Rethinking Nuclear Waste: Liz Muller’s Mission to Revolutionise the Industry

How Rullion and SAP Fieldglass are Powering Workforce Transformation in Renewable Energy

As governments and industries commit to ambitious climate targets, the energy sector is undergoing the biggest workforce transformation in a generation. But the promise of solar, wind, and nuclear energy won’t be realised without one critical resource: people. And right now, the demand for skilled talent far exceeds supply. In a recent conversation between Alistair Haigh, Commercial Solutions Director at Rullion, and Vicky Revis, EMEA Lead at SAP Fieldglass, they explored how workforce management must evolve to support the energy transition. The growing talent demand in renewable energy This big push is seeing the renewable energy sector scaling at a rapid pace. And with this comes a growing urgency for skilled talent to plan, build and operate energy infrastructure across solar, offshore wind, hydrogen, and nuclear. Hiring has been brought into sharp focus. Organisations are working harder to engage directly with talent, align with universities, and sell purpose-driven missions. They're also turning to consultancies like Rullion and SAP to streamline their workforce planning processes and ensure they have the right people in place to meet their goals. Workforce challenges in renewable energy One of the major challenges is the reliance on external talent. Because external contractors, consultants, and service providers account for approximately 50% of the energy sector's workforce, visibility and control over how they are brought into your organisation must be swift, reliable, and process effective. And if you’re still reliant on emails and CVs buried in inboxes, that’s not a sustainable way forward. The energy sector also brings added complexity: health and safety onboarding, fluctuating project needs, and high compliance risk. Margins are tighter than in traditional energy. That makes it vital to strike a balance between accessing the right skills and maintaining cost control, especially when nearly half of the workforce is external. How technology enables workforce agility In the renewable energy sector, workforce needs shift rapidly depending on the stage of a project. Managing this dynamic demand calls for a system that provides full visibility and control across the external workforce lifecycle. That’s where platforms like SAP Fieldglass come in. They enable organisations to standardise and streamline how they manage contingent talent, covering everything from sourcing and onboarding to compliance and invoicing. Managers aren’t buried in admin, and processes become repeatable, scalable, and aligned across suppliers. As Vicky Revis put it, “Technology is not a silver bullet, but when it's supported by strong policy and processes, it creates a sustainable and repeatable system for engaging talent.” Flexibility throughout the project lifecycle Every energy project moves through distinct phases, from early design and planning through to construction, commissioning and operation. Each phase requires a different set of skills and workforce demand. For instance, the build phase may require large-scale contractor mobilisation, while the operational phase focuses more on maintenance and repeatable tasks. There will be different commercial setups, contracting models, and recruitment flows depending on the work required at each phase. Fieldglass helps organisations build those variations into their processes by providing visibility on the best way to engage talent for each stage, benchmarking and setting appropriate rate cards to avoid overpaying for in-demand skills, and automating workflows so managers aren’t expected to become procurement experts overnight. Utilising data for strategic workforce planning As energy infrastructure evolves, so too must the way organisations plan and manage talent. And at the centre of this shift is data. Access to historical data allows hiring teams to understand what happened on previous projects: how much was spent on contingent labour, what caused budget overruns, and how talent mixes impacted delivery timelines. It gives you the opportunity to question what you can learn for new and upcoming projects. Rather than relying on retrospective reporting alone, businesses can now use this data to make more confident decisions in real-time. AI and large language models can identify patterns across workforce trends, project data, and other external factors to help forecast the skills and resources needed for upcoming work. But for AI to work, it needs fuel. The output is only as good as the data you put in. That means ensuring all valuable data, such as timesheets and onboarding notes, change requests, and delivery timelines, are captured in a structured, accessible way. If your data lives in inboxes or is buried on someone’s desktop, it can’t be analysed. The more accurate and complete your data is, the more powerful your insights will be. Reskilling and transitioning talent into renewables With an ageing workforce and growing demand for talent, there’s a huge question around where talent is going to come from and whether there’s a skills shortage. That all depends on how you look at it. For years, adjacent industries have been developing skilled professionals who already have the qualities and transferable skills or knowledge we value in the renewables space. For example, moving rotating mechanical engineers from oil rigs into wind farms is just a matter of reskilling. Data and AI can come in real handy here, too. Instead of reviewing thousands of CVs, organisations can use AI to scan databases, detect patterns in career paths, and surface candidates with the potential to seamlessly pivot into renewables. These tools make it easier to understand which skill sets are adaptable and which individuals could be trained quickly and effectively. Once a shortlist is created, the human element is still needed, especially when it comes to assessing cultural fit, motivation, and readiness to retrain. But AI helps teams get to that point faster, with more confidence and less manual effort. Future trends with new skills and new tools As energy systems modernise and evolve, so will the nature of work. Where engineers once climbed turbines, drones now capture images. And instead of needing just engineers, we now need drone pilots, data analysts, and AI modellers to process the imagery. However, this shift doesn’t replace humans; it redefines where their value lies. You still need people, but now you need data at the heart of your workforce strategy to plan intelligently and act with confidence to make informed strategic decisions. Building a future-ready workforce The renewable energy transformation depends on new approaches to workforce management, one that’s agile, data-driven, and widens the scope of traditional methods. Explore how SAP Fieldglass helps organisations manage external talent with greater control, visibility, and speed. Talk to Rullion for expert support in attracting, engaging, and retaining the skilled renewable energy professionals you need to help you get work done. Book a discovery session or explore our full-suite of workforce solutions. Watch the full interview between Alistair and Vicky.

