The EU wind energy sector skills gap

The European wind industry has grown rapidly. Installed capacity has increased from around 13 GW in 2000 to more than 100 GW in 2012. A consequence of this has been a failure for skills development to keep pace. This report shows that the European wind industry can play a key role in combatting unemployment.

Nearly 50,000 additional trained staff will be needed by the industry by 2030. By that year, operations and maintenance will become the greatest source of new jobs and demand for trained staff.

There is currently a shortage of 7,000 qualified personnel required by the European wind energy sector each year, a figure that could increase to 15,000 by 2030 if the number of graduates taking courses relevant to the industry does not rise.

• Estimates of the gap in available training courses and forecasts trends up to 2030.
• The findings of surveys and interviews with industry stakeholders.
• Analysis of research by skills area.
• Identification of areas for action and proposes policy initiatives.

http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/files/library/publications/reports/Workers_Wanted_TPwind.pdf