have also seen exciting site visits organised including a visit to EDF Energy s Dungeness B nuclear power station and British Gas training academy in Leicester. In the coming year the Forum will build on this year s successful programme which allowed young professionals to discuss with world industry experts topical issues such as the energy trilemma, the impact of policy on energy sector and climate change. Jennifer Jones (EDF Energy) Chair of the YEP Forum Steering Committee
Highlights Events Over 500 YEPs attended five events over the past year. We have been exceeding expectations and considerably increasing the numbers involved in the network. London: What does the Capacity Market tell us about Security of Supply? The Young Energy Professionals Forum held its first event of 2015 on 18 February. It looked at the results of the Capacity Market auction and what this could tell the industry about security of supply. Speakers included Mary Teuton from Vitol Group, Simon Skillings from Trilemma UK and Daniel Monzani from DECC. They discussed their experiences of the Capacity Market and considered how the UK will keep the lights on while reducing emissions. Organised by Energy UK Glasgow: How is energy policy affecting the energy industry? The first Scottish YEP event was held in Glasgow on 21 May and looked at how policy decisions affect the energy industry. Coming just after the general election added to the discussion around the policy changes the industry could expect from government. Speakers included Colin McNaught from Ricardo-AEA, Martin Pibworth and Malcolm Burns from SSE and Norman Kerr from Energy Action Scotland. Organised by SSE Birmingham: Challenges in the Energy Sector and the Trilemma The YEP Forum returned for a second year to Birmingham where speakers debated the energy trilemma with audience participation using an online voting system. Speakers included Melissa Gander from Ovo Energy, David Hill from Open Energi, Alastair Gill from RWE Innogy and Joe Warren from PowerVault. Organised by RWE npower London: Prospects for long-term climate action post COP 21: what s the role for the energy industry and how to secure the necessary finance? The final event of the year took place just before the twenty-first meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference Parties (COP 21). Vincent de Rivas CBE, CEO of EDF Energy delivered a key note speech on the challenges of climate change and the role of business in tackling these.
Panelists then debated the action that would need post-cop 21 particularly from the energy industry to face up to climate change and financing climate action. Speakers included Dr Paul Ekins from UCL, Philippe Benoit from IEA and Richard Chatterton from Bloomberg Energy Finance with Rachel Cary from DONG Energy chairing the debate. Organised by EDF Energy and DONG Energy Energy Live! 2015 - Energy Live University The YEP Forum partnered with Energy Live News to organise the Energy Live University, a half-day session at the Barbican Centre in London aimed at encouraging more young people into the energy sector. 100 Students and YEPs were given insight into the industry from three speakers: Volker Beckers (RWE npower), Lawrence Slade (Energy UK) and Professor Averil MacDonald (University of Reading) as well getting the opportunity to speak to other young people currently working in the industry. Site visits January saw the first ever YEP site visit take place in EDF Energy s Dungeness B nuclear plant (below). The event was attended by around 30 young professionals from across the energy industry. The YEPs then visited British Gas training academy in Leicester. Again, around 30 young professionals attended. The successful events highlighted the benefits of learning firsthand how these sites operate with participants being able to take away best practice examples for use in their own work. Awards Energy UK hosted its first ever Young Energy Professionals Awards on the 30 June 2015 at Vinopolis on London s South Bank. The evening showcased the best of the energy sector s new talents. Tom Greatrex, former Shadow Energy Minister was the guest speaker for the evening and spoke about the energy industry and the impact it has across Britain, in government and in policy. Ministers in future should not miss the opportunity to work with the companies and attendees at the YEP awards as closer collaboration will bring benefits to the UK and the UK economy.
