Not Just Solar Panels and Wind Turbines: The Energy Transition Needs Thousands of Skilled Workers

For years, the symbols of the energy transition were solar panels and wind turbines. Now a growing problem is appearing elsewhere: the energy still has to be transmitted, stored and delivered to where it is needed.

That is why electricity grids, energy storage and transmission infrastructure are becoming one of the most important areas of investment in the energy sector.

And with them grows the importance of the people who can design, build and maintain that infrastructure.

The power is there, but it cannot always be connected

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that projects with a combined capacity of more than 2,500 GW are currently waiting to be connected to the grid. They include renewable power plants, energy storage, data centres and large industrial users.

That shows the scale of the problem. Building a solar farm or a data centre is not enough if the local grid is not ready for the extra capacity. Long waits for grid connections are a familiar issue in the UK too.

That is why, according to the IEA, global investment in grids needs to rise by around 50% by 2030 from the current level of roughly 400 billion dollars a year.

The biggest constraint may be a shortage of people

Building energy infrastructure takes more than money and equipment.

It takes specialists, and many countries are already short of them.

The IEA reports that more than half of the companies, trade unions and education institutions it surveyed in the energy sector have serious problems recruiting skilled workers.

The most sought-after roles include:

• electricians and electrical fitters,
• overhead line and cable workers,
• power engineers,
• plant operators and technicians,
• energy storage specialists,
• automation and control systems specialists.

Technical, hands-on roles are now among the hardest to fill in the energy sector.

Energy has become one of the biggest employers

The change is already visible in employment data.

According to the IEA, the electricity sector has become the largest employer in the entire energy industry, overtaking fuels.

Over five years, employment in power generation, grids, distribution and storage grew by a total of around 3.9 million people.

And this is not only about highly qualified engineers. More than half of energy workers are in practical, technical trades.

New skills are appearing alongside existing trades

An electrician is still an electrician, but the job can look very different from how it did a decade or two ago.

On top of traditional installations come battery storage, electric vehicle chargers, smart grids, solar PV, heat pumps and digital energy monitoring systems. Many of these jobs are advertised for installers who combine a core trade with product-specific training.

So the energy transition does not just mean brand-new professions. More often, it means expanding the skills within professions that already exist. In the UK, this is closely tied to the government's goal of clean power by 2030, which depends on upgrading the grid as much as on building new generation.

For technical workers, that can be good news. Gaining extra qualifications or learning new systems can significantly increase the number of jobs you can apply for. Graduates have openings too, for example as a graduate engineer in power and infrastructure.

Grids may become more important than the power stations themselves

Building a new solar farm can take a year or two. Expanding a major transmission network can take more than a decade.

That is why grid infrastructure is becoming one of the main bottlenecks of the energy transition.

Without people who can design and build it, some investment in renewables, data centres and electric transport may simply have to wait in the queue.

In the coming years, the energy transition may be associated less with panels and turbines alone, and more with cables, substations, battery storage and the skilled workers who can connect it all together.

They may well become one of the most sought-after groups of workers in the new energy economy.

Have the skills the grid needs? Browse current electrician jobs in the UK on Jober.