EU clean‑energy jobs rise, but skilled labour is lacking

Brussels – Jobs linked to clean energy technologies are on the rise in the European Union, but the persistent shortage of skilled labour risks slowing future growth. This problem is compounded by the challenge of inclusion posed by the under-representation of women and young people in the renewables sector, according to a report published today (9 September) by the European Environment Agency (EEA). 

In 2024, employment in the global energy sector rose by 2.2 per cent, compared with 1.3 per cent growth in employment across the wider economy. Against this backdrop, the EU ranks second, with a total of 1.8 million jobs directly or indirectly linked to renewable energy. China ranks first, with 7 million jobs in the clean energy sector. 

Examining four clean energy technologies, the report explains that wind energy employs the most workers, with an estimated 273,500 direct jobs in the EU in 2023. 77 per cent of these are concentrated in the downstream activities segment (maintenance, energy contracting, and sales administration), followed by manufacturing. Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology directly employed over 227,000 people in 2023: around half were employed in operational activities, and 36 per cent in the construction segment (including infrastructure works, site preparation, and grid connection), although PV system production in the EU remains limited. The heat pump sector employed around 80,100 workers in 2023, mainly in the construction segment (65 per cent), and has significant potential for further growth across the EU. The battery sector, although smaller (around 33,000 workers), recorded the fastest employment growth among the four technologies over the period 2018–2023, with most jobs concentrated in manufacturing.

 Geographically, the situation across the EU is “uneven”. “Germany accounts for the largest absolute workforce in wind (125,000 jobs in 2023), solar PV (nearly 84,000 jobs) and batteries (12,300 jobs), though not the largest share of total employment,” the report explains. “Portugal, Spain and Italy lead in heat pump jobs, while Hungary and Poland show the fastest employment growth in batteries,” it adds. 

However, the report highlights that employment growth in the clean energy sector does not automatically translate into inclusive labour markets: female participation ranges from 26 per cent in the wind power and battery sectors to just 14 per cent in the heat pump sector; furthermore, in 2023, young workers (aged between 15 and 24) accounted for only 6–7 per cent of the workforce in the wind power, solar photovoltaic and heat pump sectors. 

For this reason, the EEA’s warning is clear: “Skill shortages threaten the deployment of clean energy technologies and most Member States report gaps in critical installation- and construction-related technical roles. Coordinated policy action is needed to expand training, reskilling and workforce availability at scale.”

According to the Agency, the quality of work also “varies considerably” depending on the technologies and segments of the value chain. “Wages in the heat pump sector are around 40 per cent lower than in wind, the highest-paid of the four sectors,” the report notes. Operations and maintenance roles, more common in wind energy, “tend to offer stable employment and stronger access to training. Construction and installation roles in solar PV and heat pumps are more project-based, more exposed to physical risks such as extreme temperatures, and offer fewer training opportunities.” Finally, “battery manufacturing’s impact on workers’ health and safety, as well as on local communities and the environment, remains a persistent source of concern.” In this context, the report calls for “coordinated policy action to expand training and reskilling, alongside improvements in job quality, to attract and retain workers in a sector facing acute shortages.”