European Net-Zero Academies should accelerate training and address urgent skills shortages

• The Renewable Energy Skills Partnership has published a statement of recommendations on Net-Zero Industry Academies.

• The Partnership is calling on the Commission to include industry, fund existing training programmes, and address urgent skills shortages, amongst other measures.

• The Partnership, comprised of renewable energy associations and clean technology installers, was launched in March 2023, to identify the skills measures needed to deliver our climate and energy security goals. 

BRUSSELS, Belgium (Friday 29th September 2023): The Renewable Energy Skills partnership has issued a statement of 10 recommendations to the European Commission, on the establishment of Net-Zero Industry Academies, as proposed by the Commission in the Net-Zero Industry Act.

Soon, the partnership will launch a set of training programmes for renewables across the EU.

Arthur Daemers, Policy Advisor at SolarPower Europe (he/him); “The challenge is twofold: we must ensure high-quality skills, while recruiting more workers for the renewables sector. Stakeholders like the Renewable Energy Skills Partnership must be involved every step of the way, so that we can build up the skilled workforce needed to secure a carbon neutral Europe.”

The Renewable Energy Skills Partnership is urgently calling on the European Commission to take decisive action. European Net-Zero Academies should:

1. Accelerate training programmes across the EU.
2. Address urgent skills shortages.
3. Build on existing sectoral, initiatives.
4. Prioritise net-zero sectors with critical skills shortages.
5. Foster a comprehensive framework, mapping all net-zero skills initiatives.
6. Strengthen synergies across net-zero technologies.
7. Identify emerging topics for trainings.
8. Provide the necessary funding.
9. Strive for cross-border recognition of qualifications
10. Industry and relevant stakeholders, such as the Renewable Energy Skills Partnership, should be an integral part of the European Net-Zero Academies framework’s governance mechanism.

This statement comes as SolarPower Europe has just published their latest EU Solar Jobs Report 2023, revealing that the solar sector will need 1 million workers in Europe as soon as 2025.

About the Renewable Energy Skills Partnership

The Renewable Energy Skills Partnership brings together stakeholders from the entire spectrum of the Renewable Energy value chain. It gathers organisations involved in the identification and analysis of  skills needs and solutions in the renewable energy sector; and in the development, implementation,  promotion or financing of educational and training programmes, frameworks, and institutions.

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