Workforce Development for Hydropower

Abstract

To assist the hydropower industry in better understanding potential future workforce, education and training needs and to help the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) assess where to target future possible support efforts, the DOE selected Navigant Consulting, Inc. (Navigant) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for a project with the following objectives1: Estimate the size of the current hydropower workforce in the United States, Catalog skills, training, and educational needs of the hydropower workforce and how those are met, Project the potential size of the hydropower workforce under different growth scenarios and where skillset gaps exist relative to today’s workforce, and Determine if additional training programs are needed to meet anticipated hydropower workforce needs in 2020 and 2030, and develop recommendations to fill the gaps. This paper outlines the project’s approach, analysis, findings, and recommendations.