With the Green Deal and its REPowerEU agenda, the EU is a front runner in the global clean energy transition. This transition not only addresses environmental concerns but is also vital from a social perspective and ensuring access to affordable energy for all.
Last year, the EU topped the rank in terms of global renewable energies deployment, together with China and before the US. Wind and solar energy represented 22% of the EU’s electricity production, overtaking natural gas for the first time.
However, such a leadership in renewable energy is not matched by an equally strong position in the manufacturing of net-zero energy technologies. The question of how to secure a strong industrial base in the EU in this fast-growing sector and ensure our strategic autonomy without creating new dependencies is a top priority.
In this debate, there is one factor that is often neglected: the importance of human capital. The 2023 Competitiveness of Clean Technologies Report just released by the European Commission gives us a stark reminder.
The EU will need to create 3.5 million new quality jobs in the renewable energy sector to meet its targets. This means more than doubling the existing workforce.
Employment in the EU’s renewable energy sector reached 1.5 million in 2021, a 12% growth compared to 2020, outpacing employment growth in the overall economy. But the job vacancy rate in clean energy manufacturing doubled between 2019 and 2023, creating significant skills shortages.
Energy and manufacturing are among the sectors with the highest training needs in terms of technical and job-specific skills, with over half of the workforce in need of upskilling. Something must be done to invert this trend.
Launched in May 2023, the EU is celebrating the European Year of Skills. A year dedicated to shifting towards a culture of continuous training and a year dedicated to boost implementation of skills policies across the EU.
Under the EU’s Pact for Skills, we have set in motion several public-private partnerships to upskill and reskill our labour force, especially in digital, green and technical areas. These partnerships bring together employers, trade unions, public employment services, regional authorities and others to identify what skills are needed in different sectors of the economy and to make pledges to provide training.
So far, the pact has more than 1,500 members, with 18 large-scale partnerships in place. Members of the pact have invested around €160 million into training activities so far, with two million people already having benefitted.
The EU needs to create 3.5 million quality jobs in renewable energy
EU funds are playing a pivotal role in Europe’s skills revolution. Overall, EU funds comprise around €65 billion to invest in skills programmes. The National Energy and Climate Plans also offer a useful tool for member states for the strategic planning of energy-related skills.
Earlier this year, the European Commission put forward the Green Deal Industrial Plan and the Net-Zero Industry Act. Both will boost the EU’s competitiveness by accelerating permitting, facilitating funding access and enhancing skills development in the EU.
A Skills Academy set up in 2022 by the European Battery Alliance is already coordinating reskilling at European level, providing high-quality training across member states to meet the demand for around 800,000 skilled workers needed in this growing sector. Through the Net-Zero Industry Act, other net-zero sectors will follow suit.
Reskilling and upskilling should particularly be attentive to attract more women to the sectors. The EU’s energy sector is facing a persistent gender employment gap with only 26.6% of the workforce in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector made up of women in 2022. Investments into the skills of the workforce should thus be tailored to increase participation of women in these new clean-tech jobs, starting with campaigns in schools to get more girls to take STEM subjects.
The clean energy transition offers an unprecedented opportunity for quality job creation. To reap the benefits for our workers, we need to invest heavily in people. Now it’s time for EU member states to think forward and put in place sustainable active labour market policies to ensure that, in years to come, Europe will have the scientists, engineers, installers and all other skilled workers needed to build its clean energy future.
Nicolas Schmit is European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights. Kadri Simson is European Commissioner for Energy.