In the context of the ongoing climate change, governments and private companies are implementing efforts towards the necessary energy transition. This has resulted in a growing focus on clean energy, energy efficiency and other sustainability initiatives. Consequently, clean energy sectors are experiencing a surge in demand for skilled workers, as emphasised in the World Energy Employment 2024 report. The transition to a low-carbon economy is creating numerous job opportunities.

This report focuses on online job postings (OJPs) and provides analysis of trends of vacancies posted online in various countries, sectors or occupational categories. Examining online job postings to understand labour market trends has the advantage of providing valuable real-time data and detailed insights and can be used as a proxy for labour demand, though it is important to consider their limitations, such as potential biases in representation and coverage. The analysis is twofold: a first chapter is dedicated to investigating job trends on energy efficiency and some key technologies related to the clean energy transition, such as solar, wind, heat pumps, and batteries and electric vehicles (EVs). A second chapter is focused on digital jobs and skills in the energy sector.

From 2021 to 2023, the share of online job postings in the clean energy technologies analysed (solar, wind, heat pumps, energy efficiency, and batteries and electric vehicles) increased for most countries under study. In 2023, Spain achieved a record high 0.3% of its total OJPs dedicated to solar positions, a level never achieved in any previous years, or by any other technology. Germany stood out with wind- and battery- and EV-related OJPs reaching around 0.08% of the total. Heat pump OJPs reached around 0.03% of the total online postings in Austria, and energy efficiency OJPs reached the same in France.

Across all the clean energy technologies analysed, the share of online job postings related to clean technologies is on average higher in European countries than in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States.

The number of online job postings also increased in almost every country, for every technology, between 2021 and 2023. The number of Italian wind-related OJPs multiplied by 4.5 in only three years. Over the same period, in Ireland, wind OJPs multiplied by 4, and Spanish ones by about 3 for heat pumps and batteries and electric vehicles. However, four countries decreased their number of online job postings regarding energy efficiency-related positions: Australia, Belgium, Switzerland and the United States.

Utilities and Manufacturing sectors consistently play a critical role in recruitment across solar, wind, heat pumps, and batteries and EV sectors, accounting for 25% to 67% of the technologies’ OJPs. For energy efficiency, the percentage is lower, ranging from 8% to 48%.

Analyses of the occupational categories show that Technicians, Associate Professionals, and Skilled Trades Workers are often the most advertised positions in terms of share of clean technology OJPs. This category is closely followed by Professionals, emphasising the ongoing demand for technical skills in the clean energy workforce.

In terms of salaries (PPP adjusted), anglophone countries, particularly the United States, offer higher wages across clean energy technologies, on average. However, it should be pointed out that anglophone countries offer a better coverage in terms of advertised salary information available in the postings and this may influence the results.

When examining individual countries’ dynamics (in Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States), solar consistently emerges as the most dominant technology in terms of share of OJPs. This highlights solar energy's significant contribution to clean technology employment across the world.

The data also allow more detailed geographical analysis. In the United States, vacancies posted online for solar positions are heavily concentrated in California (25% of solar OJPs), with additional concentrations in Texas, Florida, Arizona, Nevada and the East Coast. On the other hand, wind jobs are predominantly based in Texas (20%) and the Midwest's “wind corridor”. In the United Kingdom, London is the major publisher of OJPs for both solar (16%) and wind (24%), with Bristol, Manchester, Sheffield and Glasgow also emerging as key hubs for both technologies. While the United Kingdom has similar hubs for both sectors, the United States shows distinct geographical differences between solar and wind job locations due to the way that both resources and state incentives are spread.

Focusing on digital jobs, the share of digital OJPs in power utilities is generally lower than in other sectors and has not shown significant growth, even as the sector undergoes digital transformation through technologies such as smart grids, underscoring a lag in digital hiring practices within power utilities.

In the United States, cybersecurity-related OJPs in the power utility sector have not been rising since 2018 despite an increasing number of cyberattacks. The data indicate that while job postings surge immediately following major cyber incidents, there is no sustained hiring trend, suggesting a reactive rather than proactive recruitment approach. Recruitment challenges are compounded by comparatively low salaries and the highly specialised skill sets needed within power utilities.

Finally, smart grid-related jobs in the United Kingdom and the United States have also been minimally advertised since 2018. In these markets, Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities, along with Utilities, remain the primary industries driving recruitment in this area. Professionals account for approximately two-fifths of OJPs, highlighting a demand for advanced expertise, while Technicians, Associate Professionals and Skilled Trades Workers make up about 30% of postings. These findings demonstrate the ongoing needs for both specialised and technical roles in this evolving energy landscape.

Analysing digital skills in more detail shows that smart grids, and battery and EV OJPs exhibit the highest shares of roles that require at least one specialised digital skill in both the United Kingdom and the United States, indicating their strong reliance on advanced digital expertise. In contrast, a lower share of solar OJPs requires digital skills, highlighting a disparity in digital skills demand across clean energy sectors. In the United Kingdom, energy efficiency OJPs require most digital skills among Automation, Big Data, Scripting Languages, Internet of Things, AI and Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Storage and Solutions, Telecommunications, SQL, Data Science and Analysis, and Cybersecurity, while in the United States smart grid OJPs are still the ones with the highest share. When analysing all technologies collectively, Data Analysis emerges as the most sought-after digital skill in both countries, underscoring the critical role of data proficiency in the clean energy transition.