There is a need for use of an LMS in every industry now because of the prompt response times. The employees can consult the LMS when they face a problem looking for knowledge to resolve customer issues. An energy industry LMS can be used by the companies in this sector to train employees on all matters. The energy industry comprises all those companies which have been involved in the extraction of natural gas, petroleum, its distribution, generating electricity and its distribution, etc. These are the following reasons why companies had to train employees:

1. Need for diversity training:

   There is also a need for training because new employees with no experience get hired. Companies are facing retirement in huge numbers. They need technicians, especially in the electrical industry and training is needed.

   These companies are also hiring women in the workforce to benefit from their experience which has necessitated diversity training.

2. Changes in demand situations:

   The companies are coping with changes in the laws by the government. For example, Coal companies had to face problems after the government started putting a restriction on the emission of gases like sulfur dioxide during coal combustion to release energy. This change was introduced as per amendments to the Clean Air Act that happened in 1990. Also, due to the higher discovery of natural gas, the US started to focus on using this substance to produce electricity. Also, due to the discovery of shale for extracting natural gas, the latter’s price has been falling since 2005 so it’s cheaper to use this resource. The energy industry has also lost its credibility as a stable employer because of the cyclical nature of jobs. This is because shale is used to extract natural gas. But its drilling does not happen throughout the year due to which natural gas companies have cyclical employment now.

The employment scenario in the energy industry has also been affected adversely due to the fall in oil prices. There was a high layoff in this industry including numbers of 1, 07,000.

Solar Energy has also started getting used on a large scale. There has been a tremendous increase in the yearly installation of solar power in the country and it was 12 gigawatts in 2019. It has happened because of European subsidies for solar panel production. Climate change has also been a reason owing to the gas emissions that focus is now more on using renewable sources of energy to generate electricity.

Hence, energy companies are now shifting to the production of electricity through solar power. The employees are now getting trained by companies for this kind of work. It’s because fossil fuels are not getting used that much for producing power, especially coal. Such companies are connecting workers to knowledge-based resources which are uploaded on the LMS and the latter can also get diplomas in these courses.

3. Requirement of training due to automation:
   

   So, there is a need for hard skills training through the energy industry LMS.

   This is important for companies that are in the drilling sector because soon the drilling jobs will be replaced by automated drilling machines.

   So, there is a need for learning how to operate such machines for those in drilling jobs. Although drilling machines had been used in this industry for a long time, self-propelled drilling machines eliminating human roles would be used. Drones would be used to supervise the work of such machines. So, an energy industry LMS could be used to train energy workers on how to supervise such machines through drones.

The companies also have to invest in employee training because at the end of the day rehiring costs a lot as compared to upskilling. Companies have to pay layoff costs also when employees have to be laid off due to a lack of skills.

4. Training needs due to the pandemic:

   Utility companies also had to focus on safety for the front-line workers because they got sick due to the pandemic. During the summer, most of them fell ill because during that time they had to make frequent customer visits due to electricity shortages caused by weather. However as the effects of the pandemic are plummeting, the utility companies have started operating as usual.

   Companies have started implementing social distancing norms for their workforce and internal communications have been digitalized completely. The customers can visit the utility companies when they have an issue but now barriers have been erected to maintain social distancing.

The workers can communicate with their managers through an energy industry LMS. Companies are also using mobile communication for this purpose but they also need to keep such communication safe. So, they are using energy industry LMS platforms on mobiles. Such LMSs can be accessed by front-line employees through mobile browsers or apps to ensure that managers and other team members have been informed about their messages. Through such an energy industry LMS, a company can ensure that all its frontline workers receive important updates about how to handle customers during Covid-19. This involves getting feedback from customers on whether there are any Covid-19 infected persons on their premises or whether they have sanitized the whole place.

Managers can also post on the energy industry LMS bulletin about what are the different schedules for workers to prevent crowding and the spread of disease. It’s better to post such schedules online rather than offline because in that case workers can throng the bulletin board and get infected.