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The global energy sector is undergoing a significant transformation, and this change is being reflected not only in technologies and infrastructure, but also in the workforce needed to design, build and operate the energy systems of the future.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global energy employment reached approximately 76 million jobs in 2024, following a 2.2% increase during the year. Energy employment has grown faster than employment across the wider economy for three consecutive years. Since 2019, around 5.4 million energy jobs have been added worldwide.
Electricity Is Becoming the Largest Energy Employer
One of the most significant changes identified by the IEA is the growing importance of the electricity sector.
For the first time, electricity has overtaken fuel supply as the largest energy-employing sector. Between 2019 and 2024, electricity-related employment increased by approximately 3.9 million jobs, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all additions to energy employment.
Solar PV has been a major contributor, representing around half of the electricity-sector job additions since 2019. Nuclear power, grids and energy storage have also contributed significantly to employment growth.
The transition towards electrification is also reshaping employment in other industries. Electric-vehicle-related employment increased by almost 800,000 jobs in 2024, while electrification in buildings and industry is creating new opportunities for technicians and other skilled professionals.
A Growing Demand for Technical Skills
While energy employment continues to expand, the industry is facing an increasingly important challenge: the availability of skilled workers.
More than half of the companies participating in the IEA’s Energy Employment Survey reported critical hiring bottlenecks. The shortages are particularly significant in applied technical occupations such as electricians, pipefitters, electrical power-line workers and engineers.
These occupations represent more than half of the energy workforce, making their availability critical to the successful delivery of energy infrastructure projects.
For companies operating in engineering, construction and energy, access to qualified technical professionals is therefore becoming an increasingly important factor in project delivery.
An Ageing Workforce Adds Pressure
The skills challenge is also connected to demographics.
The IEA reports that the energy workforce is older than the average workforce across the wider economy. In nuclear and grid-related occupations, the number of workers approaching retirement is significantly higher than the number of young workers entering the sector.
Looking ahead to 2035, the IEA estimates that two out of every three new energy-sector hires could be needed simply to replace retiring workers.
This creates a dual challenge for employers: attracting new talent while transferring knowledge and experience from existing workers to the next generation.
Training and Reskilling Will Be Essential
Education, training and reskilling are becoming increasingly important components of energy workforce strategies.
The IEA reports that demand for applied technical workers across the economy increased by 16% between 2015 and 2022, while relevant vocational-programme graduations increased by only 9%.
Nearly half of the companies surveyed reported recruiting workers from neighbouring industries or increasing internal training to address skills gaps.
Reskilling can also support workforce mobility within the energy sector. According to the IEA, with appropriate training, many workers from oil and gas supply chains have transferable skills that can be applied in other areas of the energy industry.
The Role of AI in the Energy Workforce
Artificial intelligence is also beginning to influence energy-sector employment.
The IEA identifies potential applications including administrative efficiency, system performance, permitting, safety and training through technologies such as virtual reality.
However, AI is not currently eliminating the industry’s most significant technical labour shortages. Construction, operations and maintenance still rely heavily on physical and applied technical work that current AI technologies are not well suited to replace.
This suggests that the future energy workforce will increasingly combine technical expertise with digital capabilities.
Preparing for the Energy Jobs of Tomorrow
The IEA expects energy employment to continue growing, although the pace of growth may moderate. Under current policy settings, the report projects an additional 3.4 to 4.6 million energy jobs by 2035, depending on the development of energy infrastructure.
In a scenario aligned with achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, the overall energy workforce requirement could increase by nearly 15 million workers by 2035.
Meeting this demand will require cooperation between governments, educational institutions, energy companies and workers.
Investment in vocational education, apprenticeships, reskilling programmes and stronger links between industry and education can help develop the workforce required for the next phase of the energy transition.
The Energy Transition Is Also a Workforce Transition
The transformation of the energy sector is ultimately a transformation of people, skills and careers.
As electricity networks expand, renewable energy grows, industrial systems become more digital and new technologies emerge, demand will increase for engineers, technicians, electricians, project professionals and other specialised workers.
For energy and engineering companies, workforce planning will therefore become increasingly connected to project planning, investment and long-term business strategy.
Building a skilled and adaptable workforce will be essential to delivering reliable infrastructure, supporting energy security and enabling the continued transformation of the global energy system.
Source
International Energy Agency (IEA), World Energy Employment 2025