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From the discovery and recovery of basic resources such as oil and natural
gas to the delivery of electricity to every home, careers are there to be made
in all aspects of the energy business. The industry encompasses everything from
nuclear power, to hydroelectricity and the conversion of energy from wind, waves
and tides. The use of solar power grows apace, and in many countries biomass
materials are being used as an energy source. Many cities utilise the combustion
of waste products to produce heating and electricity. The energy industry has to
respond to public concerns about the environmental impacts of its activities. It
now employs 鈥渆nergy managers鈥� to help employers to use energy more efficiently.
Benjamin Agbasi, a member of the Institute of Energy, is employed by North
Warwickshire Borough Council and is responsible for its energy management. He
trains other employees in the art of reducing energy wastage. A recent energy
audit that he carried out on a swimming pool, for example, saved the borough
拢2500 a year.

Like food, energy is an essential commodity. Transport, heating, lighting,
refrigeration, moving machinery and much more depend upon it, so there are many
jobs to be had. Yet the energy market is changing rapidly under the exposure of
open competition. You can buy electricity from BG and gas from firms which once
only supplied electricity. The Regional Electricity Companies (RECs) and the
National Grid all offer employment as do the generators such as Powergen.

Career opportunities relating to the many different forms of energy are
continually available, yet as the cost of one sector of the energy market rises
or falls against the others, the chance of getting a job in that sector changes.
Currently the oil industry is depressed because the price of oil is down to only
$13 a barrel. Oil companies have responded by merging some of their
activities. Shell UK has announced large-scale redundancies. BP and Mobil are
running their European petrol supply and distribution as a joint business, and
BP is well along the line to merging with AMOCO. Energy companies such as these
are diversifying fast. Petrol stations have virtually become the 鈥渃orner shop鈥�
of old, and BP and Shell are both developing businesses in renewable energy. BP
Solar, at Sunbury, is concerned with the design and installation of solar energy
systems, and 鈥渁ims to grow tenfold in ten years鈥�. Shell has similar businesses
in Japan and Holland. And it also owns six forestry companies, which plant
around 20 million fast-growing trees every year. It is now looking to turn
biomass into energy. Trials are underway in Uruguay and Chile. Developments like
these are creating new jobs, many abroad.

Gas is in high demand. Most power stations in Britain are generating their
electrical energy by conversion from gas. This is good for the oil companies
which produce large quantities of gas from their oil wells. It is also good for
BG, which is developing as an international energy company, moving into
exploration and production, and providing services in gas-fired power
generation, liquefied natural gas, transportation and related activities in an
increasing number of countries around the world.

So how can you make a start in the energy business? Following the
announcement of large-scale redundancies at Shell UK, recruitment in the energy
sector is expected to be at a low level for the next year. Even so, there will
be some opportunities in exploration and production for geologists and
geophysicists, and for chemical, mechanical and petroleum engineers. The reduced
number of refineries in Britain continue to need chemical engineers for oil
refining and chemicals production. Renewed vigour is likely to be put into other
commercial activities. Shell has created Shell Services International to sell
its expertise in information technology, supply chain management and other
management services to clients world-wide.

The oil companies and BG employ numerous scientists in their research
laboratories鈥擝P in Sunbury, Esso in Abingdon, Shell in Ellesmere Port, and
BG in Loughborough. AEA Technology has labs in Harwell and EA Technology in
Capenhurst, and both undertake research and provide consultancy services in
energy. Research designed to create energy by fusion continues at Culham, while
the National Engineering Laboratory, East Kilbride, is home to the National Wind
Turbine Centre. British Energy, which recently changed its name from Nuclear
Electric, runs the country鈥檚 nuclear power stations and recruits around 75
graduates a year, largely engineers. Most join via sponsorship schemes which
supported them through relevant sandwich degrees. There are now more than 60
wind farms in Britain. For now, though, wind, wave, tidal and hydroelectric
power all need capital investment in the plant rather than large numbers of
employees to run them. Engineering contractors such as Taylor Woodrow, McAlpine,
Costain Tarmac and Vickers have all been involved in schemes to produce energy
from non-fossil fuel sources. Their recruits are for the most part graduates in
civil and structural engineering

Degrees or HNDs in a wide range of subjects can lead to careers in energy.
Besides those already mentioned, there are ones in electrical power engineering
and offshore engineering. Recruits with qualifications in physics and
mathematics are also welcome. Twelve universities offer degree courses in energy
science and eight provide the opportunity to study energy engineering. Coventry
University offers a BSc in energy studies and the University of Leeds a BEng in
energy engineering.

The University of Warwick has an MEng course in engineering design and
appropriate technology focusing on methods of generating energy in developing
countries. At postgraduate level, several universities offer research
opportunities and one-year taught master鈥檚 courses which are concerned with
energy: Cardiff University of Wales and Cranfield University have MSc courses in
energy, Glasgow Caledonian University one on energy and environmental systems,
and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and the
University of Abertay, Dundee, have ones on electrical power engineering.

Loughborough University of Technology offers a MSc course in renewable energy
systems technology, and South Bank University one in energy systems. The
University of Leeds runs an MSc course in energy engineering. Some universities
also offer opportunities in energy research. Even if the immediate outlook is
uncertain, the energy business is here to stay and offers long- term attractions
to those with the foresight, dynamism and flexibility to take a career step into
this global activity.