Two new reports from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) explore the reasons behind the wind energy workforce gap and suggest solutions for closing it.
Surveyed employers cited a lack of appropriate experience, education and training, plus lack of applicants, as reasons they cannot find qualified applicants for positions.
Students and recent graduates identified difficulties in getting relevant work experience and technical training as well as finding employment opportunities near where they live or want to live.
The gap, first identified in a 2019 NREL study, refers to the trouble the industry has with hiring qualified workers, while, at the same time, qualified workers have trouble finding wind industry jobs.
That disconnect among industry employers, the workforce, and educational institutions results in wind energy employers being unable to fill entry-level jobs and students or recent graduates struggling to land these positions.
In one report, Defining the Wind Energy Workforce Gap, researchers documented the continued challenges faced by the industry, the potential workforce, and energy-related educational institutions and training programs.
The team surveyed the wind energy industry as well as current students and recent graduates from US educational institutions to better understand how people move into and through their wind energy careers.
For the following report, Defining Wind Energy Experience, the same researchers conducted a thorough analysis of data on job requirements to gather valuable insights into company practices, job seekers’ difficulty in finding relevant entry-level positions, and the variety of career pathways for select occupations in the wind energy industry.
“If we are going to meet our targeted wind energy goals, there needs to be a workforce to support the industry,” said Jeremy Stefek, an NREL researcher and co-author of both reports. “We explored reasons for the wind energy workforce gap and found that experience, geography, and hands-on training all played key roles.”