Desperately Needing Green Manpower and a Strategy

One of the biggest challenges in the coming years is the need for much more manpower to ensure the green transition. Politically we need a strategy on how to overcome this challenge. Rather today than tomorrow.

It is certain. We lack 45,000 green employees in the period 2023 – 2030. That is evident when we extrapolate green employment figures from spring 2022.

There is no-beating-about-the-bush, when Jan Hylleberg, Deputy CEO at Green Power Denmark, gives words to the immense challenge of lacking green manpower.

“We urgently need a strategy to secure enough manpower to the green transition. We need to work strategically to ensure that the right employees and competences are present and available, when needed. As a green business organization representing companies and parties in the renewable energy industry, it is our job to make sure that everybody can get access to the right competences. Recruitment difficulties should not be an obstacle as Danish pioneers within renewable energy technology and solutions”, says Jan Hylleberg. 

Interim plays a vital part

With the official strategy of a 70% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030 and focus on contributing to the green transition, there is an urgent need to bring the right, competent resources onboard. And according to Jan Hylleberg – both interim and permanent hirings are crucial.

“In my point of view interim management plays a vital part of the solution. Interim and permanent hirings go hand in hand. They complement each other. Interim is the answer to two problems: when a company does not possess the needed competences inhouse OR when there is a need for quick action and additional manpower to a defined project or a specific period. In these situations, an interim solution is a tremendous added value to the company”, says Jan Hylleberg.

How one handles the joint co-existence of interim and permanent hirings depends on the company. It will differ from company to company, sector to sector.

“One needs to consider whether it is important that we have the manpower inhouse on a permanent basis – or whether it is only needed for a specific period. What is needed to get us from A to B successfully and effectively?”.

We also source internationally

The need for green manpower is huge – to such an extent that Danish companies are vacuuming the Danish market for the right competences. Currently, this is not enough manpower and consequently, many companies have also started to source green manpower in Europa.

“Actually, we are experiencing that Danish companies are sourcing from all over the world. This is a necessity if we want to guarantee enough green manpower. There is particularly a great need for engineering and IT specialists but ultimately, we need all kind of green profiles – from the factory floor to the management floor”.

 

Jan Hylleberg is Deputy CEO at Green Power Denmark – a non-commercial business organization which gathers approx. 1,500 members from across the green energy value chain. Green Power Denmark takes responsibility for creating the necessary framework and conditions to meet our national defined climate goals and push for a collective effort in the green transition.