Pact for Skills: Launch of large-scale renewable energy skills partnership
Today, renewable energy trade associations and representatives of installers of clean technologies, with the support of the European Commission, have set up a large-scale skills partnership for the renewable energy industrial ecosystem. They aim to empower workers with the skills needed for the manufacturing and management of renewable energy technologies to achieve the EU’s energy and climate objectives for 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. The partnership will do so by enabling quality job creation and career paths in Europe, proposing policy recommendations to advance skills development, involving relevant national authorities, education institutions, especially vocational education and training institutions, and training platforms; and attracting more women to clean energy-related jobs.
Overall, around 1.3 million persons were employed in the EU renewable energy sector in 2020. This number is set to increase following the accelerated deployment of clean energy solutions. Accounting for all renewable energy sectors, achieving our REPowerEU targets will require the creation of over 3.5 million jobs by 2030. For instance, the skills needs for the biomethane and heat pumps sectors are estimated at more than 1 million workers by the year 2030, according to industry. In the photo-voltaic solar energy sector, the industry estimate also amounts to 1 million workers by 2030, with up to 66,000 jobs needed in manufacturing alone.
Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said: “Reskilling and upskilling workers across all industrial ecosystems is essential for our twin transition objectives. The renewable energy skills partnerships will contribute to the Net Zero Industry Act objectives, creating growth and jobs while reducing dependencies.”
Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, said: “Well-trained workers are essential for the many jobs created in the renewable energy ecosystem and therefore a prerequisite for a successful transition to carbon neutrality The new large-scale skills partnership for renewable energy will ensure the sector remains competitive and relevant to the energy market’s evolving demands.”
Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, said: “This large-scale partnership under the Pact for Skills will help the massive deployment of renewables that we need for the clean energy transition. It will also help us achieve the 2030 REPowerEU targets for renewable energy, which require the creation of millions of jobs across all renewables’ sectors.”
Following commitments in other industrial ecosystems, this 15th skills partnership is a concrete implementation of the Pact for Skills, the flagship initiative under the European Skills Agenda. It will underpin the objectives set out in the recently presented Net-Zero Industry Act, following up on the Green Deal Industrial Plan, the REPowerEU plan and the European Year of Skills. It also contributes to the EU headline target that by 2030, at least 60% of all adults should participate in training every year. Since the launch of the Pact, more than 1,000 organisations have pledged to reskill over 6 million people in Europe.
(For more information: Veerle Nuyts — Tel.: +32 2 299 63 02; Sonya Gospodinova – Tel.: +32 2 296 69 53; Tim McPhie – Tel.: +32 2 295 86 02)
