Half a million new workers needed to meet global wind demand by 2025 – report

Building and maintaining wind turbines will create plenty of new jobs in the coming years, but the health and safety of employees must remain front and centre of all training, says the not-for-profit Global Wind Organisation.

The wind industry will need to train over 480,000 people in the next five years, in line with Global Wind Organisation (GWO) standards, to meet worldwide demand for such power safely, states a report from the GWO and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

“Thousands of people work on the turbines that power our economies and protect our planet, and it is crucial we keep these people safe,” says Jakob Lau Holst, chief executive of the GWO. Safety training standards are the most effective way to do so, he adds.

Over 70% of the newly trained workers will come from 10 markets: Brazil, China, Japan, India, Mexico, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the US and Vietnam.

308,000 individuals are expected to work in construction and maintenance of onshore wind projects, while 172,000 will be deployed to offshore wind.

2 June 2021

energy monitor