Energy transition is a complex, long-term set of social, technological, operational and political changes. The technological and financial underpinnings of this process have been the subject of substantial and diverse research, In contrast, it is striking how comparatively little attention has been paid so far to the people who are, and will be, bringing the energy transition about and, in particular, to the skills, expertise and knowledge needed in future.
The diverse skills required for a successful energy transition may be highly specialised — for example, managing electricity networks, planning infrastructure projects, drawing up and negotiating policies and regulations, or developing new materials. They also include practical competences about how to maintain and renovate buildings, vehicles and our infrastructures for sanitation, mobility, waste and communication. It follows that ‘skills for transition’ are found in, and indeed cross, many current disciplinary and practise domains. Hence this themed issue, which brings together insights from three research papers and a practitioner Commentary.
Skills for energy transition need development at many levels and in many domains. Golob et al. (2024) analyse the knowledge and skills found in innovative energy communities around Europe. They divide these into technical, so-called “hard” skills, such as technology maintenance, innovation and problem-solving and non-technical “soft” skills including identifying needs, marketing and social media expertise. Their analysis shows the crucial role played by communicators who can organise, persuade and explain specialist issues to others. There is an emphasis on learning-by-doing to address the urgent need to move away from legacy energy systems.
The construction industry clearly has a vital role to play in transition, given the potential for building and renovating to low/zero-carbon standards. Killip and Robson’s (2024) findings, from a sizeable deliberative workshop of stakeholders in education and training, academia, industry and the public sector, make for sobering reading. Their paper is a wake-up call to address structural weaknesses as well as lack of resources in a struggling Further Education system. New courses alone will not be enough to prepare for energy transition. Systemic change is needed; the construction jobs market must move out of its current state of ‘low skills equilibrium’. A serious issue is the low prestige of further education compared with higher education. This last point is taken up in the commentary from Northern Ireland Electricity Networks, that notes difficulties with ‘the societal culture where the majority of young people are persuaded to follow the university route without considering … options that may be more appropriate… The challenge lies in persuading future talent (and their influencers) to realise the potential in the vocational route and take up traineeships and apprenticeships’. (Malone and Scullion, 2024). This challenge is perhaps all the more prominent at a time when many young people may be apprehensive that their job prospects are, or will be, threatened by the onset of AI. However, AI cannot perform many crucial functions, including the ability to physically put together or renovate a building to high standards of sustainability and comfort.
The third paper, from Mininni and Hiteva (2024), reviews 26 national and regional hydrogen strategies from around the world. They focus on the extent that these strategies take local contexts and skillsets into account when aiming to improve workforce diversity as a way of strengthening skill availability, and distributing benefits and opportunities fairly. Their findings vary considerably, but show plenty of room for more ambitious and longer-term planning where apprenticeships, working practices, reskilling and upskilling are concerned.
This themed issue represents a change in methods and topic from the usual ICE-Energy fare: we hope you will find in it plenty of food for thought.
