There seems to be no end in sight to the shortage of skilled workers to power the increasing demand for energy across the world, and the EU is no exception.
The recently released “Workers wanted: The EU wind energy sector skills gap” report points to a worrying statistic — the European wind industry is facing an annual shortage of 7,000 skilled staff at present. What’s more, that figure is expected to hit 15,000 in 2030 if the industry and academia don’t take measures, the European Wind Energy Technology Platform (TPWind) says in the study – based on research by renewables consultancy GL Garrad Hassan.
In 2030, the EU wind energy industry is to require almost 50,000 additional skilled workers. The majority of jobs will be in the operations and maintenance (O&M) area, which has the biggest need for trained employees.
In the past 12 years, Europe has seen its wind power capacity surge from 13 GW at the start of the millennium to over 100 GW in 2012. It has been hard for skills development to keep up and the gap between skills and jobs in the renewables sector is expanding. In a survey by TPWind, 78% of the polled sector firms said they “found it difficult or very difficult to find suitably trained staff”.
According to the report, there are several steps that can help improve the situation. TPWind calls for the introduction of a framework to synchronise the collaboration between the wind sector and academia. It also recommends the introduction of industry experience into training and education, as well as a stronger emphasis on O&M training. The report also points to the importance of targeted courses for people from the industry on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
If you are looking for opportunities in the Wind sector, click here and make sure you’ve registered on our site to receive email alerts direct to your inbox, and upload your CV so recruiters can contact you directly.
