WindEurope’s Giles Dickson: Three Ms main showstoppers for jobs in wind energy

The wind energy industry employs 370,000 people in Europe, however, if countries act on their goals, 600,000 jobs will be needed by 2030 and finding and skilling is one of the biggest challenges that the continent is facing, according to Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope.

At a session held at the ONS 2024 conference in Stavanger, Norway, Dickson stated that taking people from the fossil fuels sector is not enough and they should be sought in other sectors, such as military, defense and coal mining, with the industry urged to act quickly and focus on education, on-the-job upskilling, and reskilling for a just transition.

According to the WindEurope chief, there are three main showstoppers, including money as the industry and governments need to invest more, mindset as more technicians and not engineers are needed, so people with vocational and technical education are required and parents that do not insist on their children going to university could be game-changers, and finally mobility since people need to be brought to work on coasts and remote areas as most jobs are not in urban metropolitan centers, with a wider international approach to be taken.

Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor has a goal of being net-zero by 2050, for which new skills will need to be built, Steinar Roland, Head of Equinor Corporate University, said, explaining that the company needs innovation and creative minds, technical expertise, artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, sustainability and environmental awareness, and adaptability and flexibility.

Roland added the crucial commercial mindset and policy and regulatory skills to the list, as well as leadership and leaders that can create a vision, with passion being most important, implying courage, creativeness and innovation.

Talking about showstoppers, Roland believes that patience is one of the biggest ones and that eludes to commercialism.

Birgit Farstad Larsen, Executive Vice President at international consultancy COWI, noted that education is vital, but so is the ability of performing the skills: “We must look into the long-term what kind of competence we need. More people must be educated, but most importantly they need to be able to use their skills on projects as soon as possible.”

Talking about what companies can do to align with the youth and attract employees to the sector, Dickson said that offering apprenticeships is “central and absolutely key”, with the imperative being that big companies offer such programs.

Dickson also gives his reassurance for the rising fear of AI, emphasizing that it will help but just as many people will be required in the wind industry even when AI does its stuff since it does not install wind turbines or perform operations and maintenance of wind farms.

He highlights a good example of work in the Netherlands which saw the Convenant Stageplaatsen Wind Nederland (Wind Netherlands Internship Covenant) going into effect on June 13, under which companies active in the local wind industry are complying with the agreement to bear all long-term investments necessary to offer internships to technical MBO talent.

The companies will also guarantee internships and make continued efforts to collaborate with vocational training courses.