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News 27 September 2023

Read the new EU Solar Jobs Report 2023!

Solar PV is the most job-intensive energy sector, which presents key challenges and opportunities to our community. We offer jobs that people can be proud of, but can we find enough people with the right skills?

With this topic in mind, we're pleased to present our third annual analysis of the current and projected status of the EU's solar workforce. Across key geographies, and within value chain segments, we reveal how many careers solar touches in the EU.

This edition is titled 'EU Solar Jobs Report 2023 - Bridging the skills gap through quality and quantity'. As our workforce grows, we must ensure that we achieve both the numbers, and right level of skills. Read on for highlights, a communication toolbox, and policy recommendations.

Highlights

  • The solar workforce grew by 39% to 648,000 by the end of 2022, from 466,000 workers in 2021.
  • While previous estimates expected 1 million jobs by 2030, it now looks likely that sustained solar growth will deliver 1 million jobs already by 2025
  • Thanks to a large residential solar market, in 2022, Poland hosted the most solar workers in Europe, followed by Spain and Germany respectively.
  • As in previous years, the installation segment of the value chain continues to dominate the share of workers, employing 84% of solar workers.
  • Operating and maintaining plants represents 8% of workers, with high-value strategic jobs in manufacturing supplying over 7% of jobs.