Workforce Implications

It appears that initial fuel cell employment opportunities for Texas community and technical college graduates will be in the electric utilities industry. These graduates will probably be employed to service groups of cells that act as backup power sources to prime generation technologies (gas and coal turbines, etc). 

In the near future, employment opportunities will be most promising in the areas of installation, calibration, operation, maintenance, systems design, and support. The training and skills required for fuel cell installation (i.e., licensed plumbers and electricians) are quite different from those required for maintenance (i.e., fuel cell specific technicians). 

Additional employment opportunities may emerge if fuel cell manufacturing facilities are established in Texas. At present, there are no such facilities in the state, nor are there any announced plans for building such facilities. On the other hand, there are indications that such facilities wiU probably be built in early adopter markets. In fact, a representative of one manufacturer indicated that his company would consider building a plant in Texas if installations reached 50 MW (megawatts) per year. It should be noted that hydrogen production at the Dow plant in Freeport (see Planned Fuel Cell Activities section) is a natural by-product of an existing production process. This production would take place even if Dow had no interest in fuel cells. 

Employment opportunities in the electric power production area will require three general areas of skill sets heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) electrical systems and systems control. In the longer nm, there will be a need for people who have skills in all of these areas, as well as fuel cell specific training. Graduates with these multiple skills should be appropriately compensated, particularly those who enter the field at an early stage. 

As the number of power-producing fuel cells increases, a need for trained technicians in each of these areas will develop. The Texas Department of Economic Development has estimated that 453 jobs, with an average wage of 33,275, win be created for every 20 megawatts of installed base. Approximately 200 of these jobs will be direct employees. The extent of emplo)onent opportunities will, thus, be directly proportional to the number of units installed. (Direct employees are those that work directly on fuel cells indirect employees are those that work in related industries and businesses in local economies where fuel cell companies and employees spend their earnings.)  

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Clarke, S. (2003). The contemporary workforce Implications for oiganizational safely culture. Personnel Review, 32(1), 40-57. 

The technical workforce has become more diverse. Technology managers need to educate themselves about the changing nature of the workforce, the implications for the future, and the opportunities made possible by a more heterogeneous organization (66). 

This book is organized in seven major chapters. The first chapter addresses the historical presence of African Americans in the chemistry community. The second chapter discusses the demographic characteristics of the responding chemists. The third focuses on the interviewees educational experiences. The fourth chapter discusses workforce-related issues. The fifth chapter discusses professional activities, while the sixth chapter focuses on racial attitudes. The final chapter discusses the implications of the findings for policy and research. 

A low severity hazard might, for example, be one that is most likely to cause an interruption to production, or inconvenience to the workforce or people living near the plant. A medium level of severity could be a hazard likely to cause injuries to people. A high level of severity is one where the outcome of the hazard is probably one or more fatalities. A hazard may also be measured in financial terms from low severity (small financial implications) to high severity (crippling financial loss to an organisation). 

In sum, the massive Soviet NBC weapons program is currently fragmented among numerous countries and employs only a fraction of its former workforce. Despite these major dislocations and workforce reductions, its residual personnel possess substantial weapons-critical expertise and are potentially attractive to potential proliferant states and non-state actors seeking to acquire NBC weapons. Whether the scope of the personnel of concern is large or small has important policy implications. While even a small number of people who illicitly transfer their expertise can create a serious security problem, it is much easier to contain the threat of a smaller, easily identified group of people than the threat of a larger, more diverse one. 

Changes to the equipment, system, or procedures must be addressed by a process for active management of change, which will have direct implications for the personnel involved at all levels. Moreover, it is not just equipment that becomes obsolescent and requires adaptation. The personnel involved in operations, laboratories, and maintenance all have skills and knowledge that change over time. In an employment field with a limited time horizon, such as chemical stockpile demilitarization, the public needs to be assured that there will be enough skill and knowledge retained in the workforce to safely complete the process across all sites. 

Work force demographics will change. During the last few decades, the number of women in the workforce has risen significantly. Many women fill traditionally male jobs. The average age of workers in the United States continues to increase. Many people stay in the work force beyond minimum retirement age. In addition, the number of people in the work force with disabilities continues to increase along with the range of disabilities. Products and work places must accommodate a wide variety of buyers and employees. All of these buyer and worker characteristics have implications for safety and health. 

Mearns K, Hope L, Eord MT, Tetrick LE (2010) Investment in workforce health exploring the implications for workforce safety climate and commitment. Accid Anal Prev 42(5) 1445—1454 Mohaghegh Z, Mosleh A (2009) Incorporating organizational factors into probabilistic risk assessment of complex socio-technical systems principles and theoretical foundations. Saf Sci 47(8) 1139-1158... 

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