Addressing a growing skills gap by closing economic disparities will be critical as Houston’s hydrogen economy grows. To address this opportunity, the Greater Houston Partnership's UpSkill Houston initiative, Accenture and the Center for Houston’s Future (CHF) have launched a new workforce development initiative that aims to help people in disadvantaged communities (DACs) secure good jobs in the emerging hydrogen economy by bridging the skills gap through training and skill development. According to the executive summary of a forthcoming white paper, the strategy will target high-demand and good-paying, middle-skilled hydrogen jobs through a skill-matching process based on skill transferability, among other factors, as well as tailored learning journeys that will provide pathways from education to employment. This will require collaborating with key stakeholders across the hydrogen economy, including local industry employers, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations. The list of partners includes Air Liquide, Chevron, bp, Bloom Energy, Calpine, Dow, HIG, Linde, Shell, SLB, Brazosport College, Houston Community College, Lee College, Lone Stage College, San Jacinto College, United Way of Greater Houston and Gulf Coast Workforce Solutions. The learning journeys will help people increase their earning potential and provide career stability by having direct access to the hydrogen sector. “The future growth of the hydrogen industry in Houston and the Gulf Coast provides the region with the opportunity to collaborate with business and industry to rewire the talent pathways into the hydrogen sector and increase economic mobility and opportunity for residents of communities historically underserved.” - Peter Beard, SVP, Regional Workforce Development The consortium aims to work with community stakeholders and educational institutions to align career and technical education (CTE) in high schools with dual credit in community colleges. The ongoing collaboration with colleges and school districts will also support the development of shorter-term programs for adults.  The new initiative follows the U.S. Department of Energy’s selection of the Gulf Coast as one of seven regional clean hydrogen hubs, with operations centered in Houston. Brett Perlman, President of the Center for Houston’s Future, says employers must implement inclusive workforce strategies to fill the skills gap and mobilize a sustainably scaled workforce by recruiting talent from throughout the community. Accenture’s research has found a high degree of jobs will be needed for hydrogen with highly correlated skills from other occupations and industries already in place. “Making this happen requires being very purposeful about the intersection of these opportunities and... working across the ecosystem,” said Mary Beth Gracy, Houston Office Managing Director of Accenture, during a presentation of the strategy. The findings also predict a steady rise in middle-skill jobs within Houston’s clean energy hydrogen economy over the next five to 10 years, especially in carbon capture and storage (CCS), as well as consistent growth in manufacturing, application, storage, distribution and production as demand and technology advances. Robert Nunmaker, General Manager – Hydrogen, USGC & Europe at Chevron, echoed the report's conclusions. "This region plays a key role in supplying lower-carbon hydrogen and ammonia, which will require a skilled local workforce that will be positioned to execute these projects.” According to research conducted by McKinsey and CHF, Texas - and the Gulf Coast region as a whole - are already the nation’s largest hydrogen producers with more than 1,000 miles of dedicated hydrogen pipelines and 48 hydrogen production plants. The region is also home to a diverse array of energy resources, including a large concentration of academic and industry-driven energy innovation, cutting-edge infrastructure, and a highly skilled workforce. Looking at the future energy mix, hydrogen is anticipated to be twelve percent of the total energy consumption by 2050, according to the IEA. In its Houston as a Hydrogen Hub – 2050 Snapshot report, the Center for Houston’s Future predicts that 170,000 potential direct, indirect and induced jobs could be created in the hydrogen economy, as well as an additional $100 billion for Texas’ gross domestic product. Learn more about UpSkill Houston.

To accommodate the growing demand for skilled workers, major energy companies are investing in local universities and colleges to equip the future workforce with the necessary skills needed to achieve an energy-abundant and low carbon future.    Shell Energy and bp America recently made a $1.7 million donation to Prairie View A&M (PVAM) to support the establishment of an energy trading program that aims to increase diversity in the industry. The two-year program will offer classroom and corporate training and individual mentoring experience, according to PVAM’s news release.  “The students at Prairie View A&M University are primed to bring new perspectives and voices into the energy sector,” said Carolyn Comer, President, Shell Energy North America. “The Energy Trading Program is a significant step in attracting the best and most diverse talent and giving them the training, mentoring and hands-on experience needed to forge successful paths after graduation.”  This isn’t the first investment into PVAM for Shell or bp. Last year, bp awarded the university $1.35 million through its HBCU Fellowship Program, providing students with scholarship funding, exposure to the energy industry and career development experience.  “We need the best and the brightest talent as we transform our company,” said Mark Crawford, bp’s senior vice president, global diversity, equity and inclusion. “We are thrilled to work with [Prairie View A&M University] and provide students with an opportunity to earn a degree while giving them real-world experience in the exciting and evolving energy sector.”  LyondellBasell has also taken major strides to advance this effort by partnering with San Jacinto College. In 2019, the energy giant helped the university open its Center for Petrochemical Energy and Technology through a $5 million donation. Featuring an array of interactive classrooms, labs, workstations and collaborative spaces, the center aims to provide students with hands-on training and experience to equip them for a job in the industry.   "The need for a facility like this has never been greater," Jim Griffin, CPET associate vice chancellor and senior vice president, said in a news release. "We're seeing a growing industry that's investing more than $60 billion in new capital locally. At the same time our baby boomers are exiting the workforce, so the workforce needs are growing along with the job opportunities. This new facility expands the College's capabilities to bridge that gap by developing and training the industry's current and future workforce in a technologically advanced environment designed with industry input."  Recently, Woodside Energy provided $12.5 million to support Rice University’s decarbonization initiative that aims to bring breakthrough decarbonization technology from the Rice labs to market, focusing on manufacturing products derived from captured carbon dioxide and methane.  Additionally, Accenture is also working to bridge the middle-skills gap in Houston’s emerging Hydrogen economy through its collaboration with the Partnership’s Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) and Upskill Houston. This effort will map key hydrogen careers and offer new opportunities for Houston’s disadvantaged communities to be part of the energy transition.    Learn more about Houston's Energy Transition Initiative.