The Skills Powering the Energy Transition: What Employers Need Now

For employers across the energy, engineering and infrastructure sectors, securing the right technical expertise is becoming one of the defining workforce challenges of the decade.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that more than half of the energy organisations participating in its latest employment survey experienced critical hiring bottlenecks. Around 60% said labour shortages were already creating risks for project timelines, reliability and cost control.

As projects multiply and competition for experienced professionals grows, businesses need to understand not only which technologies will shape the energy transition, but which skills will make those technologies possible.

The Energy Transition Is Creating a Skills Transition

Global renewable energy employment reached approximately 16.6 million jobs in 2024, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and International Labour Organization. While technology and automation continue to transform how projects are delivered, workforce development remains fundamental to future growth.

The challenge is that many of the professionals needed to deliver tomorrow’s energy infrastructure are already highly sought after today.

Energy companies are competing not only with one another, but with sectors including construction, manufacturing, life sciences, data centres and advanced technology for engineers, project managers, electrical specialists and skilled trades.

The result is an increasingly competitive talent market.

For employers, workforce planning therefore needs to happen alongside project planning rather than once construction or commissioning begins.

1. Electrical and Power Systems Engineering

Electrification sits at the centre of much of the energy transition.

More renewable generation means greater demand for grid connections, transmission infrastructure, substations, interconnectors, distribution upgrades and increasingly sophisticated power-management systems.

That creates strong demand for professionals including:

• Electrical engineers
• Power systems engineers
• Grid connection specialists
• Protection and control engineers
• HV and MV engineers
• Commissioning engineers
• Electrical project managers

The IEA identifies applied technical roles, including electrical power-line workers and engineers, among occupations experiencing significant workforce constraints. Grid workforces also face demographic pressures as experienced workers approach retirement.

For employers, candidates who combine core electrical engineering expertise with knowledge of renewable generation, grid integration and modern digital energy systems are likely to become particularly valuable.

2. Project Management and Major Infrastructure Delivery

The energy transition is ultimately an enormous infrastructure programme.

Wind farms, solar facilities, substations, transmission systems, battery projects, hydrogen infrastructure and conventional energy projects all require professionals capable of moving complex projects from design through construction and commissioning.

That means continued demand for experienced:

• Project managers
• Construction managers
• Package managers
• Project engineers
• Planning and scheduling professionals
• Quantity surveyors
• Cost engineers
• Contracts and commercial specialists

Technical knowledge remains important, but employers increasingly need professionals who can coordinate multidisciplinary teams, manage contractors, control costs and schedules, navigate supply-chain disruption and deliver safely in highly regulated environments.

For major energy projects, project-delivery capability may prove just as important as access to the technology itself.

3. Offshore Wind and Marine Expertise

Offshore wind illustrates the scale of the emerging skills challenge particularly clearly.

Ireland, for example, has ambitions to deliver at least 5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, with a long-term target of 37 GW by 2050. Government analysis has identified recruitment challenges across 33 critical roles required to support offshore wind delivery.

These requirements extend far beyond turbine engineering.

Future projects require expertise across engineering, construction, marine operations, environmental assessment, grid connections, project management and supply chains.

This creates significant opportunities for professionals already working in adjacent industries. Engineers with experience in oil and gas, marine engineering, heavy construction and major infrastructure may possess highly transferable capabilities.

For employers, that means the solution to a talent shortage may not always be finding someone who has already held exactly the same position. Increasingly, successful recruitment will involve identifying transferable expertise.

4. Mechanical, Civil and Structural Engineering

While the energy system is becoming increasingly digital and electrical, traditional engineering disciplines remain essential.

Every new energy asset still needs to be designed, constructed, maintained and operated.

Mechanical engineers are required across rotating equipment, piping, process systems, turbines and plant operations. Civil and structural engineers are needed for foundations, substations, access infrastructure, ports, transmission projects and major construction programmes.

The energy transition is therefore not replacing established engineering careers. In many cases, it is creating new applications for them.

That presents an important opportunity for engineers considering their next career move.

Professionals do not necessarily need to start again to move into renewable or low-carbon energy. Experience gained across oil and gas, utilities, manufacturing, construction or other major engineering environments can often provide a strong foundation for transition projects.

5. Digital, Data and Automation Skills

Energy infrastructure is also becoming more connected.

Modern energy systems increasingly rely on data analytics, sensors, automation, remote monitoring, digital twins, forecasting tools and increasingly sophisticated control systems.

IRENA has highlighted digitalisation and artificial intelligence as areas creating evolving skills requirements within the energy workforce.

As a result, employers increasingly value professionals who can combine engineering knowledge with digital capability.

That may include expertise in:

• SCADA and control systems
• Industrial automation
• Data analytics
• Digital twins
• Predictive maintenance
• Cybersecurity
• Energy-management software
• AI-enabled optimisation

The engineer of the future may therefore be increasingly multidisciplinary: technically strong within a core engineering field while comfortable working with digital systems and data.

Employers Need to Think Beyond the Perfect CV

One of the biggest challenges in a skills-short market is an overly narrow recruitment strategy.

Waiting for a candidate who has worked on the exact technology, within the exact sector, using the exact systems required can dramatically reduce an already limited talent pool.

Instead, employers should identify which requirements are genuinely essential and which skills can be transferred or developed.

The wider energy industry is already responding this way. The IEA reports that almost half of surveyed companies are recruiting people from neighbouring industries or increasing internal training to address workforce shortages.

Recruitment strategies increasingly need to consider:

• Transferable skills. Could an engineer from oil and gas, manufacturing, construction or another infrastructure sector adapt successfully?
• Contract expertise. Could an experienced contractor provide specialist knowledge during a critical stage of a project?
• International talent. Is the required expertise available in another market?
• Potential as well as experience. Could a candidate with strong fundamentals quickly develop the remaining project-specific knowledge?

Companies that broaden the way they define talent may gain access to professionals their competitors overlook.

Recruitment Is Becoming Part of Energy Project Strategy

For organisations delivering major energy programmes, recruitment can no longer be viewed simply as filling vacancies.

The availability of skills can influence whether projects remain on schedule, whether costs stay under control and whether organisations can capitalise on new market opportunities.

The UK Government’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan, for example, forecasts more than 400,000 additional clean-energy jobs by 2030 and has identified 31 priority occupations experiencing particularly strong demand.

Globally, the IEA estimates that preventing the energy skills mismatch from worsening by 2030 would require the number of graduates entering the sector to increase by around 40%.

The message for employers is clear: competition for talent is unlikely to disappear.

Building strong recruitment pipelines now could become a significant competitive advantage.

Connecting Energy Expertise With Opportunity

This is where an experienced recruitment partner can make a meaningful difference.

At PE Global, we work with organisations and engineering professionals across international markets, helping employers access specialist talent while connecting candidates with opportunities that match their expertise and career ambitions.

For employers, working with a specialist recruitment agency can provide access to wider talent networks, contract professionals, hard-to-find technical specialists and candidates across multiple engineering disciplines.

For professionals, the energy transition is creating opportunities to apply established engineering expertise in new environments, technologies and markets.

Whether you are an organisation preparing for your next major energy or engineering project or an experienced professional considering your next career move, having the right recruitment partner can help you navigate an increasingly competitive market.

Ready for your next opportunity? Explore our latest energy and engineering jobs or contact one of our recruitment consultants today.