Last autumn, some 600 new employees from all over the world gathered in Berlin to be welcomed by Siemens Energy chief executive Christian Bruch – prized recruits who are in high demand to fuel the green energy revolution. Over the next few years, they will be instrumental in moving the dial forward.
Some 35% of cuts to carbon emissions required to meet net zero by 2050 will come from technologies that are still being created, says Mai-Britt Søndberg, Siemens Energy’s head of HR in Europe. “There are future roles downstream that we’ll be hiring for that are still in development, which makes this an incredibly exciting time both for companies like ours and for people looking for a career in energy.”
Staff numbers have risen to 99,000, she says, up from 91,000 in 2022. International demand for green skills – the knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society – is expected to be more than double the supply by 2050, according to LinkedIn’s Global Climate Talent Stocktake [pdf]. While global demand for green skills rose by 11.6% from 2023 to 2024, supply grew by just 5.6%. And if the trend continues, this gap is expected to widen to 101.5% by 2050, with the UK among those nations experiencing the highest demand.
Companies are looking further afield for potential employees. Some of these will leapfrog from related industries – green energy is a logical step from oil and gas, for instance, and some come from different engineering roles. Others who have no previous engineering or energy experience will train on the job – the right mindset will take you far, says Søndberg. “Having ‘green skills’ isn’t exclusive to one group in society,” she says. “Diverse ideas, perspectives and experiences are key.”
Siemens Energy project manager Paul Matei is a long way from the military mapping technology – Geoint – he used to work with in Romania’s armed forces, although he’s brought the army discipline and commitment with him to his new role.
After experience in civil engineering in Saudi Arabia and decommissioning oil refineries in the US, Matei was keen to move home and he joined Siemens Energy in 2022. Based in his home country, Romania, he leads major international projects. He likes the autonomy and responsibility. “The company supports me from every angle,” he says. Regular refresher courses on key topics are run to encourage continued learning, as well as secondments to significant builds, such as a combined cycle power plant in northern Italy, which supported Matei’s career progression.
Juggling a young family and site visits is inevitably tricky, but his boys, three and five, are intrigued by his work. “They’re always asking: ‘Daddy, can you show me a picture of the biggest crane?’”
Every week he checks in with his mentor to discuss the demands of project management and more. “My mentor has more than 30 years of experience with large-scale projects, which is invaluable for me. My line manager is also hugely experienced and has provided so much guidance and support throughout my time here,” says Matei. “In a little over two years, I’ve already created a network within the company that I can go to for support, and this goes both ways – there is so much openness from colleagues all over the world.”
Today, the largest wind turbines stand a quarter of a kilometre high and their design and manufacture is a major source of employment worldwide. In northern Spain, staff at a Siemens Gamesa factory in Ágreda build the nacelles – the cabinets that house all energy converting and generating parts that sit in the centre of the turbines – for onshore windfarms in different countries in Europe and the US.
For wiring technician Geles Ruiz Cacho, work at the plant has offered her the chance to develop her skills and job scope. “It’s a very dynamic job – you are always doing something different because there are different kinds of turbines.”
When she first moved to the wind energy sector, few women worked to wire the nacelles, but now her team is nearly all female. By her own admission, she’s a “restless” employee, keen to learn and be heard. “I feel valued because when I have input into how to improve things, I am listened to,” she says. “I participate in the production of prototypes and contribute what I know about wiring.”
With prior experience in wiring within a local car factory, she was trained on the job when she started and has taken different courses through the company to broaden her learning experiences. “I also continued my training through the internet and books … I’m eager to learn.” Work in wind energy is particularly welcome in her corner of Spain where jobs are scarce, “and it’s a bonus because you contribute to the improvement of the environment”.
Employees such as Ruiz Cacho are often driven by a sense of purpose, says Søndberg, and being able to attract more people from less traditional demographics is key for the future of energy. As well as the appeal of environmental impact, they are drawn by the opportunity to learn and develop new career paths, collaborating with colleagues all over the world. “I’m collaborating with colleagues globally, we share knowledge and experiences to help us to problem solve and be more innovative,” says Ruiz Cacho.
While no one quite knows what technologies and innovations lie ahead, there are undoubtedly exciting career opportunities and scope to develop. “It’s a rapidly evolving sector,” says Søndberg. “It requires creative thinking and a desire to learn and adapt. That makes roles in this space incredibly exciting.”
