Future of energy draws on with new generations

Innovation, creativity, and energy were three of the features that Galp's CEO highlighted in the new generations of talent. Andy Brown was one of the hosts at a meeting with around 50 young Europeans at the European Youth Energy Forum last Tuesday, where participants had the opportunity to share their vision on the energy transition challenge. "It's very important to understand how we can harness the potential of younger people and engage them. I think companies should proactively seek their contribution," said the leader of the energy company.

Marco Serrão (Chief People & Culture Officer), Diogo Almeida (Head of Business Development of Hydrogen Unit), and Manuel Andrade (Head of Open Innovation) wanted to hear the perspectives of the group of different nationalities, which presented a set of proposals to increase youth participation in companies. Among the ideas addressed to energy organizations, the highlight is the creation of a program of non-executive positions for young people on the boards of directors. The goal would be to ensure, over 12 months, the "participation in the definition of business strategy" alongside executives, allowing the introduction of a "fresh" view on the business and the strengthening of skills "on the job" by these less experienced employees.

Along the same lines, the youth entourage suggested a second initiative involving the implementation of student-workers programs in the energy sector. According to the group, this curriculum model would allow higher education students to divide "their time between university and business experience" and would be a way to shape the skills of future workers to suit the real needs of the sector. "We think this is really important because companies can invest in the younger ones and take advantage of that bet," they argue.

Andy Brown acknowledges that often "the challenge is, as seniors, to listen to the younger ones and understand how we can accelerate their progression in business," but he believes it is critical to overcome this obstacle. "The quality of corporations and our ability to make the energy transition depends heavily on this talent," he says.

However, in an increasingly competitive labor market, Marco Serrão has no doubt that "working on the purpose of organizations" and in supporting the development of skills of its employees is essential to attract, and above all retain, more and more workers. "If we are not agile and do not support people to develop skills, it will be difficult to be sustainable and that is the goal," said the Human Resources Director during the meeting.

Alongside a business environment that favors the well-being of talent, it is essential to create the conditions for collaboration between teams, but also for the exchange of experiences between the various geographies where Galp has a presence. This context enhances the disruption, an area of focus for energy that last year has promoted open innovation initiatives, at home and abroad. "We know that it is through innovation and collaboration that we can change the world," says Manuel Andrade, responsible for this area.

The meeting with the participants of the first edition of the European Youth Energy Forum was held during the event promoted by the European Youth Energy Network (EYEN) in partnership with the European Network of Energy (EnR), which took place from 19 to 23 November at the Pavilion of Knowledge in Lisbon. The position paper designed by these young people, which includes measures for inclusion of the new generations in the definition of public policies, will be presented to the parties with parliamentary seats, representatives of the European Commission and the Presidency of the Republic.