TORONTO – What will you do when the lights go out? With too few labourers to run generators, erect power lines and install electrical wiring, communities across Canada could soon face power interruptions.

According to the Electricity Sector Council’s 2008 Powering Up the Future study, the anticipated labour shortage is so critical that the electricity sector will need to recruit at least 25,000 new employees over the next six years to keep pace with the country’s growing appetite for energy. Engineers, technicians, technologists, trades people—everyone will be in demand.

The Electricity Sector Council’s biennial electricity and renewable energy industry conference, Bright Futures in Canada Conference: Building Talent for a Powerful Tomorrow, May 19 - 21, 2009 at the Marriott Eaton Centre Hotel in Toronto, ON, will address key human resource strategies to help organizations develop a skilled, safe and sustainable workforce now and in the future and will also cover topics on Council’s research and program initiatives.

The ESC Bright Futures Conference is the only conference in Canada dedicated to the workforce of the electricity and renewable energy industry.