AI and the Future of Energy Careers in Canada

Artificial intelligence (AI) has forever changed workspaces across Canada, especially in the energy sector. The accelerated development and rapid adoption of AI in the energy sector have resulted in various aspects of work being automated.

While the expansion of AI in the energy sector has presented a breadth of opportunities for increasing efficiency, process optimization, and improving safety, AI may also pose risks to employment opportunities for Canadians, especially youth, seeking employment in the energy sector.

AI and the Future of Energy Jobs

The rapid deployment of AI in the energy sector has reaped many benefits for companies and workers. These benefits have been recognized across the sector to the point where 74% of companies in the energy and utility industry across the Americas, Asia, and Europe embrace AI to improve and develop their energy infrastructure. There are a few key ways that companies are implementing AI to achieve this objective.

Energy management, a crucial component of the energy sector, has been optimized by AI in terms of predicting energy generation and demand while optimizing energy distribution in real time. AI has also spearheaded predictive maintenance in the energy sector, resulting in early signs of equipment failure being detected using sensor data. These implementations of AI have accelerated automation and enhanced energy efficiency.

However, these advancements are concerning for roles in the energy industry that are high-exposure and low-complementarity (i.e., middle-skills occupations) where AI technologies like GPTs (generative pre-trained transformers) increase the risk of their jobs being automated.

AI-Accelerated Job Displacement in the Energy Sector

Because of the acceleration of AI, occupations that involve tasks such as accounting, maintenance, repetitive equipment assembly, data entry and processing, information filing and documentation, and proofreading are the most susceptible to automation.

These tasks can be found in a variety of roles that require less advanced education such as plant operators, assembly line operators, and quality inspectors.

Although these jobs still have nuances that cannot be replicated by AI, waves of job losses motivated by AI have disrupted industries such as the tech sector, where job losses accelerated in 2023 and continue even though those jobs require advanced education. These patterns in the tech sector could spill over into other sectors such as the energy industry.

Youth entering the energy sector may not be aware of the current trends being spearheaded by AI. This could lead to them falling behind, especially when there are limited opportunities for upskilling and adapting to the rapid transformations in workflow processes influenced by AI.

This issue is further compounded by youth seeking formal education to obtain a career in the energy sector but learning from curriculums that are less relevant to energy industry trends that could stay for the long term.

Adapting to the AI Revolution in the Energy Sector

It is crucial to understand how to use AI ethically and productively because the rate of adoption in various industries is only growing . Now, just like computers have permanently changed the way many people perform work, AI will also have a significant impact that changes the way people perform work.

To remain competitive in the energy job market, young Canadians seeking to work in this industry should focus on various aspects of their career and professional development and constantly seek ways that will help them adapt to AI industry trends in the energy industry.

When determining their career path and the education required, young Canadians should prioritize seeking high-exposure and high-complementarity career paths. These careers usually require advanced education and decision-making capabilities and are the most resilient in terms of job security when it comes to AI development and automation.

These careers are often found in engineering, science, and project management and benefit the most from the expansion of AI since they enhance the quality and efficiency of their tasks.

Learning prompt engineering can also assist young Canadians with adapting to AI in the energy sector. Learning AI is becoming a key part of developing digital literacy, especially in the workplace. Prompt engineering involves crafting detailed and precise instructions for AI models to generate relevant and actionable outputs.

Designing effective prompts can accelerate the pace at which workers complete tasks and significantly improve the quality and accuracy of these tasks. Regardless of people’s familiarity with coding, anyone can learn prompt engineering and use the skill effectively. Coursera, IBM SkillsBuild, and Learn Prompting offer free courses on learning this technique and other AI topics.

Another way young Canadians can adapt to AI-driven energy industry trends is to secure internships and co-op placements with energy companies to gain early exposure and skill development for using AI for energy purposes.

Keeping up with AI in the energy industry can provide young Canadians an edge in the career path they are working towards and better position them for advancements in their career development.