Are recruiters keeping up with demand for talent in the renewables sector?

Nick Martindale

The renewables sector in the UK is expanding rapidly. According to figures from the Renewable Energy Association, there has been an 8% increase in the number of people working in the sector – from 102,987 to 112,055 – over the past year, and many of these are for positions which did not exist at all just a few years ago.

For recruiters, however, this means it is especially challenging to cope with the demand from clients for talent. “There is a distinct lack of talent in all areas of renewables, with high demand in almost all parts of the sector,” said David Hunt, managing partner of specialist renewables recruitment firm Hyperion Executive Search. “At present we’re experiencing particular shortages in solar development, from planning and project management to business development. But there are also significant shortages in design, and heating engineers for biomass and heat pumps.”

Within PV, there is a particular need for skills around PV power storage, as the UK seeks to make the most of the renewable energy it generates from solar power. “Knowledge of grid-connected, off-grid and switch-over systems that can operate should the grid go down are all areas that require skilled and experienced designers and installers,” says Ben Robinson, business development manager BayWa r.e. Solar Systems. “There may very well be experienced off-grid technicians out there but these skills need to be developed and moved over to ensure good quality, technically robust and safe grid-connected battery power storage solutions.”

Garfield Cameron, head of energy and utilities, executive search, at Penna, points out that the market for onshore wind has been declining in the UK as a result of the unpopularity of wind turbines, and suggests skills in this area could be used to fill some of the gaps in the solar space. He’s also expecting carbon capture to become a competitive market in the future. “This is an area where talent doesn’t exist yet, and this is due to the technology not quite being ready either,” he says. “However, once we are there, we’ll need plenty of talent that can work in the sector and on the technology.”

Simon Conington, managing director of BPS World, meanwhile, highlights particular issues in the nuclear space, particularly as existing talent ages. “We haven’t built any new nuclear facilities for 20 years and the skilled people that exist are ageing,” he says. “Talent has not been required in the industry but now there is a significant shortfall, just at a time when we are set to build and so need skilled people.” The NuGen project in Cumbria alone is estimated to require between 14,000 and 21,000 contractors, he adds.

The availability of talent depends in part on geographic demand. Rob Power, recruitment manager for hydro and renewables at consultancy firm Mott MacDonald, says it is finding it particularly hard to fill posts in its Tokyo office, largely on account of a growing demand as the industry takes off in Japan. But experience says this will be temporary. “When we first started growing our Cape Town office a few years ago it was much harder to find suitably experienced engineers,” he adds. “This has now improved significantly as more candidates have entered the sector and gained experience in renewable technologies, particularly in wind and solar.”

The price of oil is another factor in the fortunes or otherwise of the renewable sector, says Cameron. “Many companies involved in developing our renewables space are also strong in oil exploration and production,” he says. “Clearly if less profitability is seen in these areas, they are less inclined to invest in renewables projects where the profitability often comes in the medium term.” Yet as people are laid off in traditional oil and gas positions, this also creates a pool of talent which could potentially fill some of the positions in the renewable sector, he adds.

Government policy can also have an impact on entire markets, as seen in the UK when the feed-in tariffs were more than halved for solar PV installations in 2011. Advisory firm EY recently called for a clear strategy around renewables following the general election, after its Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index ranked the UK in eighth place; its lowest for 12 years. “Investors will not put money on the table without some clear signals that the government intends to seize this opportunity,” says Ben Warren, power and utilities corporate finance leader.

Yet there are measures recruiters can take to help address skills shortages, including working to identify potential sources of candidates. “Recruitment agencies are in a unique position of being aware of talent shortages and able to advise clients on attraction strategy, which may mean seeking talent abroad or simply mean thinking more laterally as to where that talent could come from,” says Cameron. “Helping clients see where skills may be transferable is also a key value add role for the recruiter. For example, professionals that have operated onshore understand how to develop wind plants, which can also be applied to solar plants.”

Conington also highlights cross-skilling as an approach, giving the example of people who have worked in the water industry as another possible source of supply. “We have clients that will insist the candidates have relevant experience, but with the skills shortages that isn’t always possible,” he says. “This is where we look to change a client’s mindset and educate them on the value that cross-skilled candidates can provide. Another method is to hire junior talent and train them up. This is a more time-consuming process and may not be quick enough to fulfil immediate requirements, but you will have a long-term hire that will be ingrained into your company’s ethos.”

From a client perspective, it all comes down to the basics of recruitment: understanding the needs of the customer and who will be the right fit for a role. “They also need to be very clear about what candidates are looking for and be aware of their needs and aspirations, as well as remaining transparent throughout the process with their clients,” says Power. “This is the best way to support companies like us.”