Mapping the Green Workforce: Trends in Clean Energy Job Postings

Amid the ongoing challenges of climate change, governments and private companies are intensifying their efforts to drive the energy transition. This shift has led to a growing emphasis on clean energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainability initiatives. As a result, clean energy sectors are witnessing a sharp rise in demand for skilled professionals, creating numerous job opportunities worldwide.

A recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), Mapping Green and Digital Energy Jobs: Trends and Insights from Online Job Postings, provides a detailed analysis of online job vacancies across different countries, sectors, and occupational categories. The findings shed light on the evolving landscape of employment in clean energy and the skills most in demand.

Between 2021 and 2023, the share of online job postings for clean energy technologies—including solar, wind, heat pumps, energy efficiency, and batteries and electric vehicles (EVs)—grew in most of the countries studied. Notably, Spain reached a record-high 0.3% of its total online job postings dedicated to solar positions in 2023, an unprecedented level for any country or technology. Germany also stood out, with wind- and battery- and EV-related job postings accounting for approximately 0.08% of total listings. Meanwhile, Austria and France saw energy efficiency and heat pump job postings reach around 0.03% of their total online listings.

Overall, European countries displayed a higher average share of online job postings for clean technologies than Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States. The total number of postings also increased across nearly all countries and technologies during the three-year period. Italy, for example, experienced a 4.5-fold increase in wind-related job postings, while Ireland saw a fourfold rise in wind-related listings. In Spain, online job postings tripled for heat pumps and batteries/EVs. However, four countries—Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, and the United States—experienced a decline in energy efficiency-related job postings.

The utilities and manufacturing sectors remain key drivers of recruitment in clean energy, accounting for 25% to 67% of online job postings across solar, wind, heat pumps, and batteries/EVs. For energy efficiency, the share is slightly lower, ranging between 8% and 48%.

In terms of occupations, the most in-demand roles are Technicians, Associate Professionals, and Skilled Trades Workers, which consistently dominate the share of clean technology job postings. Professionals follow closely behind, reinforcing the strong demand for technical expertise in the clean energy workforce.

Country-specific trends further highlight solar energy’s dominance in online job postings. In Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, solar consistently leads as the most advertised clean technology sector. This underscores its significant role in global employment within the green energy transition.

A deeper geographical analysis reveals notable regional patterns. In the United States, solar job postings are heavily concentrated in California (25% of total solar postings), with additional strongholds in Texas, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and the East Coast. In contrast, wind-related job listings are predominantly based in Texas (20%) and the Midwest’s "wind corridor." In the United Kingdom, London emerges as a key hub for both solar (16% of postings) and wind (24%), followed by Bristol, Manchester, Sheffield, and Glasgow. While the UK demonstrates overlapping hubs for both sectors, the US presents a stark geographical distinction between solar and wind employment, influenced by resource availability and state-level policy incentives.

As clean energy technologies continue to expand, the demand for a skilled workforce is set to rise further. This growing need highlights the importance of workforce development, training programs, and policy support to ensure a steady supply of talent. Governments, educational institutions, and industry stakeholders must collaborate to bridge the skills gap and build a robust, future-ready workforce that can sustain the green transition.