A new study by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows approximately 6.5 million people were employed in the renewable energy industry globally last year; substantially up from 5.7 million in 2012.
“With 6.5 million people directly or indirectly employed in renewable energy, the sector is proving that it is no longer a niche, it has become a significant employer worldwide,” said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin.
Of the 6.5 million, 2,273,000 were employed in the solar PV sector; the numbers spurred on by demand in China and Japan. The Chinese PV value chain is estimated by IRENA to have employed 1.6 million people last year.
Wind employment remained relatively stable at 800,000 jobs.
The biggest employers in the renewables industry last year were China, Brazil, the United States, India, Germany, Spain and Bangladesh respectively.
“In general, manufacturing employment has shifted towards Asia as the share of Europe and the United States in global module production declined from 43% in 2007 to 14% in 2012. In the same year, China accounted for 64% of global production, Japan for 5%, and other Asian countries (such as Malaysia and South Korea) for 16% (Mehta, 2013),” states the report.
While the employment outlook for renewables looks bright on a global scale, IRENA warns education and training are critical enablers and skill shortages are already creating bottlenecks for deployment in some countries.
With regard to solar, the biggest skill gaps are solar power and solar thermal system installers and maintainers, plus building inspectors. The wind power sector is lacking project developers, service technicians, data analysts and electrical, computer, mechanical and construction engineers
IRENA’s Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2014 (May 2014) can be downloaded here (PDF). IRENA works on behalf of the renewables sector to promote the acceleration of renewable energy uptake worldwide.
