What is energy industry training? A complete guide

The energy sector continues to be a key driver of industrial growth. Unlike other industries, which can lose traction over time, the energy industry will stay alive and booming for the years to come. It’s paved the way for a better quality of life, not only for our families but for businesses as well. 

With this guide, you’ll learn about the importance of energy training in maintaining safe workplace operations and compliance with federal standards. Explore its definition and the ways to develop a custom energy training program. Look no further, as we’ve also rounded up training topics and essential courses to boost your workers’ competency on the job.

What is energy industry training?

Energy industry training equips your crew with the latest safety procedures and techniques for producing, manufacturing, and distributing energy. From compliance to leadership training and preventive strategies, it helps them to spot potential hazards and mitigate risks before they cause irreversible damage.

Given the large scope of the energy sector, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) releases a set of guidelines specific to each industry. Hazardous energy, petroleum, compressed gas, and biofuels are just some categories. U.S. employers are expected to comply with these to avoid earning violations.

Before we dive into the importance of energy management training programs for your business, let’s first classify the areas included in the energy industry.

What are the areas included in the energy industry?

The energy industry is diverse. Companies invest in producing and distributing oil, natural gas, coal, water, electricity, and more. Typically, this boils down to how the energy is sourced—whether renewable, like wind power or hydroelectric, or nonrenewable, like diesel fuel and coal. Let’s go over these energy training resources below.

Nonrenewable energy

Electrical power industry

This sector is responsible for powering the electricity in your businesses, factories, and homes. Power plants rely on different energy sources to generate electricity. These can be nuclear power, fossil fuels, or renewable sources.

Fossil fuel industry

A key driver of industrialization, the fossil fuel industry relies on the mining and drilling of coal, oil, and natural gas. These energy sources are then extracted, refined, and distributed to power our homes, vehicles, and businesses.

Nuclear power industry

Nuclear is recognized as the second-largest source of low-carbon energy, next to hydropower. The nuclear power plant industry produces electricity via nuclear reactions. Most of the fuel is sourced from plutonium or uranium and passes through generators or turbines to produce electricity.

Renewable energy

Solar power industry

This renewable energy source is the most abundant one available. Compared to the earlier sectors, this doesn’t add to the emission of greenhouse gases or deplete finite resources. Solar energy is harvested in three main ways: through solar heating and cooling, photovoltaics, and concentrating solar power.

Hydropower

Water is another vital source of energy. Through hydropower, turbines convert fast-flowing water to mechanical energy. This resource is responsible for powering hydroelectric turbines, which go on to produce electricity.

Wind power

Another renewable source is wind energy. Companies invested in this sector have wind farms full of turbines. These large machines harness the wind’s power to generate electricity. As the moving air spins the blades, kinetic energy is formed. The nearby generator then converts this kinetic energy into electricity.

Biofuels

What sets this renewable energy industry apart is that biomass can be directly converted into liquid fuels (biofuels). The two common kinds of biofuels are biodiesel and ethanol, which are produced from plant materials, animal fats, or used vegetable oils. These are kinder to the environment as they offer a clean substitute to petroleum-based diesel fuel. 

The importance of energy training programs

Energy training programs are essential to protecting your workers from everyday hazards and maintaining compliance with federal standards. Because the energy industry is wide in scope, safety protocols vary from one specialization to another.

Not to mention, new technologies are being developed every year. This means the process you’ve established today may not continue well into the future. Further problems like skill gaps, lack of diversity, and manpower shortages disrupt normal operations too.

So for your crew to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, your energy training programs must be flexible to accommodate change and simple enough for your team to understand.

How to develop your energy training program 

We’ve rounded up five easy steps below, along with the best tools to help you become an expert at developing your energy training program.

Step 1. Assess your company’s needs and resources

The first step to crafting your program is to assess your company’s needs and resources. More than tracking your company’s energy consumption patterns through energy intensity mapping, you also have to consider:

• How is your company managing the current supply and demand?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses? 
• How can you stay ahead of the competition?
• What actionable steps can your team take to secure long-term investments?

