No holidays for workforce shortages: Europe’s competition and decarbonisation agenda need more technical talents this “rentrée”

As the holiday season ends, policymakers will have a lot on their plate working towards the EU competitiveness and energy independence goals. However, these are compromised by an ongoing shortage of skilled workers in the electrical sector.

The Union of Skills[1] recently identified electrical workers among 42 occupations facing EU-wide shortages. These skills gaps are not only detrimental to decarbonising Europe, but also to boosting competitiveness and resilience. Right now, Germany needs over 96.000 more skilled workers in the electrical contracting sector (+20%) just to meet current demand[2].

With the EU’s “rentrée” programme focusing on accelerating industrial decarbonisation and competitiveness, setting up a new Grid Package, and improving energy security and preparedness, a lack of skilled technical workers to install and maintain clean technologies can undermine progress made on paper.

EuropeOn, the voice of the electrical contracting sector, believes the most urgent step to address workforce shortages is to make technical education more attractive; encouraging more young people and career changers to join technical careers.

The upcoming Vocational Education and Training (VET) Strategy will be key. EuropeOn has released a statement with urgent recommendations for the European Commission to:

  • Promote VET careers as equal in value to academic paths through national and EU-wide campaigns.
  • Support apprenticeships and lifelong learning focused on green and digital skills.
  • Modernize VET schools and provide stronger support for qualified instructors.
  • Strengthen national qualification systems, avoiding one-size-fits-all solutions and involving social partners in the process.

In the words of Julie Beaufils, EuropeOn’s Secretary General: “Europe cannot do without technical experts such as electricians. They are essential to both national and EU priorities on competitiveness and decarbonisation. How can we deploy cutting-edge technologies if there’s no one to install and advise on them? They also play a strategic role in strengthening the resilience of most infrastructures. At EuropeOn, we want to see this challenge not as a threat, but as an opportunity for Europe.”

Read the full statement here

————————————————————————————————————–

EuropeOn is the European voice of the electrical contracting industry since 1954. With 2.7 million professionals in over 420.000 businesses and with a turnover of over EUR 300 billion, electrical contractors provide electrical installations and services for buildings and infrastructure, enabling cities and citizens to take part in the Energy Transition. Addressing energy, climate, mobility, building and skills policies, EuropeOn is engaged at EU level to foster synergies between the electrical contracting sector and European policymakers. EuropeOn is campaigning in favour of Skills4Climate and is part of the Electrification Alliance, Construction 2050, the Platform for E-mobility, and the Forum for European Electrical Domestic Safety, among others. www.europe-on.org

[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX%3A52025DC0090

[2] https://europe-on.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/EuropeOn-2024-SECTOR-REPORT-public.pdf