QAZAQ GREEN.  Global energy employment continues to expand at nearly twice the pace of overall economic job growth, but mounting shortages of skilled workers threaten to slow down future progress. According to the new IEA World Energy Employment 2025 report, the energy sector employed 76 million people in 2024 — an increase of more than 5 million compared with 2019. The sector has accounted for 2.4% of all net jobs created in the global economy over the past five years.

The power sector now leads global energy employment, generating about three-quarters of recent job growth. Solar PV remains the strongest driver, supported by rising demand for nuclear power, grid infrastructure and energy storage. Rapid electrification across the economy is also reshaping labour demand: employment in EV and battery manufacturing grew by nearly 800,000 jobs in 2024.

Fossil fuel employment stayed resilient. Coal jobs grew in India, China and Indonesia, bringing the global coal workforce 8% above 2019 levels. Oil and gas have recovered most of the positions lost in 2020, though falling prices and economic uncertainty triggered layoffs in 2025. Early data suggest that energy-sector job growth will moderate to 1.3% in 2025 due to tight labour markets and geopolitical pressures.

Despite the strong overall performance, the report warns of a widening shortage of skilled labour. More than half of the 700 companies, unions and training institutions surveyed reported critical hiring bottlenecks, posing risks of project delays, rising costs and slower infrastructure development.

Technical trades — including electricians, pipefitters, line workers, plant operators and nuclear specialists — are in especially short supply. These occupations have added 2.5 million jobs since 2019 and now make up more than half of the global energy workforce. Demographic pressure is mounting: in advanced economies, up to 2.4 workers are nearing retirement for every new entrant under 25, with nuclear and grid-related professions facing the steepest imbalances.

To prevent the skills gap from widening further by 2030, the number of newly qualified workers entering the energy sector each year must increase by 40%. This would require an additional USD 2.6 billion in annual global investment — less than 0.1% of worldwide education spending. Effective measures include financial support for trainees, expanded apprenticeship programmes, greater industry involvement in curriculum design and investment in modern training facilities. The IEA also notes opportunities for retraining fossil fuel workers to transition into fast-growing parts of the clean-energy economy.