As this is not a one-size-fits-all approach, one effective way to ease the brainstorming process is by collecting feedback from your team. After all, nobody knows the ins and outs of your business like them.

Step 2. Select the mode of training

Next, you have to choose the method of delivering your training program. With all the energy developments produced every year, continuous learning and compliance training is a must. As a result, there’s a pressing need for cost-effective, quick, and efficient training. To get you started, consider these five popular methods:

• eLearning: This training method relies on digital means to facilitate training. It typically consists of interactive content and game-based activities to engage learners.
• Hands-on training: Also known as on-the-job training, this happens in real-time, with an instructor leading the session. This gives everyone a chance to learn from each other face-to-face.
• Blended learning: This style mixes in-person and online learning methods to create more opportunities for collaboration and participation.
• Case studies: This immersive learning experience uses descriptive situations to encourage critical thinking. Learners are expected to apply their existing knowledge to solve the given problems.
• Video training: Compared to traditional training methods, video training is a cost-effective alternative. Your team can refer to your videos anytime and anywhere.

Regardless of which training method you choose, take note that this still depends on your team’s unique needs and preferences. With only a set budget for learning and development, you need to be smart with your choice.

If you’re handling global and remote teams, be sure to factor in their training preferences as well. The goal is to make learning as inclusive as possible, regardless of location. With the adoption of hybrid workplaces, you don’t have to limit yourself to either in-person or online. You can combine these into a blended learning approach to cater to different learning styles.

Step 3. Deliver your training program

After conducting your assessment and selecting the mode of training, it’s now time to implement your energy training program. Set a timeline for the training sessions and communicate it to your team. Then, make sure they have access to materials, equipment, and facilities needed for training.

For organized training, choose a platform that offers user-friendly navigation, ready-made courses, seamless integration with existing systems, and comprehensive reporting tools. Include essential topics like energy efficiency measures, renewable and nonrenewable energy sources, audits, policies, and reporting. 

Step 4. Track and report learners’ progress

As your workers navigate their training, remember the ultimate goal is to increase their competency. So, you must verify whether every member understands the lessons correctly. You can do this by inserting practice questions and quizzes in between modules. The reporting and analytics dashboard of your chosen platform can help with this.

It lays out the essential metrics to assess your team’s performance. This will help you track course completion rates and spot knowledge gaps early. Other useful tools to look for are user group features and course and user drill-downs, as they make it easier to assess individual learner progress.

Step 5. Gather feedback

The last step to a successful energy training program is to evaluate the results. Conduct interviews, surveys, or peer discussions to generate feedback from your team. Additionally, the reports and analytics of their individual training can serve as markers for improvement in the future.

Key energy training topics and recommended courses

To help you stay compliant with the latest federal standards and regulations, we’ve rounded up a list of the top energy training topics and courses on health and safety that are ideal for your team’s training:

1. Hazard Communication

Recommended Courses: Hazard Communication in General Industry (US), Globally Harmonized System (GHS), New Hire Safety Orientation by SC Training (formerly EdApp)

Handling toxic chemicals puts your workers at high risk. Frequent exposure to hazardous chemicals leaves lasting health effects—from short-term problems like skin irritation and allergies to long-term ones like diseases or even cancer. This is why it’s critical to educate your workers on hazard communication to raise awareness and reduce exposure.

As their employer, you must be transparent about the chemical hazards they’re exposed to at work. You can start by covering proper hazard communication practices during your training program. This will inform your workers on the classification of chemicals, safety data sheets, labels, and containers.

2. Hazardous Energy Control

Recommended Courses: Control of Hazardous Energy - Lockout/Tagout (US), Controlling Hazardous Energy: Lockout/Tagout, Controlling Hazardous Energy: Electricity by SC Training

Employers must enact a program and process for lockout/tagout (LOTO) devices to prevent hazardous energy from causing accidents at the worksite. All these different electrical devices require a firm set of preventive measures in the workplace.

