There is no electric future without electricians

The mantra of energy experts over the last decade has been to electrify everything — this is the most direct path to solving climate change. Switching everything in our built environment from heating, cooling, driving, flying, and cooking all powered by the likes of wind, geothermal, solar, and even nuclear. Making these tectonic shifts will rapidly decrease carbon emissions putting us on track for the SBTI goals [link] to reach net zero by 2050.

The Shift to Clean Energy Relies On Electricians.

Who will build this new infrastructure, and who will install these new appliances? The electrical grid will have to be able to support 3x to 4x the capacity with the addition of these appliances. According to the nonprofit Rewiring America, which focuses on electrification policy, making the transition away from natural gas, gasoline, and other fossil fuels will require over 1 billion new stoves, water heaters, HVACs, Air conditioners, automobiles, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, backup generators and more.

We need to replace 50 million machines a year for the next 20 - 25 years.

This estimation of the fossil fuel machines we will need to remove from our built environment comes from Saul Griffith, principal scientist of Rewiring America a nonprofit on electrification policy. We will need a World War II wartime industry with aggressive targets completing major reductions by 2030 to be on pace to reach net zero by 2050.

A shortage of electricians puts our infrastructure upgrade in jeopardy.

The problem is we are already battling a shortage of electricians to do the work we already have in the pipeline. Forget trying to ramp up a wartime effort at a scale we’ve never seen. We don’t have enough electricians in America to keep the crumbling infrastructure we have running. 

The current shortage can be blamed on the perception of Blue Collar work being replaceable by automation. There is a perception that everyone will work in services or technology. There has been a loss of interest in the trades amongst the current generations. 

The need for electricians has never been higher. An electrician's job requires deep expertise and fine motor skills making it nearly impossible to automate or offshore. Globally we need 4.2 million jobs for electricians and support technicians for modernizing energy infrastructure, power generation, and installing hyper-efficient appliances. 

Should we all become electricians?

I'm not saying everyone should drop what they are doing and become an electrician. We are not all fit for the work, but we can support these workers with the tools, products, educational resources, inspiration, and compensation to make these desirable mission-driven careers. There are opportunities for new products and services to recruit a new generation of electricians.

Opportunities to educate where digital natives live

Designers have opportunities to create educational courses for mobile modern platforms. What if your electrician was recruited on TikTok, studied on Youtube, completed their training online through a virtual degree and finally apprentice with a climate startup? We need designers to create these services.

Master electrician on-demand for every apprentice

We need new products that support on-the-job training. There are not enough master electricians for our new class of apprentices. The gray wave of retiring experts is resulting in brain drain across the trades. This challenge is an opportunity for technology to support the growth of this critical role in service of scaling our clean energy future. 

We need imaginative products that meld the expertise of electricians with AI to create a master electrician in an apprentice's pocket when they go out on the job. Better yet, what if they were wearing it on their face as AR glasses supporting them on-demand as they encounter problems.