There is a shortage of skilled workers in the solar and wind industry. The increasing shortage of qualified employees could slow down the energy transition, according to a recent study.
The shortage of skilled workers in Germany is also affecting the expansion of renewable energies. Technicians are desperately needed, especially in the solar industry, but the number of vacancies in wind power is also increasing. This was revealed by the job monitor of the German Economic Institute (IW) on behalf of the Bertelsmann Foundation.
The situation in the solar industry is particularly critical. The number of online job advertisements there was 52,000 in 2022, more than doubling compared to 2019. In the first six months of the current year, 36,000 job advertisements were placed in the solar sector, which points to a new record year. For the study, the researchers said they analyzed 14 million online job advertisements from 2019 to June 2023 for 190 professions in the wind and solar industry.
Desperately looking for a roofer
The most sought-after jobs in the solar industry are plumbing, heating and air conditioning specialists, construction electricians and project managers. The biggest increase in job vacancies has now been for roofers: according to the study, almost every fourth job for a roofer now comes from solar companies; in 2019 it was almost every tenth job.
According to the evaluation, there is the most expansion in solar energy in the south of Germany, but the east is also growing. As a result, most of the vacancies in 2022 were in Saxony, Brandenburg, Berlin and Bavaria.
Specialists wanted across Europe
According to a report from the European umbrella organization Solar Power Europe (SPE) in October, the solar industry across Europe is also reporting an enormous need for additional skilled workers. According to this, 648,000 “full-time equivalents” had already been created in the sector by last year, and by 2027 there could be 1.2 million. According to the SPE, the greatest need for skilled workers is in Germany.
But skilled workers are also needed in wind power, but the dynamics here are less pronounced. There is only a slight increase in offers in the wind industry – the number of job offers in online job advertisements in the solar sector, however, has doubled in recent years, according to the study.
More investment required
According to the study, around 130,000 people currently work in the wind industry in Germany and 58,500 in the solar sector. According to Bertelsmann labor market expert Jana Fingerhut, “the sharp increase in demand in the areas of wind and solar shows one thing above all: in order to expand renewable energies, we have to invest significantly more in the training and further education of workers.”
According to federal states, the most job advertisements in the wind industry in 2022 were in Bremen, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. Of the 401 districts in Germany, there were twelve without a single job offer from 2019 to 2022 – seven of which were in Bavaria, where the expansion of wind energy had since come to a standstill.
The most frequently sought-after profession is technician. According to the study, demand has almost doubled in the past four years. This is followed by advertisements for project managers and construction electricians.
Competition across the entire labor market is intensifying
The high demand for qualified workers in the wind and solar sector has an impact on the entire labor market in Germany. According to the study authors, competition for the already scarce skilled workers is intensifying there. That’s why jobs in the field of renewable energies need to be made better known and more attractive.