Fitters, installers and electricians are lacking for the energy transition.
(Photo: dpa)
Ambitious climate goals are all well and good. But what happens when there aren’t enough people to set up millions of solar systems, heat pumps, batteries and charging boxes?
The energy industry, or primarily the trade, is currently confronted with this very question. Hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost in the next few years and companies are sounding the alarm. This dilemma shouldn’t really surprise anyone.
An example: In the wind industry alone, 60,000 jobs have been lost in the past ten years. In the solar industry, the number of employees fell from almost 160,000 to just over 50,000 in the same period. That makes 170,000 fewer employees. Although many hands would still be missing to achieve the 2030 goals, the need need not be as great as it is now.
At least the Social Democrats (then still in coalition with the Union) have themselves to blame for what the new federal government now has to suffer under the SPD, FDP and Greens. The expansion of wind power has hardly progressed for years. As a result, numerous companies have laid off their employees in Germany and relocated production facilities abroad.
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Most of this could certainly have been avoided if the problem of the approval process, which took many years, had been addressed earlier. And nobody needs to be reminded of the decline of the German solar industry. Also a partly home-made problem of wrong framework conditions at the wrong time.
The craft is in demand
The mistakes are made. Now it’s time to find solutions. And that doesn’t just apply to politics. Above all, craftsmanship is required here. Young companies show how it’s done: campaigns in social networks, flexible working hours, opportunities for advancement and stays abroad. If there’s one industry that shouldn’t have an image problem with young people, it’s the greentech industry. With the “Fridays for Future” generation, the potential for young specialists is theoretically enormous.
But the classic trade has never learned to “sell”. why? Electricians, fitters and fitters have been unable to save themselves from orders for years.
So far, however, it was the customer who was at a disadvantage when in doubt. Now it’s about the climate.
More: How companies cheat on their climate promises