Europe’s clean-energy sector is creating jobs at a rapid pace. A new report warns that a shortage of electricians, plumbers, technicians and engineers could slow its expansion.

“Europe’s transition to climate neutrality is reshaping parts of its industrial base and labour markets,” the European Environment Agency said in a report published on Wednesday.

Europe’s wider clean-energy sector employed close to one million people and generated €138 billion in economic value in 2023. The agency examined four technologies central to the transition: wind energy, solar power, heat pumps and batteries.

Wind provided approximately 273,500 direct jobs, making it the largest employer among the four. Solar power accounted for more than 227,000, followed by heat pumps with around 80,100 and batteries with 33,000.

Most clean-energy jobs are outside manufacturing

Most clean-energy jobs are not located in factories. Approximately 77% of wind employment was in operations such as maintenance, energy contracting and administration. In solar power, almost half of the workforce worked in operations and another 36% in construction.

European solar manufacturers remain under pressure from higher production costs and an oversupply of cheaper Chinese panels. Battery production has expanded much faster, with employment growing by almost 35% annually between 2010 and 2023. Most of that growth occurred after 2018.

Employment is also concentrated in countries with an established industrial base. Germany had the largest workforces in wind, solar power and batteries. Hungary and Poland recorded the fastest battery-job growth, while Portugal, Spain and Italy led in heat pumps.

The findings complicate Europe’s attempt to connect climate policy with an industrial revival. The Industrial Accelerator Act would use public contracts and subsidies to encourage European production in strategic sectors, including clean technology. However, manufacturing support alone will not be enough if companies cannot find the workers required to expand factories, install equipment and maintain it.

New jobs may not reach declining regions

Clean-energy growth will not automatically replace every job lost in fossil-fuel and other carbon-intensive industries. New positions may emerge elsewhere or require different qualifications. The EEA therefore warns that regions reliant on older industries face particular difficulties if they lack the skills and investment needed to diversify.

The scale of the challenge has already required substantial public support. The EU’s Just Transition Fund has a budget of €19.7 billion for 2021–2027 to assist regions dependent on fossil fuels and high-emission industries. In Poland alone, approximately €2.4 billion supports restructuring and retraining intended to help 100,000 workers in Silesia and western Małopolska move towards renewable and climate-neutral industries.

Europe’s transition to climate neutrality is reshaping parts of its industrial base and labour markets.
— European Environment Agency

The agency argues that clean-technology investment must therefore be accompanied by retraining and support directed at particular regions. Otherwise, Europe could create more jobs overall while the workers and communities most affected by the transition struggle to benefit from them.

Jobs remain unequal and difficult to fill

Employment in wind and solar power could double by 2030, according to the agency’s projections. However, shortages of building electricians, plumbers, electrical mechanics, technicians and engineers already affect most EU countries. Insufficient training could delay clean-energy projects and weaken Europe’s climate and industrial ambitions.

The transition has not produced an inclusive workforce either. Women represented only 14% of heat-pump workers and 26% of those employed in wind and batteries. People aged between 15 and 24 accounted for just 6% to 7% of workers in wind, solar power and heat pumps.

The European Environment Agency called for greater investment in vocational education, retraining and job quality. Europe’s clean-energy transition may create more employment, but its success will also depend on whether those opportunities reach the workers and regions losing older industries.