If there are any changes in your crew’s job assignments, machines, or equipment, they must undergo retraining. Left unchecked, the release of hazardous energy causes serious injuries or fatalities. To enhance your workers’ competency, consider incorporating lockout tagout procedures into your energy training program.

3. Compressed Gas

Recommended Course: High Pressure Systems by SC Training

When handling compressed gases, your workers shouldn’t be complacent. These could give rise to several hazards, like oxygen displacement, toxic gas exposure, and explosions. Equip your team with the best practices to manage, store, and transport compressed gas through this mobile training topic.

Under OSHA regulations, gas cylinders must be kept in a safe condition, which can be easily evaluated by visual inspection. The specifications for storage, handling, and utilization must also comply with the Compressed Gas Association Pamphlet P-1-1965.

4. Machine Guarding

Recommended Course: Machine Guarding, Machine Guarding (US) by SC Training

While machines save us from hours of manual labor, they must be handled properly to avoid unwanted injuries. According to an OSHA report, over 18,000 amputations and abrasions occur yearly due to the lack of employee training or equipment maintenance. This is why machine guard training is critical to your workers’ safety.

By educating your workers on machine guarding techniques, they’ll be able to identify the various hazards associated with each machine, proper protocols and procedures, and the right personal protective equipment (PPE) for the job.

Beyond training, you must also install machine guards to protect exposed workers during operation. Generally, they must be designed to keep any body part away from the danger zone. These guarding methods can range from electronic safety devices to barrier guards or two-hand tripping devices.

5. Electrical Protective Equipment

Recommended Courses: Electrical Safety by SC Training

Performing electrical work can be dangerous without the use of proper safety equipment. From handling circuit assemblies to overhead lines and cable harnesses, these pose several electrical hazards to the untrained eye. The solution is to invest in electrical protective equipment.

Through electrical safety training, they can learn about the types of electrical protective equipment, like insulating mats, safety shoes, or non-conductive soles. These will shield them from hazards like shocks and arc flashes during contact.

Each piece of equipment must be kept from defects to avoid compromising its insulating properties. As their employer, you’re mandated to conduct a proof test to verify if said equipment can withstand the voltage. Aside from this, it’s critical for your team to learn first aid techniques, emergency procedures, and the best practices for safety.

Enforce compliance with energy industry training

It’s one thing to draft a comprehensive energy training program, and it’s another to guarantee that it’s implemented successfully. For it to be effective, you’ve got to select the right training platform.

At SC Training, we offer agile solutions for frontline teams on the go. Explore our mobile-first platform’s best features to help you stay compliant with the latest regulations:

• Microlearning: Don’t worry about getting all your members in one place, as each training can be completed in under five minutes. Microlearning concepts are broken down into bite-sized chunks to guarantee better knowledge retention.
• Reporting and analytics: Enforce compliance and spot knowledge gaps instantly with the platform’s robust reporting and analytics suite. Its custom performance reports let you track in-person and digital training to determine where your learners struggle most. This empowers you to revise your materials as necessary.
• Briefcase: Still unable to part with your technical documents? No problem! This feature allows you to store training files like PDFs, videos, and images alongside digital training. This helps your team pull up the information they need anywhere and anytime.
• Recurring courses: Perfect for those needing annual refresher training, this feature automates course frequencies. All you need to do is select the frequency for each, and it’ll automatically notify them of courses due soon or those already overdue. Their progress resets with each cycle, so you don’t have to modify it each time.

Stay ahead of the game by cultivating agile and receptive teams. With our comprehensive energy training courses, you can reap the benefits of increased efficiency and productivity, just like Vena Energy and Community Fibre. After all, everybody wants to be part of a company that genuinely cares about its employees.

Boost operational efficiency with the best energy training courses. Join SC Training today.