The lively evening was hosted by compere Graham Dickson from RWE npower with each judge giving their own unique introduction to each award category and the candidates. The 2015 winners were: Leadership: Hannah Brown, EDF Energy Innovation: Patrick O Rourke, ESB Customer Focus: Elizabeth Garber, EDF Energy Rising Star: Benjamin Comninos, Centrica EY YEP of the Year 2015: Susan McDonald, National Grid
Progress against 2015 targets Objective Grow YEP membership base Success measures Grow YEP Forum mailing list and LinkedIn group. 800 YEP members and growing By the end of 2015 the number of people on the YEP Forum mailing list had risen to more than 800 from 107 companies. This is up from 295 people and 52 firms in November 2014. Over 600 people are now active on the YP Forum LinkedIn page. Increase representation of EUK membership on the YEP Steerco Wider supporting company representation on YEP Steering Committee Broader cross-member engagement when organising YEP Forum events. 11 Steering companies In 2015 the companies on the YEP Steering Committee rose to 11. This is up from 10 at the end of 2014 and represents a diverse cross-section of the industry including five of the six largest energy firms, a small-tier supplier and two independent generators. Secure continued funding from EY for YEP Forum activities Number of member companies represented on the YEP Steerco Cross-member representation in organisation of YEP Forum events. Continuing EY Support EY is a founding partner and a major force behind the success of the YEP Forum and its first Annual Awards held in June. EY has signed up to support the YEP Forum for a further year.
Objective Deliver quarterly YEP Forum conferences Success measures Deliver quarterly YEP key energy market issues conferences Ensure all areas of the country are covered Attract sustained level of member attendance & engagement Provide detailed event coverage to all YEP members. More YEP conferences The Forum attracts over 100 attendees to every event and was in London to discuss capacity markets in January and the joint EDF Energy/ DONG climate change event in December. SSE organised May s first Scottish conference and September saw RWE npower address customer choice in Birmingham. Deliver first YEP Award event Increase profile of YEP Forum through annual awards Attract quality submissions from cross-section of member organisations Deliver good attendance from across membership at awards. 85 Award submissions The successful YEP Awards were held in London in June and raised awareness of the Forum as winners and runners-up were featured externally and in internal company communications. The awards attracted 85 high-calibre entrants from 14 participating organisations. The event attracted an audience of 180. Deliver a series of site visits to member sites At least two site visits annually to participating company facilities. Successful site visits There were two successful site visits in 2015 each attracting around 30 participants from across the energy sector. EDF Energy showed guests round its Dungeness B nuclear plant in January and British Gas hosted a trip to its Domestic Gas Engineering Academy in Leicester in July.
Objective Success measures Launch mentoring programme Development of industry-wide programme linking YEPs to mentors Use YEP Forum to promote energy industry to prospective young professionals Advocating energy sector jobs as desirable career choices
Mentoring programme The new YEP Forum mentoring programme is due to launch in 2016. Currently the programme is being developed by the YEP Forum steering committee. Developing outreach programme Initial work with Imperial College will identify how the YEP Forum can work with university career services to reach out to students. Energy Live News targeted undergraduates providing industry leaders with a platform to promote energy industry careers. A report will be circulated to members.
Priorities for 2016 Objective 2016 priorities Grow YEP membership base Continue to grow YEP membership base: aim for 1,000 members by end of 2016. Expand representation of EUK membership on the YEP Steerco Expand representation of EUK members on YEP Steerco. Demonstrate diversity in member organisation of YEP Forum events. Secure funding for 2017 Secure funding for the 2016/17 period. Successful delivery of four YEP Forums Successful delivery of four YEP Forums per quarter across the UK to be attended by at least 500 YEPs in total. Deliver a second successful YEP award event with new award categories Deliver successful 2016 Award event building on the ceremony in 2015. Deliver at least two site visits throughout the year Deliver at least two site visits throughout the year. Successful delivery of E.ON. Cranbrook / Met Office site visit in January 2016. Launch the first ever mentoring programme Launch mentoring programme enabling YEPs to connect with mentors across the industry. Expand and diversify YEP membership base, including through outreach to universities Reach out to university career teams and attend university career events. Finalise YEP industry report for 2016. Promote to graduate programmes.
Special thanks Thanks to all member companies who have allowed staff to attend events and actively participate in the YEP Forum. A special thanks goes to the YEP Forum s partner EY for their continued support in developing the Forum and funding that make the events possible. EY Energy UK EDF Energy British Gas E.ON RWE npower DONG Energy InterGen Flow Energy National Grid SSE Contact details YEPForum@energy-uk.org.uk Energy UK Charles House, 5-11 Regent Street, London SW1Y 4LR
Young Energy Professionals Forum Energy UK Charles House, 5-11 Regent Street, London SW1Y 4LR