Young professionals |
Powering the next generation
Canada’s hydropower sector is facing a significant workforce challenge. As infrastructure investments accelerate and experienced workers retire, attracting and preparing the next generation of talent has become a strategic priority for employers across the country. In partnership with Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC), WaterPower Canada
recently examined labour market trends shaping the country’s energy workforce. Together the two organisations addressed what this means for hydropower and how the industry can work together to try and close the sector’s talent gap
The Carrilon hydroelectric power station is operated by Hydro Quebec and spans the Ottawa River between Carillon and Pointe-Fortune in Canada. Christopher O’Donnell/
Shutterstock.com
“CANADA WILL NOT BE AN ENERGY superpower if we don’t have the requisite labour force and have to outsource jobs. Workforce concerns are serious issues,” Lorena Patterson, President of WaterPower Canada says, “and our sector is growing faster than we are producing people to meet those needs.” Diving into the important details about how the situation is currently looking, Mark Chapeskie is the Vice President of Programmes at Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC). His role is to develop comprehensive labour market intelligence and give valuable insights into what’s going on. Data-driven, hard facts are crucial for developing strategies to enable the country to face up to future labour force development and projected shortfalls.
Critical Intelligence
EHRC is a national industry association focused on Canada’s electricity sector and with 60% of total generation, water power is a very big part of that. EHRC
14 | June 2026 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
works to forge partnerships and deliver critical business intelligence to enable industry upskilling and inspire future workers to build a low carbon future. “And we have a great partnership with WaterPower Canada,” Chapeskie comments. EHRC’s members and partners are the employers, unions and post-secondary institutions that make up the broader industry, and it works closely with government to solve some of the bigger challenges. “So we need to understand who does what, and do we have enough of those people to keep the lights on 24/7, 365,” Chapeskie says. “It really is a partnership with the entire industry to solve some of these big problems, especially as we forecast into the future.” Indeed, the long-term outlook, assuming employment
and retirement patterns over the next five years remain unchanged, is that by 2050 the Canadian power industry will need an additional 130,000 workers, of which 36,000 is set to accumulate between 2028 and 2035. Currently the Canadian electricity industry has over
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45
