Editorial message
Dear Readers, According to the Transformer Champions Club (TCC) 2024 Report, the skills gap in our industry is becoming more pronounced as experienced professionals retire,...
Dear Readers,
According to the Transformer Champions Club (TCC) 2024 Report, the skills gap in our industry is becoming more pronounced as experienced professionals retire, while companies struggle to attract enough new talent from universities—where graduates are increasingly drawn to other, more appealing or faster-growing industries. These observations are based on personal insights shared by TCC members and industry peers, alongside findings from Transformers Magazine’s investment research, which reveals that, on average, every second company surveyed faces unused manufacturing capacity due to workforce shortages. This situation has become a critical bottleneck for our industry in the situation when the market grows on the waves of the energy transition.
Initially, I was hopeful that the situation might be different in populous countries like China and India. Although India has an ample supply of young talent, my sources indicate that expertise is beginning to move overseas, with experienced professionals increasingly attracted to opportunities abroad. Training young professionals takes time, and as skilled individuals leave, India too feels the strain. My recent visit to China confirmed that this challenge extends globally: younger professionals are choosing fields that offer faster career progression, leaving our industry facing a severe talent gap worldwide.
Attracting young talent has therefore become an urgent priority. But the question remains: how do we achieve this? I welcome feedback from those who have effective solutions to share.
The community around the Industry Navigator Conference is exploring several initiatives to address this issue: collaborations with universities, scholarships for students, partnerships with Transformers Academy for convenient, fast and cost-effective employee training, and a Quiz League designed to present our industry in an engaging way to young people with the goal of attracting them to our industry.
As we prepare for Industry Navigator 2025 in Dubai, the conference will focus intensively on talent and workforce challenges, aiming to provide insights into the current reality and potential solutions. Other activities within the conference project will also focus on understanding and addressing these pressing issues.
I invite all industry stakeholders – utilities, transformer manufacturers, materials and component suppliers, and beyond – to join us in addressing these and other critical challenges.
I also encourage you to explore this edition, which is filled with insightful interviews, thought-provoking columns, technical articles, editorials, and event coverage. Special thanks to our contributors for their outstanding work.
Thank you and happy reading.
Sincerely,
Mladen Banovic, PhD
Editor-in-Chief, Transformers Magazine
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