German energy transition and climate adaptation efforts face labour shortage

The demand for skilled labour to implement Germany’s energy transition could amount to up to nearly 160,000 additional jobs that need to be filled by 2030, the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) has found. The institute also found that another 40,000 additional workers will be needed to implement climate adaptation measures in the coming 15 years.

Labour demand will rise in the construction sector, in the energy industry, in agriculture and forestry, and in information technology, as well as in supplying industries, the IAB found. However, the institute warned that demographic changes could mean that the number of filled positions will decrease rather than grow in the relevant industries, meaning that labour shortages could become a significant obstacle to implementing climate action and adaptation measures.

Especially jobs in the subgroups energy engineering, electrical engineering, structural engineering, and building supplies production proved difficult to fill in an analysis by the institute. “We have to recruit available workers and then train them in a way that makes the best use of the labour supply in shrinking industries,” said IAB researcher Christian Schneemann. Other options for alleviating labour shortages would include better advertisement for technical jobs to career entrants, migration of skilled workers, easier recognition of qualification certificates attained abroad, reducing dropout quotas, and more targeted recruiting of female and older workers, the researcher added.

The IAB report adds to earlier German research, which warns that a lack of skills and knowledge could jeopardise urgently needed climate adaptation measures. Europe's ageing buildings are particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects of climate change, with homes increasingly threatened by floods or at risk of becoming unbearably hot to live in. The job of adapting the spaces where Europeans live to better withstand rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events has yet to emerge as an important issue, industry representatives have said.

While energy industry companies struggle to find qualified staff, a recent comment by economy minister Katherina Reiche about the option to phase out support for small-scale solar PV installations has led to concerns over a possible wave of layoffs in the solar power sector, newspaper Münchner Merkur reported. As potential solar investors become uncertain regarding possible returns due to disputes over support mechanisms, they are reluctant to finance new projects and thus reduce orders, Peter Knuth, head of solar power worker association BDSH, told the newspaper. People who were just trained to make the energy transition happen on the ground could now be facing job losses, Knuth said. “Once these skilled workers are out of the industry, it’s difficult to get them back in.”

The solar industry representative, who also owns and runs the solar power company Enerix, told the newspaper that the BDSH aimed to “point out that jobs are at risk because of statements made by economy minister Reiche.” He argued the government should readjust its focus in energy policy and push transition technologies such as smart meters or bi-directional charging instead of “undermining trust and demand” by sowing uncertainty among investors.