News

Renewable jobs growing 7 times faster than average

Published

10 years ago

May 1, 2015

Blue & Green Tomorrow

Jobs in the renewable energy sector are growing seven times faster than the UK national average, new analysis reveals. In total there are now over 112,000 people employed in the sector.

According to the Renewable Energy Association (REA) employment in renewable energy increase by 9% across all sectors this year. This compares to the 1.2% average growth the Office of National Statistics reported for the whole of the UK over the same period.

The East Midlands, North West England, London and Scotland saw particularly large increases in a number of renewable energy sectors, while the highest performing sector was biomass, which saw jobs increase by almost a fifth.

Dr Nina Skorupska, chief executive of REA, commented, “We are delighted to see such significant jobs growth across all technologies and industries in the renewable energy sector. This reflects greater confidence not only in the renewables market, but also the wider economy as a whole.

“Our industry offers a wealth of unique and exciting career opportunities and plays an essential part in ensuing that the UK meets its renewable energy targets.”

With the general election less than a week away, the figures also highlight the potential opportunities for economic growth and energy security for the incoming government. While both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have pledged to grow the number of green jobs should they win the general election, the Conservative part has not made a similar pledge.

“It is of the upmost importance that renewable energy remains a priority for the incoming government,” Skorupska added.

“We look forward to working with the next government to ensure that even more is done to support our industry to ensure we can continue to create more skilled jobs and maintain the important growth seen over the last couple of years.”

Photo: cariliv via Flickr