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Is getting a job will be more difficult in 2023?

March 9, 2023

is getting a job will be more difficult this year

The nature of work is changing, perhaps more now than ever. Job roles are becoming more flexible, with remote working becoming popular. With these changes come different expectations and honing new skill sets. Here are some things to consider about the job market in 2023.

Each week, we answer your most burning questions about job search, interviews, and career. Have a question for an HR but haven’t had the chance or courage to ask? Just tweet it to @freesumes with the hashtag #AskAnHR and we might feature your question and your tweet in our next Ask an HR edition.

Remote or hybrid working

Everybody is different, and workplaces may consider the preferences of their employees when determining business operations. It is common for workers to only go into the office a few days a week. Depending on your role, you will need to prepare for the workplace policy that’s in place and how this reflects your needs. When considering a new job, ask about their hybrid working policy and take a critical look at what tasks you will need to perform, as this may be easier either from the home or the office.…

Facing More Responsibility at Work for The Same Pay? Here’s How to Respond

December 21, 2022

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| Resumes

Inflation and the rising cost of living literally leave less money in our pockets. But what about your job? Does the compensation still feel fair? If you’ve been dealing with a bump in responsibilities, but no equivalent increase in compensation, this post advises you on what to do.

Can My Employer Give Me More Responsibility Without More Pay?

Yes, legally your employer can increase your range of responsibilities without increasing your compensation. But it’s not an appropriate thing to do. Employees should be fairly compensated for extra responsibilities since they usually require more effort and skill to do. This is usually called “horizontal career growth” and it includes a salary bump.

Last year, employers increased salaries for executives, management, professional, and support staff by 3% on average. That’s after an average 2.7% increase in 2021.

However, more responsibilities may not always lead to higher pay. For example, you may not get an immediate salary increase if you took extra responsibilities:

As part of a training or development program
Temporarily to cover for another person
As part of your performance improvement plan (PIB)

In general, everyone’s situation is different.…

IEA Calls for More Diverse Solar PV Supply Chains

July 8, 2022

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| Industry News

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is urging the development of more diverse solar PV supply chains, suggesting the sector’s heavy reliance on China has led to imbalances that pose risks to its future growth.

A dedicated study of the world’s solar PV supply chain issued by the Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization on July 7 acknowledges that government policies in China have contributed to a cost decline for solar PV of more than 80% through economies of scale and continuous innovation. But because global manufacturing capacity for solar panels has increasingly moved out of Europe, Japan, and the U.S. and into China over the past decade, China’s share in all key solar panel manufacturing stages now exceeds 80%. For key elements, including polysilicon and wafers, China’s share “is set to rise to more than 95% in the coming years, based on current manufacturing capacity under construction,” the agency said.

However, this concentration of PV supply chains poses specific vulnerability and risks to the industry that the world is banking on to achieve substantial decarbonization, it said.…

India Plans to Reduce Coal-Fired Generation, and Mine More Coal

May 30, 2022

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| Industry News

India’s Power Ministry, despite the country facing shortages of electricity in recent years and as recently as the past month, said it plans to reduce the amount of power generation from at least 81 of the country’s 173 coal-fired power plants over the next four years.

The agency, in a letter dated May 26 that was sent to top federal government, state, and energy department officials, said the country needs to support renewable resources to maximize cleaner power generation and reduce energy costs. The agency, though, said the plan does not include closing older coal-fired power plants.

“The thermal power plants in [the] future shall operate up to the technical minimum to accommodate cheaper renewable energy when it is available,” the ministry said in the letter. The International Energy Agency has said India, with a population of about 1.4 billion, is expected to see its demand for electricity more than double by 2030. Much of that demand comes as more and more homes and offices install air conditioning.…

The More Heat Pumps the Merrier – Energy Technology Revolution

May 5, 2022

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| Energy Jobs

Heat pump devotees, do you support electrification policies but worry about leaking refrigerants contributing to climate change? Relax. Yes, refrigerants are a serious problem, but the climate benefits of replacing gas furnaces with heat pumps far outweighs the drawbacks. Learn why in my latest article.
Energy Central…

How Data—with Context—Will Drive a More Secure Energy Future

March 8, 2022

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I’ve come to depend on the navigation system in my car. It predicts traffic jams, gives me the fastest route, informs me of store hours, and even tells me where to get a burger. To give me this experience, the navigation system draws on multiple data sources, puts it into context, and presents it through a single interface.

In order to efficiently navigate the energy transition, operators in power and utilities must reach the same level of maturity with their data. With multiple sources of data from sensors, to outage logs, to images—all stored in various enterprise systems—this industry won’t be able to unlock the full value of its data until it’s combined, contextualized, and available with less effort. Only then can we use it for a reliable, resilient, green energy future.

Getting to this point will require power and utilities companies to conquer the first challenge: bringing all their data together. Data and information are still extremely siloed in this industry; tucked away in legacy systems, deliberately locked in vendor point solutions, or stored inside the minds of domain experts.…