Climate protection is en vogue and young people regularly take to the streets because of it. Despite this, there is a shortage of skilled workers in many sectors. The job prospects sound rosy.
Thomas Herdt sounds very relaxed: “Basically, we don’t have to worry about getting a job,” says the 21-year-old. «Mechanical engineers have a harder time finding an internship or a job.»
He is studying at the Institute for Sustainable Energy Systems at the Offenburg University of Applied Sciences. His fellow students Johannes Weber (26) and Simon Schmitz (24) both did training in electrical engineering and building planning before they started their studies. That puts him in an even better position, says Schmitz. Even if he has no worries: “There are enough job opportunities.”
Once they graduate, the three students can help shape the energy transition. “It takes exactly such committed people on site,” says her professor Jens Pfafferott. But although the climate issue is more relevant than ever and promises secure jobs for decades to come, Herdt, Weber and Schmitz are exceptions.
State-of-the-art technology and machine learning
“We have ten graduates a year,” says Pfafferott. “We would have capacity for 60.” The university offers, among other things, an indoor climate laboratory including a climate chamber. Under real conditions, students learn how energy is generated from sunlight and how electricity, heat and cold can be provided from it. With state-of-the-art technology and machine learning – all geared towards renewables.
If you look at what the federal government intends to do in terms of climate and housing policy according to the coalition agreement, around 400,000 additional workers will be needed from 2025. This is what it says in a report by the Institute for Labor Market and Occupational Research (IAB). But the more the bottlenecks in areas such as construction, trade and energy technology become more difficult, the more difficult it will be to achieve the goals.
Professor Pfafferott sees a problem in the image of some professions. “The fascination behind it doesn’t go down well.” Robert Pomes from the Baden-Württemberg Technical Building Equipment Industry Association takes the same line: Many wanted to do something like environmental management, but nothing with ventilation or technical installations. “Where it becomes concrete, where you have to do a lot of research and implement things, we don’t get any people,” says the managing director. “We can’t get the Fridays for Future youth into our jobs.”
When it comes to climate protection, most people look at the environment and traffic, but not at buildings – the CO2 emissions here are immense. But that’s not so “sexy,” suspects Pomes. In addition, many professions are not so well known. “You know that you can study medicine even if your father isn’t a doctor.” You can’t do anything with a technical system planner if you don’t know anyone.
7.1 million jobs with climate protection activities
The climate plays a role in more and more professions. IAB researcher Markus Janser found that the number of jobs with “climate protection activities” increased from 377 to 415 between 2012 and 2020. Almost a third of all 1290 professions now have such aspects. As a result, the number of people employed in jobs involving climate protection activities rose from 4.6 to 7.1 million. According to the expert, the increase of 53 percent was well above the general growth in employment during this period, which was 13 percent.
However, Janser admits that the proportion of climate protection tasks is often quite small. Aspects such as hydrogen technology and fuel cells were simply added. “There are actually not that many completely new professions. But the activities within the professions are changing.” The completely new job titles include climate protection manager, technician – wind energy technology and agricultural specialist – renewable energies/biomass.
The Deputy General Manager of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, Achim Dercks, emphasizes: “Climate protection and sustainability are changing all areas of business – and the issues are therefore important in all professions.” This is reflected not only in training, but also in further training. According to the assessment, there is a particular need for qualification on topics such as hydrogen, electromobility, CO2 balancing and reduction.
Politics has topic “criminal neglected”
The Green World of Work network shows how broad the spectrum is: from ecological agriculture to sustainable architecture and urban development to green IT. “This is not a niche industry,” says project manager Krischan Ostenrath. The fact that there are not just a handful of green jobs is good news for young people. However, these jobs are not easy to define: “You can often do something green or something completely different with the same training.”
From Ostenrath’s point of view, politicians have “criminal neglected” the issue of supplying skilled workers. The problem cannot be solved with funding alone. “But we can throw our complete climate protection goals in the bin if we don’t have any specialists.”
Hilmar John from the Karlsruhe association fokus.energie says that job opportunities are increasing, not least because of the many start-ups in the sector. “It’s a pretty safe bet.” However, there are still too few people in the so-called MINT areas, i.e. with mathematical and scientific expertise. Pomes from the Industrial Association for Technical Building Equipment and Professor Pfafferott from Offenburg also complain that too few women are interested in such jobs. According to Pomes, if as many women as men came into the industry, that would not immediately solve the problem of skilled workers. “But it would certainly help.”
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
