The number employed in the UK renewables sector increased by 65% between 2017-2022…
According to the 2024 Annual Review of Renewable Energy & Jobs by IRENA*, 16.2 million people were employed directly or indirectly in the global Renewable Energy sector in 2023. Of these, 1.8m are based in the EU and 240k in the rest of Europe (including the UK).
… employed directly or indirectly in the global sector in 2023 …
… are based in the EU …
… in the rest of Europe including the UK
Evolution of global Renewable Energy employment by technology, 2012-2023
Global Renewable Energy employment by technology, 2023 (thousands)
Solar photovoltaic 7,107
Liquid biofuels 2,803
Hydropower 2,324
Wind energy 1,457
Solid biomass 765
Solar heating/cooling 681
Heat pumps 375
Biogas 316
Geothermal energy 160
CSP 118
Others 103
Municipal and industrial waste 26
Renewable Energy employment in selected countries and regions, 2023 (thousands)
Across the EU, Solar is the leading employer within the renewables market, with wind power coming in third. In the UK, however, wind power remains the leading source of renewable energy and a key sectoral employer.
Estimated direct and indirect jobs in Renewable Energy by technology, 2023
FTE positions in the UK renewables industry, 2017-22
Source: Matchtech analysis of ONS Low Carbon & renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) Survey, 2022
According to the latest survey-based estimates amongst employers in the sector, direct employment in renewable energy is reported to have been about 57,000 FTE positions in 2022 – an increase of 65% over 5 years and up 12% YoY. Jobs within Renewable Heat and combined heat and Power lead – and continue to climb sharply. Within Wind, whilst the number in onshore jobs appears to have peaked, they continued to rise in offshore. Numbers also rose sharply into 2022 within Solar.
Amongst other ‘green jobs’ – of which the research estimates 272,400 in total across the Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) - 23,100 FTEs were working in nuclear power in 2022, Low-emission vehicles and infrastructure weighed in with 34,800 jobs, and fuel cells and energy storage systems engaged 5,600. Companies within the Energy Efficiency Products segment employed (116,100) the most, however the numbers appear to have peaked.
FTEs in other key ‘green jobs’ sectors, 2017-22
Source: Matchtech analysis of ONS Low Carbon & renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) Survey, 2022
As an indication of the growth potential of UK wind alone, RenewableUK, the Offshore Wind Industry Council, the Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland jointly published (in 2024) a detailed industrial growth plan for tripling the United Kingdom’s offshore wind manufacturing capacity over the next decade, potentially supporting an additional 10,000 jobs per year.* The plan proposes prioritising investment in the design and manufacture of advanced blades and towers, foundations, cables and other components, and includes plans for a national offshore wind innovation hub and an institute for advanced turbine technology. The report also highlights the need to build the required workforce, support SME development and foster co-operation through regional clusters.
Enhance Sector Capability and Workforce
There are an estimated 30,000 people working across the offshore wind sector today and around 1,500 organisations providing materials and services to the sector. The expansion of the supply chain requires the continued growth of these organisations and the fostering of additional people and companies to enter the sector.
Training facilities and cross-sector collaboration will be essential in fostering relationships between all parts of the supply chain to facilitate the growth of the UK’s SME base and establish the UK as a top employment destination and attract the diversity of talent required.
The recommendations are intended to build the capability at all levels across the UK and ensure there is the workforce and diversity of capability needed for the future.
Build the sector’s workforce
Implementation of the Offshore Wind People & Skills Plan to create jobs, develop high-level skills and build a diverse workforce for the future that is required between now and 2030, to support delivery of the UK’s clean energy, net zero and energy security targets.
OWIC, Cross-sector - MEDIUM level of urgency
Expand partnerships with knowledge transfer hubs of research such as the Aura Centre or the Supergen Offshore Renewable Energy Hub to bring new technologies into the market to answer key industry pain points.
Developers, Academia. RTOs - MEDIUM level of urgency
Expand on existing offshore wind training centre to address near-term skills challenges in areas such as welding, electrical technicians and commissioning engineers to provide the UK with sufficient talent to support domestic deployment and attract international organisations to train their workforce in the UK.
Training providers, OWIC, Industry - HIGH level of urgency
Launch a marketing campaign targeting small and medium enterprises working on novel technologies for floating offshore wind to raise awareness of the existing R&D support programs available across the Catapults.
Catapults - MEDIUM level of urgency
Build on the Workforce Foresighting approach pioneered by ORE Catapult, and sponsored by RenewableUK, to identify future workforce capability requirements in more detail.
ORE Catapult, RenewableUK - MEDIUM level of urgency
Expand on the work with key offshore energy industry organisations to further promote and facilitate cross-sector mobilisation of the workforce between offshore sectors and facilitate capability growth in offshore wind.
OWIC - MEDIUM level of urgency
Regional Cluster Collaboration
Increase collaboration and co-ordination across the eight regional Clusters through the development of a Cluster Plan to promote the growth of the local supply chains and support localised investment to build on existing areas of specialisms.
