The Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) is pleased to release its latest Paper: Workforce Skills of the Future. WSAA and the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) commissioned KPMG to help their members understand and prepare for future trends affecting the urban water industry and its workforces.
The Paper includes results across three continents and provides insights on where the urban water industry is headed and the key enablers for success.
Its recommendations are essential for the industry as we undergo the transition to the digital future. Our workforce must develop and change and strategic workforce planning is crucial in our ability to attract, retain, and develop people in an increasingly competitive labour market. To be successful in an uncertain future, urban water utilities will need to proactively understand, influence and react to change.
Water service providers need to stay ‘ahead of the curve’ in light of shifting workforce trends and customer expectations. A holistic understanding of supply and demand drivers will enable water service providers to develop staff and build appropriate capacity to meet future requirements including identifying key talent.
The Workforce Skills of the Future Paper is a great example of international collaboration that enables informed strategic planning for future opportunities, challenges and risks up to the year 2040, with an emphasis on customer focussed outcomes.