Germany faces shortage of 300,000 workers by 2030 as demand for jobs in renewable industry rises – report

A shortage of at least 300,000 skilled workers by 2030 looms over Germany as demand for jobs in the country's renewable energy industry sector rises, according to an analysis conducted by the German Economic Institute (IW). Hundreds of thousands of skilled workers are needed in the solar and wind power sectors before the end of the decade to achieve Germany's renewable expansion targets, IW highlighted in its 'job monitor' report commissioned by the Bertelsmann Foundation. Between 2019 and 2022, demand for employees in the solar and wind power sectors increased by 91 percent, with sanitary, heating and air conditioning tradespeople, building electricians and project managers being especially sought after, according to the analysis of around 14 million online job advertisements. "The sharp rise in demand in the wind and solar sectors shows one thing above all: in order to manage the expansion of renewable energies, we need to invest significantly more in the training and further education of workers," report author Jana Fingerhut said.

The lack of skilled workers has been identified as one of the greatest challenges for implementing Germany’s ambitious renewable power expansion targets and other energy transition-related activities. The country aims to generate 80 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and become climate neutral by 2045. To achieve those targets, it plans to install 215 gigawatts (GW) of solar power, 115 GW of onshore wind and 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. However, a shortage of skilled workers threatens to become a bottleneck in the energy transition. Globally, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) expects there to be a shortage of seven million skilled workers that would be needed for the necessary climate and energy projects by 2030.