Delivery Body, OWIC, SOWEC, Clusters - HIGH level of urgency
Support SME development
Expand the support services for SMEs through an expansion or addition to OWGPs Wind Expert Support Toolkit, Ft 4 Offshore Renewables and Sharing in Growth Offshore Wind programmes to future UK capabilities and grow domestic capacity
OWGP, Delivery Body - MEDIUM level of urgency
Explore the implementation of a centralised procurement platform or mandating the use of the NSTA Energy Pathfinder platform for CfD awarded developments to use, akin to the Find a Tender service, to increase visibility of tenders of UK developments, facilitate access for small and medium enterprises allowing exposure of contractors to UK capability ultimately fostering the SME community
DESNZ - MEDIUM level of urgency
Develop a support program to provide resources to OEMs and SMEs to co-develop their business case and help appraise investment opportunities and connect the to potential funding opportunities
Delivery Body, OEMs, SMEs - LOW level of urgency
The OWIC People & Skills Plan, which will be jointly owned, implemented and monitored across industry through the Offshore Wind Industry Council, is to create quality jobs, develop high-level skills and build a diverse workforce for the future that is required between now and 2030, to support delivery of the UK’s clean energy, net zero and energy security targets.
A key challenge associated with growing demand for workers within the renewables sector, however, is that demand within traditional energy sectors remains strong.
“As the energy transition gathers pace, there is an increasing need for energy talent. The global demand for oil and gas is projected to remain roughly stable, while indicators point to substantial growth in supply from new energy sources by 2035. The energy industry is therefore facing two significant and interacting areas of talent demand: securing talent to build and run fast-growing new energy businesses and maintaining core talent for traditional oil and gas production."
McKinsey & Company: Talent squeeze: Planning for the energy sector’s talent transition.
As such, in addition to industry-led People & Skills plans, individual employers will need to develop strategic talent plans based on facts rather than intuition, which could include an analysis of critical capability and skills needs, talent availability and a view on talent transition - which factors in average tenure, retirement plans, other drivers of attrition, etc.
And in relation to competition for talent, the Energy sector is not a key destination location for emerging STEM talent, attracting just 3% of Engineering & Technology graduates, 1% of Physical Sciences and 1% of Mathematics graduates from the class of 2020/21 (measured 16 months after graduating).
Industry destination class of 2021/22 Graduates
Engineering & Technology
Manufacturing 29%
Prof, Scientific & Technical 23%
Construction 8%
Info & Comm 6%
Wholesale & Retail 5%
Education 5%
Public Admin & Defence 4%
Electricity, Gas, Steam & Air Con 3%
Transport & Storage 3%
Human Health & Social Work 2%
Finance & Insurance 2%
Accom & Food Service 2%
Admin & Support Services 2%
Arts, Ent & Recreation 1%
Utilities 1%
Other 4%
Source: Matchtech analysis of HESA data
Physical Sciences
Prof, Scientific & Technical 20%
Education 16%
Manufacturing 15%
Info & Comm 10%
Info & Comm 10%
Wholesale & Retail 7%
Public Admin & Defence 6%
Human Health & Social Work 6%
Finance & Insurance 5%
Accom & Food Service 4%
Admin & Support Services 2%
Arts, Ent & Recreation 2%
Electricity, Gas, Steam & Air Con 1%
Utilities 1%
Construction 1%
Transport & Storage 1%
Other 3%
Source: Matchtech analysis of HESA data
Mathematics
Finance & Insurance 22%
Prof, Scientific & Technical 17%
Education 16%
Info & Comm 15%
Wholesale & Retail 6%
Manufacturing 5%
Public Admin & Defence 4%
Human Health & Social Work 3%
Accom & Food Service 3%
Admin & Support Services 3%
Arts, Ent & Recreation 2%
Electricity, Gas, Steam & Air Con 1%
Transport & Storage 1%
Construction 1%
Other 1%
Source: Matchtech analysis of HESA data
And even once talent has been secured, there is no guarantee that people with in-demand skills will remain in the sector. Research by McKinsey evidenced that, between 2016 and 2022, out of all the employees who left their roles in energy and materials companies, 42% moved to a different industry.*
As such, employers within the Renewables sector will also need to work hard on their Employer Value Proposition (EVP) and partner with those who hold strong relationships within talent networks spanning all industries where STEM skills are in demand.
* McKinsey & Company: Great Attrition, Great Attraction 2.0 Global Survey 2023
Key takeaways and recommendations:
The number employed in the UK Renewables industries increased by 65% between 2017-22 and 12% between 2021/22. And with significant planned growth in the Wind Industry in the UK, it is anticipated that workforce requirements will continue to significantly increase.
A key challenge associated with growing demand for workers within the Renewables sector, however, is that demand within traditional energy sectors remains strong. The sector is not a destination location for emerging talent and is struggling hard to secure the talent that it has which other sectors want to lure away from it.
Key to successfully ensuring that the sector has the talent that it needs to support its growth potential are strategic talent planning – at a national and individual company level - the elevation of the Employer Value Proposition amongst employers in the sector and partnering with those who hold strong relationships within talent networks that span all industries that are competing for in-demand STEM skills.