The electricity sector is now the largest energy employer globally, with employment in energy storage, power generation, transmission and distribution up by 4 million over the past five years, latest analysis indicates.
While battery storage currently represents a small share of grid employment, at around 2%, it has experienced rapid growth, with jobs increasing by 17% year-on-year in 2024, led by a surge in global battery storage investment and falling costs of utility-scale batteries — according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Employment report, released on December 5.
As the need for system flexibility rises, battery storage is expected to become one of the fastest-growing technologies in the power sector by 2035.
In the IEA’s current policies scenario, employment grows by 43%, while in terms of stated national policies, it more than doubles by 2035, and increases by 3.6 times under net zero emissions scenarios.
The booming workforce has already begun to materialize in recent years, with labour market indicators such as job postings increasing fourfold between 2018 and 2022.
In 2024, a third of power sector workers (more than 7 million), were involved in the construction and installation of power plants, dams, grids, batteries and auxiliary systems, the report said.
The construction sector added the most jobs year-on-year, driven by record investment in sources of low-emissions generation, as well as grids and battery storage. Another 3.5 million workers were employed in the manufacture of system equipment, such as solar panels and batteries.
However, according to the report, a dearth of skilled staff has contributed to higher project costs and eventually higher energy prices, in part due to employers raising wages to attract more workers.
In the US solar and battery sector alone, skill shortages contributed to a 43% rise in labour costs between 2021 and 2023, the report said.
In 2024, a combination of labour shortages and long lead times for equipment procurement led to the delay of around 53GW of solar projects in the US.
In India, similar delays and cost increases are affecting solar panel and battery storage battery manufacturers, as employers struggle to hire enough skilled workers to meet planned capacity expansions.
The IEA said there has also been an increased focus on attracting more students into energy-related tertiary degrees, especially masters and doctoral degrees, as a means to spur innovation.
Countries with a high output of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates also saw increased levels of innovation in the energy sector, such as patent applications and scientific publications.
South Korea, where the share of STEM graduates and per capita energy-related patent filings is among the highest globally, has seen its battery manufacturing workforce nearly triple since 2019 and increased the export value of its battery sector by 30% between 2020 and 2023.
Advanced economies and China enjoy the highest concentration of young energy-relevant tertiary graduates today, with nearly 10 graduates per 1,000 young people, while emerging market and developing economies see around one half of the same conferral rate.
