In a recent employment report, International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) revealed that the renewable energy sector is enjoying strong economic growth. Growing supply chains provide more jobs and increase income in communities, especially in poorer regions where infrastructure may have been previously lacking.
In 2019, Asian workers accounted for 63 percent of total jobs in renewables globally, primarily in the solar photovoltaic sector. Jobs are being created in biofuels to support the agricultural supply chain in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Generating sustainable careers
Wind energy is growing too, employing more and more people around the world. Around 1.2 million workers are – among other things – employed to construct, maintain, design, or deliver wind turbines.
In Germany, the share of renewable energies has been growing rapidly in recent months. According to the Fraunhofer Institute’s data, renewables made up 55.8 percent of the total net electricity generation in the country – this was a new record set in the first of 2020. The wind industry was able to increase its production by around 11 percent compared to the previous year. All this shows that true value of renewable energies is being acknowledged. Now, there is a hope for more comprehensive education and training measures so that the demand for well-trained personnel can be met. Retraining skilled workers from the fossil fuel sector is also a concept which could work. This is because companies in the oil and gas industry are currently making heavy job cuts, which the wind industry take advantage of.
Therefore, the future looks bright for renewable energy sector employment. According to IRENA’s Global Renewables Outlook, with a little more political support, jobs in this sector could even break the 40 million mark worldwide by 2050.
