Two co-chairs have been appointed to lead the TIDE (Tackling Inclusion and Diversity in Energy) programme, which aims to promote positive change in the energy sector’s workforce.
Jane Cooper and Sandisiwe Dhlamini will take over from the inaugural chair, Celia Anderson, who stepped down at the end of last year.
Jane began her career as an engineer, working for Rolls Royce and Orange, before spending the past decade working for Danish offshore wind developer Orsted as Director of Regulatory and Stakeholder. She is now an executive director at RenewableUK where she works with government to remove barriers to delivering the UK’s offshore wind target.
She said:
“Sharing leadership with Sandisiwe on such an important topic like EDI is a real privilege. TIDE wants the energy sector to mirror the diverse range of people it serves – and that doubly applies to this initiative. Having co-chairs means the voice of TIDE will be twice as loud and active.”
Sandisiwe (Sandie) has previously worked in HR for government and is the EDI lead at The Pensions Regulator, where she led on a piece of work similar to TIDE. Sandisiwe was recently on Ofcom’s communications consumer panel as part of the UK Regulators Network’s next-generation non-executive director programme. She found the work of this panel to support older people, vulnerable people and those with disabilities eye opening.
She said:
“Jane and I come from different backgrounds, but we are both committed to reducing inequalities. There is no shortage of interest, good will or effort in EDI. But often the missing ingredient is clear direction and accountable delivery. We can’t wait to get stuck in and drive positive change across the energy sector through TIDE.”
TIDE was created in 2022 and is a collaborative effort by Ofgem, ENA, the Energy Institute and Energy UK to promote positive change in the energy sector’s workforce so that it reflects the diversity of its customers.
As part of this, one of TIDE’s key priorities is to build a better understanding of progress being made in the sector, and results from the Energy and Utilities Skills’ Inclusion Measurement Framework, which measures workforce characteristics, and TIDE’s Health Index, which benchmark’s EDI maturity, will be presented at the industry’s EDI in Energy Conference on 11 June.
The conference is hybrid, with the in-person event taking part at QEII, Westminster, and confirmed speakers include the CEOs of Ofgem, Energy UK, ENA and the Energy Institute as well as a Government minister, Baroness Sandy Verma and representation from Energy and Utility Skills, TIDE, Scope, Men for Inclusion, the Young Energy Professionals and more.
It is free to attend and registration is open! Book your place today by clicking here.