Whole new industry sectors are likely to develop around the energy transition – new to Ireland, in any case. The State simply doesn’t have the support ecosystem required by the offshore wind sector. The same applies to hydrogen production, should it happen. What skills will these sectors require, and what needs to be done to ensure they’re available when needed?
The energy sector remains small in employment terms, with numbers employed in Q4 2025 amounting to less than 1 per cent of total national employment, says Susan Gill, manager of climate strategy and skills at Solas, the further education and training authority. “Nonetheless, a forthcoming report on sectoral and occupational employment projections by Solas indicates that above-average growth of between 1.4 per cent and 1.8 per cent per annum out to 2030 is anticipated for the industry sector overall.”
The energy transition touches all aspects of the economy, including the workforce needed to deliver it, says Marc Byrne, energy transition partner at EY Ireland. “The shift towards offshore wind, electrification, EV usage and other low-carbon industries is already reshaping existing jobs while creating entirely new occupations across operations, engineering, construction, digital technologies, environmental management and energy services.
“New skills and capabilities that will be valuable in a low-carbon economy include power-systems engineering, marine logistics and engineering, environmental assessment, data analytics, and cybersecurity. Importantly, many of these skills are transferable from adjacent sectors such as manufacturing, telecommunications and construction.”
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Byrne says businesses should also invest in continuous learning and work closely with universities, institutes, apprenticeship providers and industry bodies to create structured reskilling and upskilling pathways.
“Ultimately, technology alone will not move the dial here – organisations and economies that gain the most significant advantage will be those that identify and start building future skills today.”
The further education and training (FET) sector is uniquely positioned to address evolving labour market needs through flexible, responsive provision, according to Gill. “Priorities for the FET sector include expanding modular learning, micro-qualifications and digital badging to offer tailored, short-term training that aligns with industry demands,” she says.
“By fostering cross-agency collaboration with industry partners, higher education institutions and Government bodies, FET can enhance skills forecasting, co-design programmes with employers, and deliver targeted training in areas such as AI, green construction, renewable energy and other emerging sectors. This agility enables FET to support Ireland’s economic growth and innovation while addressing critical workforce gaps in priority industries.”
While much of the discussion around Ireland’s energy transition focuses on infrastructure and technology, the greatest risk to delivery may be a shortage of skilled people, says Byrne. “The urgency is clear. Engineers Ireland has highlighted that approximately 22,000 additional engineers will be required to support infrastructure and economic development projects under the National Development Plan. As the energy transition moves from ambition to delivery, workforce constraints are increasingly becoming a critical bottleneck.
“The most immediate challenge lies in construction and electrical trades. Ireland’s retrofit programme aims to upgrade 500,000 homes to a B2 Ber standard by 2030, alongside large-scale deployment of heat pumps, solar panels and other low-carbon technologies. This will require substantial growth in the number of electricians, retrofit coordinators, heat-pump installers and civil engineering specialists.”
A second potential skills gap is grid and power systems engineering, Byrne continues. “Ireland is seeking to integrate significantly higher levels of renewable electricity while maintaining system reliability, creating growing demand for electrical engineers, grid planners, high-voltage specialists and power-system analysts to accurately model grid behaviour as the complexity of the system evolves.”
Lifelong learning is now recognised as crucial in this fast-changing landscape, says Gill. “Workers must be offered and avail of ongoing opportunities to reskill and upskill throughout their careers. The most sought-after qualities in job ads include adaptability and a willingness to learn. Reskilling existing workers will be as important as attracting new entrants to the sector.
“We need to ensure that the right people are trained at the right time in the pipeline or we risk educating a workforce before the jobs exist. This could result in the outward migration of key skills if we train people before an adequate industry is established. The flip side of this is that we can’t establish an industry without the skills, so adequate workforce planning is essential.”
