According to the latest data, Spain will be the second position in terms of solar job creation in the EU. 73% of these jobs will correspond to Germany, Spain, Poland, France, Italy, Netherlands and Sweden. By 2027, the sector will employ 886,000 full-time workers.
Last year Spain reached a historic milestone increase the country’s solar energy generation capacity by 28% compared to 2022, thanks to the integration of 5,594 new megawatts (MW) of installed solar photovoltaics connected to the electricity grid.
This amount of energy is sufficient to illuminate approximately 5,594,000 homes for a year. So this ttechnology already covers 20.3% of the total structure of the Spanish electricity generation fleet and is positioned as the second country in the European Network of Electricity Transmission Network Operators (ENTSO-E) with the highest installed solar energy.
Green jobs in solar energy
This increase in activity is accompanied by positive employment figures. As stated in Randstad’s Green Economy Global report, Spain is expected to be the largest second European country that creates the most jobs in the solar energy sector by 2027 only among Germany and surpassed by Poland, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.
“In the medium scenario, the top seven markets are expected to represent the country 73% of all solar energy jobs in the EU by 2027resulting in a total of 886,000 full-time jobs. The remaining 27% will be contributed by the other twenty member states,” said Francisco Serrano, head of the company’s Engineering Department.
Furthermore, the report highlights that in 2022, the last year with available data, photovoltaic solar energy was considered the most dynamicsignificantly boosting employment in the renewable energy sector. The solar industry generated 4.9 million jobs worldwide, more than the 3.58 million jobs in the biofuel sector, 2.49 million in hydropower and 1.4 million in wind energy.
Of the entire range of renewable energies, the European Union has hosted 1.64 million jobs, ranked as one of the leading regions in this field worldwideunder China, which had 5.5 million jobs.
The solar industry is consolidating itself as a leader in gender inclusion
According to the Randstad report, the solar photovoltaic sector stands out as an industry leader gender inclusion in renewable energywith women holding 40% of full-time jobs. After solar energy comes wind energy, with 21% of employees being women. Among conventional energy sectors, 22% of employees in the oil and gas subsector are women.
Most in-demand green jobs
The new Green Energy subspecialization will focus on: fill key positions within the energy sectorwhich responds to the growing demand for specialized talent. Among the most sought-after profiles are engineers and professionals with specific skills in crucial areas of the clean energy transition.
One of the most requested profiles, the renewable energy engineerresponsible for the development and implementation of sustainable technologies, and the installation engineer for solar energy systems, specialized in the installation and maintenance of solar infrastructure. Profiles such as design engineer, mechanical engineer and electrical engineer are also fundamental to the development and optimization of innovative energy projects.
On the other hand, roles as project manager and energy storage engineer will be key to leading complex projects and ensuring efficient solutions in renewable energy management. Moreover, it will be essential environmental engineers, architects specialized in clean energy and biogas expertsbiomass and green hydrogen to meet corporate demand in light of advances in these technologies and energies.
These professionals will be crucial to meet the challenges and benefit from the opportunities that the energy transition brings from the installation of solar energy systems to the development of storage infrastructure and project management sustainable solutions that will contribute to a cleaner and more efficient future.
Essential skills to work in the sustainable energy sector
In this scenario, it is clear that Spain, among other European countries, is positioning itself in the sustainable energy sector. In this transitional framework, the Green skills are increasingly becoming an essential component in the sustainable energy sector.
According to the report, the skills required for this sector range from engineering to installation skills such as the design of photovoltaic systems and repair of wind turbines, design with tools such as AutoCAD and MATLAB, and software with knowledge of cloud computing and programming languages such as C++ and Java. Additionally, data analytics, including Python programming and big data analytics, and soft skills such as project management, are critical to success in this sector.
Solar energy is one of the renewable energy sources that has the greatest potential to help European Union Member States meet their targets decarbonization goals and achieving a pronounced reduction in the ecological footprint of every nation.