Developing a competency model for Hong Kong energy engineers in transition: A mixed methods study

On the 13th of November 2021, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference concluded in Glasgow, United Kingdom, with representatives from nearly 200 countries promising further actions to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Renewable energy has taken the place of traditional fossil fuels in the fight against global warming. World leaders have pledged to take actions in this regard, with President Biden of the United States promising to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2030 and President Xi of China committing to achieve peak carbon emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. This national policy posed significant challenges to the energy sector of Hong Kong, a Chinese special administrative region. In the context of the global energy transition, this study aims to develop a competency model for Hong Kong energy engineers to utilize in preparing for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
The study applied an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach, with quantitative research followed by qualitative research. In the quantitative phase, snowball sampling was employed to recruit 57 energy engineering practitioners to complete a questionnaire survey regarding their perceived competencies. Nineteen survey respondents were invited to participate in a qualitative phase to elaborate on their perceptions through online individual semi-structured interviewing.
By integrating quantitative and qualitative data, the outcome of this study is a competency model for Hong Kong energy engineers, reflecting the essential competencies to deal with the energy transition. The model comprises 24 competencies categorized into four layers: engineering and academic knowledge, professional abilities and skills, key qualities, and morality and ethics.
The competency model is valuable in a variety of ways: energy engineering professionals can use it as a guide for continuing professional development; energy enterprises can use it as a standard for hiring, training, and promoting; and tertiary education institutions can use it as a reference for developing competency-based curricula for "energy engineers-to-be."