Energy-related manpower, 1984
Overall energy sector employment growth in the 1980s will be considerably less than previously projected, owing to increased conservation, depressed oil prices and increased reliance on market-oriented solutions, and a shifting Federal role in energy R and D. Although the overall rate of energy-related employment growth is expected to be low over the next 5 years, the increasingly technical nature of energy-related work combined with the high proportion of scientists and engineers in the energy segment results in substantial growth in expected demand in a number of science, engineering, and technical occupations. Because many of these occupations are also critically needed in the economy in general, the energy sector will be competing in an already tight labor market. The supply of new graduates appears to be a current problem in some fields. Lower enrollments and, hence, a lower number of graduates appear to be constraints on the labor supply at all degree levels in health physics and nuclear engineering. Low enrollments are occurring in all Ph.D. fields where shortages exist except computer science. In addition, lack of adequate faculty is a supply constraint in some engineering fields. Foreign nationals who obtain degrees in US remain to work in the US are an additional supply source of employees. Energy R and D funding is expected to continue to shift from public to private sources, reducing demand for Ph.D. scientists and engineers while increasing demand for specialists at the BS/MS level in energy-related R and D work.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Inc., TN (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76OR00033
- OSTI ID:
- 6063778
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER-0134/2; ON: DE85008120
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Labor supply of engineers and scientists for nuclear electric utilities, 1987-1992
Some manpower shortages seen for energy R and D