Building Talent, Not Buying It: A Smarter Workforce Strategy

Traditional hiring models are increasingly struggling to meet the needs of modern organisations. Many critical infrastructure organisations across sectors like energy, transport, and utilities are hitting the same wall: rising recruitment costs, critical skills shortages, and new hires who struggle to adapt quickly enough to complex working environments. While external recruitment will always have its place, it’s no longer enough on its own. It’s time to consider more balanced, sustainable approaches, like Train to Deploy (TTD), a workforce transformation model that enables organisations to look at retraining and growing the talent they need, reduce risk, and create more resilient teams. What’s broken with the "Buy Talent" Model? For years, the default hiring strategy has been reactive: hire fast, fill the gap, and hope it sticks. But for many organisations, that model is now showing cracks: Niche skills are increasingly hard to find The cost of contingent labour is rising New hires often struggle with cultural fit or lack the hands-on readiness needed Scarcity of Niche Skills Whether it’s engineers in nuclear, software talent in tech, or skilled operatives in mechanical and electrical sectors, niche capabilities are becoming harder to source. As infrastructure projects grow in complexity and the transition to renewables accelerates, demand is far outpacing supply. This skills gap creates a bottleneck for delivery, drives up competition, and increases your exposure to project delays and rising costs. High Recruitment Costs Traditional hiring methods come with a hefty price tag – recruitment agency fees, advertising, vetting all the candidates, and onboarding – they all add up. And when hires don’t work out, the cost of starting over is even higher. In sectors managing large-scale infrastructure or utilities programmes, this cycle of churn can undermine everything from workforce morale to project timelines and long-term planning. Cultural Misalignment Technical expertise doesn’t guarantee success, especially in complex environments like energy sites, control rooms, or high-stake multi-contractor projects. If new hires struggle to adapt culturally or operationally, productivity dips, safety risks rise, and team dynamics suffer. What "Building Talent" Really Looks Like Behaviour-First Hiring Traditional recruitment filters for qualifications and past experience. But this method often misses high-potential individuals who could thrive with the right development. Unlike other Hire Train Deploy models, Rullion’s Train to Deploy solution rethinks what makes someone the right fit and hiring for potential. Using behaviour-first hiring, or a train-to-match approach, Rullion focuses on mindset, adaptability, capability, and learning agility. In sectors like utilities, transport, and rail where on-the-ground collaboration is key, this approach helps to de-risk the process by bringing in talent that aligns with your organisational values, then upskilling or reskilling them in the technical areas your teams actually need. Tailored Technical Development Instead of waiting for the perfect candidate to emerge from the market, organisations can look to invest in upskilling and reskilling their existing teams to meet their specific business needs. Tailored development ensures training mirrors your actual operational requirements, right down to systems, tools, and standards. It’s a core step in delivering effective workforce transformation, ensuring your teams are equipped with the exact capabilities needed to perform and progress. Long-Term Workforce Resilience Organisations that build from within and invest in their people are far more resilient. When employees grow alongside the organisation, they develop deeper institutional knowledge and the ability to flex as priorities shift. This approach promotes long-term retention and creates a stable, adaptable workforce ready to meet future challenges head-on. Why Train to Deploy is Different Custom Workforce Pathways Every business, site, and sector is different. What works in a retail logistics site won’t work in a nuclear-grade facility. Rullion’s TTD model adapts to your reality. They co-design specific training and workforce development pathways which you have full visibility over; this gives you full control in aligning training modules with your unique business objectives and challenges. Rullion does the heavy lifting, and you get work-ready people who have developed the exact skills and knowledge your company needs. A Faster Route to Workforce Readiness One of the key benefits of TTD services is its ability to rapidly prepare employees for new roles. While it may not be about “faster deployment” in the traditional sense, train and deploy solutions offer a quicker route to workforce readiness by focusing on specific, targeted skills development. This leads to a more efficient onboarding process and a workforce that is ready to contribute from day one, without the typical lag time that comes with traditional recruitment. As part of a wider workforce transformation effort, this accelerated readiness helps organisations meet evolving demands without compromising on quality, safety, or team cohesion. It’s a smarter ramp-up for complex environments where getting it right the first-time matters. Social Value and Diversity Built-In A key value of TTD is its ability to break down traditional barriers and broaden access to talent. Rullion believes in inclusion without limits. If someone can demonstrate they’ve got the right mindset and behaviours, then Rullion will build the skillset, regardless of what role or industry that person previously worked in. This means that their Train to Deploy approach is capable of building truly inclusive talent pools, holding the doors open to those with the potential to thrive, regardless of their situation. This is the power of a real workforce transformation strategy, giving organisations the opportunity to do things differently while strategically expanding their talent pool to better reflect the communities and industries they serve. It creates scalable, inclusive, and resilient workforces ready to meet the demands of tomorrow. Building the For the Future, Not Just Today Organisations need more than just quick fixes to their talent challenges. The future of workforce development lies in building talent from within, investing in the potential of existing employees and creating an environment where growth and adaptability thrive. Train to Deploy (TTD) provides a clear, sustainable path to achieving this. It’s a workforce transformation model designed to reduce reliance on external recruitment while building resilient, high-performing teams that keep your organisation ahead of the curve. Want to explore how train to deploy could work for your sector? Visit Rullion’s Train to Deploy solution page or book a discovery call with one of their consultants to see how Rullion can help you get work done.