How to create the skilled workforce of 2030

Half of the energy workforce is employed in clean energy technologies. By 2030, over 10 million new jobs will need to be filled as the energy transition continues. China, for example, employs 3 million workers in clean energy manufacturing – accounting for 80% of solar PV and EV battery manufacturing jobs globally. Skill shortages are as significant a bottleneck as lack of investment or supply chain constraints, so how can the industry ensure there’s enough people to build, maintain and design clean energy infrastructure?

On the show today, David Banmiller is joined by Caleigh Andrews, Energy Analyst and Modeller at the International Energy Agency. The IEA emphasises the need for clear policies that drive demand for clean technologies, in order to attract and retain skilled labour. Reskilling and attracting new people to the energy workforce require a combination of market incentives and political will, so what are these incentives? And what can governments do to incentivise reskilling?

AI can play a role in easing the skilling burden and establishing standardised credentials, but with manufacturing and maintenance a large part of it, are the use cases for AI limited?

The energy transition is constantly changing, and with it the technology and industry practices. It’s going to be a challenge to reskill an entire workforce in such a rapidly changing industry.

David and Caleigh find out how it can be done.

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