Tens of thousands of high skill jobs to be filled in wind energy

Tens of thousands of high skill jobs need to be filled to continue the high growth rates of the global market for wind energy technology. The biggest need is for technical profiles. For the first time at the European Wind Energy Conference (EWEC) today, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) held a specialised job fair, bringing 300 potential employees and 30 of the sector’s leading companies together within the professional framework of EWEC.

“A very large part of our lives is spent at work and people are paying more and more attention to the products and services they help produce. The wind energy business needs to fill tens of thousands of jobs over the coming years to sustain the high growth” said Christian Kjaer, EWEA’s Chief Executive. “Above all, Europe needs to educate far more technical staff and engineers to maintain its global leadership position in wind energy,” he continued.

The wind energy sector employs thousands of people in Germany, Denmark and Spain - all pioneering countries in wind energy - where it has given local economies a significant boost. In Spain, a total of 35,000 jobs related to wind have been created, and 80,000 in Germany – of which 28,000 come from the machinery industry alone. There are 21,600 jobs of this nature in Denmark.(1) EWEA uses a tentative figure of 150,000 wind energy-related jobs in the EU altogether. According to the EC-funded MITRE project report, this could more than double by 2020, providing 368,000 new jobs in Europe.

The most sought-after profiles are in areas such as electrical or mechanical engineering, aerodynamics, project development, installation, and operations and maintenance. However, the rapid growth rate of the companies in the wind energy sector also requires a broad range of managerial profiles.

Visitors to the job fair were all very enthusiastic about wind energy and the career paths it offers. Fabrice Schurmans from Belgium, a bio-engineering student, said, “Renewable energies – and wind energy in particular – can help European energy independence. Wind energy is becoming ever more important, so I want to get involved now.” Patricia Sánchez from Spain, studying for a Master’s in Fluid Mechanics, agreed. “Wind energy is a sector which is going to grow and grow - it offers great employment opportunities.”

The 30 organisations that participated in the job fair included: 3E - Airtricity - Alstom - Clipper Windpower - Colruyt - Electrabel - Electrawinds NV - Enercon - Gamesa - GL Group - Harakosan Europe B.V - ISET - LM Glasfiber - Mecal - Nuon-WEOM - Pauwels International NV - Proven Energy - REpower Systems AG - Risø DTU - SAMTECH - Siemens - Wind Power A/S - SINTEF Energy Research - Smulders - Valorem and Valréa SAS - Wind Prospect Group - WindVision - Winwind Oy