Solar companies in Europe are heading towards an impending personnel shortage. The greatest need for skilled workers is in Germany. This could become a problem for the energy transition in the coming years.
The European solar industry is expecting a need for several hundred thousand additional skilled workers in the next few years. What is needed in particular are construction craftsmen for assembly as well as planning and electrical engineers, as shown in a report by the European umbrella organization Solar Power Europe (SPE).
According to this, the solar sector in the EU created 648,000 full-time jobs by last year. According to calculations, by 2027 – if the solar energy boom continues – there could be 1.2 million full-time jobs needed.
“Can’t implement enough projects”
The industry is concerned that a labor shortage could become a problem for hoped-for growth in solar energy. “Too few employees in renewable energies mean that not enough projects can be implemented,” said Sanda Bozic, human resources manager at Baywa re, a large project developer for solar systems with branches in 31 countries and based in Munich.
The greatest need for skilled workers is in Germany. Last year, according to the PES report, Poland was at the top with almost 147,000 full-time jobs, followed by Spain with a good 103,000. In Germany there are almost 96,000.
But according to the Solar Association, that will soon change: the study authors expect there to be over 210,000 full-time jobs in Germany by 2027. That would be more than a doubling. This would put Germany at the top, ahead of Spain and Poland.
Stronger demand due to new energy targets
“The ambitious installation targets in almost all European countries mean that the demand for workers in the renewable energy sector – and in the solar sector in particular – is increasing faster than elsewhere,” said Bozic, Baywa re’s head of human resources for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
When it comes to technical professional groups, the solar industry is in competition with energy suppliers, the automotive industry and even large IT companies. Both the association and the company are therefore calling for more political commitment to make training and studies in technical professions more popular again.