image credit : iea

The International Energy Agency says that the global energy sector created 5 million employments in the past five years (2019-2024) to reached 76 million people worldwide.

The agency, in its just released World Energy Employment 2025, however warns of deepening skilled labour shortages: “Applied technical roles such as electricians, pipefitters, line workers, plant operators and nuclear engineers are in especially short supply. “

“Out of 700 energy-related companies, unions and training institutions participating in the IEA’s Energy Employment Survey, more than half of them reported critical hiring bottlenecks that threaten to slow the building of energy infrastructure, delay projects and raise system costs,”iea said.

According to the report, the power sector is leading the way on job creation, accounting for three-quarters of recent employment growth, and is now the largest employer in energy, overtaking fuel supply.

Solar PV is a key driver of growth, complemented by rapid expansions in hiring in nuclear power, grids and storage.

Increasing electrification of other sectors of the economy is also reshaping employment trends, with jobs in EV manufacturing and batteries surging by nearly 800 000 in 2024.

Fossil fuel employment remained resilient in 2024.

Coal jobs rebounded in India, China and Indonesia, pushing employment in the coal industry 8% above its 2019 levels despite steep declines in advanced economies.

The oil and gas industry has also regained most of the jobs lost in 2020, although low prices and economic uncertainties have triggered job cuts in 2025.

Based on early data, energy employment growth is expected to moderate to 1.3% in 2025, reflecting persistently tight labour markets and heightened trade and geopolitical tensions that are making some firms more cautious about hiring.

Despite the strong recent performance of the overall energy sector, the supply of newly qualified workers is not keeping pace with the sector’s needs.

To prevent the skills gap from widening further by 2030, the number of new qualified entrants into the energy sector globally would need to rise by 40%.

The report shows that this would require an additional $2.6 billion per year of investment globally, representing less than 0.1% of spending on education worldwide.

“Energy has been one of the strongest and most consistent engines of job creation in the global economy during a period marked by significant uncertainties,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “But this momentum cannot be taken for granted.

The world’s ability to build the energy infrastructure it needs depends on having enough skilled workers in place. Governments, industry and training institutions must come together to close the labour and skills gap. Left unaddressed, these shortages could slow progress, raise costs and weaken energy security.”