Studies highlight need for skilled labour in building sector for successful Energiewende

Three studies highlight the additional need for skilled labour to implement the energy transition in the German buildings sector.

The Institute for Applied Ecology (Öko-Institut) has published a policy paper highlighting the need for an additional 100,000 skilled workers in window construction, heating installation, and plaster works, and stressing that the lack of workers already impedes the necessary modernisation of buildings. “Securing skilled labour for the implementation of the energy transition must become a priority on the political agenda,” writes the institute.
Find the press release in German here, and the policy paper in German here.

There is already a shortage of skilled workers in the plumbing, heating, and air conditioning sectors in Germany, and the labour requirements of the energy transition only aggravate the problem, according to a study published by Prognos and commissioned by the building technology umbrella organisation VdZ. By 2035, Prognos projects the need for 30,000 additional workers. For the implementation of the energy transition in the building sector, an additional 20,000 workers will be needed in plumbing, heating and cooling, writes Prognos.
Find the press release in German here, and the study in German here.

If Germany modernised all its existing buildings and made them more energy efficient in line with its 2050 climate targets, about 215,000 new jobs could be created in the building sector alone, said the Federal Association of Energy Efficient Building Envelopes (BuVEG) citing a study compiled by FIW München. The rate of building modernisation should be doubled to 1.6 percent of the German building stock annually, said BuVEG.
Find the press release in German here, and the study in German here.

For background, read the CLEW dossiers The Energiewende and Efficiency and The energy transition's effect on jobs and business.