Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
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Table of contents
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7
Executive Summary
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Wind Workforce Forecast: from Energy Outlook to People Outlook Wind Workforce Development as an Industrial Challenge Wind Projects Duty Holders and Workforce Planning
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15 16 20 24 42 44
Energy Transition and Workforce Readiness
Country Commentaries
Methodology
Definitions
Lead Sponsor
Associate Sponsor
Copyright © December 2025 This document contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current views, expectations, assumptions and information of the Authors (GWEC & GWO). The authors and their employees and representatives do not guarantee the accuracy of the data or conclusions of this work. They are not responsible for any adverse effects, loss or damage in any way resulting from this work. Authors: Haiqing Wang (GWO), Ralph Savage (GWO), Feng Zhao (GWEC), Kshitij Madan (GWEC) Acknowledgements: The authors thank the following companies and contributors for their contribution to this research: Xodus Group; Lara Taylor, SGRE; Jacob Frederiksen, SP Wind; Paulo Cordiero, Katherine York and Danielle Portsmouth, ORE Catapult; UGES PowerMax; Francis Jayasurya (GWEC); Dr. K. Chandramohan, Chairman, NTC Group (NTC Logistics).
Permissions and usage: This work is subject to copyright. Its content may be reproduced in part for non-commercial purposes, with full attribution. Training photography courtesy of GWO certified training providers. Design: William Redfern Graphic Design, United Kingdom
Publication Date: 4 December 2025
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
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Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Ben Backwell, CEO, Global Wind Energy Council
The momentum behind wind energy is continuing to build and it is critical that this decade sees an acceleration in deployment, with the development of the global wind workforce key to turning global ambition into the realisation of wind energy’s potential on every continent. Ambition was set at COP28, where almost 200 nations agreed on a global goal to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, while wind power was recognised as a key technology to mitigate climate change. In 2024, GWEC’s Market Intelligence team recorded yet another record year for new wind energy capacity, with 117 GW of installations worldwide. That record growth is not enough however, and global wind capacity remains off-track for the tripling target.
The report also highlights how national institutions such as NIWE in India, SENAI/CTGAS-ER in Brazil, Germany’s Fachhochschulen and BZEE, as well as state-level programmes in the USA and Australia, are becoming critical partners in building the wind workforce. For GWEC and GWO, standardisation and international cooperation are essential to scaling up at pace. The next five years brings huge opportunity for the wind sector across the world. Meeting that potential will mean rising to the challenge and ensuring that as countries intensify their efforts to meet 2030 wind targets the sector is there to deliver.
The latest report tracking progress, Delivering on the UAE Consensus: Tracking Progress Toward Tripling Renewable Energy Capacity and Doubling Energy Efficiency by 2030, co-released by IRENA, the COP30 Presidency, and the GWEC-supported Global Renewables Alliance, highlights a significant gap in progress to meet the COP28 objective and keep 1.5°C within reach. The gap has closed on the year before, but still requires a growth rate of 16.6%. This can be achieved by targeting the key challenges to accelerating the scaling up of wind deployment: streamlining permitting, strengthening supply chains, mobilising finance, and investing in grids and storage. Wind deployment is still set for record years through the rest of the decade, with GWEC’s latest Global Wind Energy Outlook showing that current policies set the world on course to deliver 1TW of wind energy between 2025-2030. That will take total installed wind capacity past 2.1 TW globally. To build and maintain this expanding fleet, the wind industry will require more than 628,000 skilled wind technicians by 2030.
Onshore wind will continue to be the backbone of deployment, but offshore wind is growing rapidly and requires a specialised workforce with advanced technical skills and enhanced safety competencies. The Global Wind Organisation (GWO) and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) are calling for urgent action to address the workforce shortage and scale up installation capability. This sixth edition of the Global Workforce Outlook provides a framework for workforce growth, which can support the expected demand for skilled technicians across the global wind sector by 2030. Workforce demand is expected to surge, particularly in O&M. In this area growth is driven by the longevity of existing assets and the complexity of next-generation turbines. This evolving landscape calls for more diverse and advanced skill sets. The challenge is compounded by a lack of new entrants and natural labour attrition, widening the gap between available workers and accelerating demand.
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Foreword
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Jakob Lau Holst, CEO, Global Wind Organisation
The global wind industry is entering a period of remarkable opportunity. Wind power has established itself as one of the most competitive and scalable sources of electricity, and countries are turning to it to strengthen energy security, reduce emissions, and support economic growth. Yet, as this report makes clear, turning ambition into reality depends on more than the availability of turbines, infrastructure, or finance. It depends on people. The technicians who construct and maintain wind turbines are the foundation of this industry. Their expertise, professionalism, and commitment to safety enable wind projects to be delivered reliably and operated effectively. This year’s Global Wind Workforce Outlook highlights just how essential this workforce is to the next phase of global wind expansion.
Workforce development is also central to a just and inclusive energy transition. Wind energy offers high-quality jobs and long-term career paths in both rural and urban regions. Ensuring equitable access to training and supporting workers transitioning from fossil-intensive sectors are essential to building public support and delivering a socially resilient transition. I would like to thank all contributors to this year’s Outlook. Their work underscores a simple truth: the energy transition will be delivered by people – people whose skills, experience, and commitment make wind energy possible. As we look ahead to 2030, we must match our ambition with a sustained commitment to workforce readiness. By investing in the skills and safety of the wind workforce, we can ensure that global wind deployment continues to grow – and that the people powering that growth are supported every step of the way.
Between now and 2030, wind deployment is expected to increase significantly across many regions. Meeting this demand will require strong, capable technician workforces in the two value- chain elements that rely most heavily on onsite skills: Construction & Installation (C&I) and Operations & Maintenance (O&M). These roles are central to project delivery, asset performance, and long- term sector growth. The Outlook shows that as the global installed fleet expands, O&M will account for an increasing share of total labour requirements. Every new turbine added to the world’s wind capacity contributes to long-term maintenance needs. At the same time, C&I remains crucial. Periods of intense build-out will continue to place pressure on labour availability, especially where multiple large projects compete for similar skills. Ensuring adequate staffing for C&I and O&M will be essential
What is especially clear from this year’s analysis is that workforce development has become a strategic industrial imperative. Many countries face shortages of experienced technicians, limited training capacity, and growing competition for skilled labour. These workforce pressures can impact project schedules, increase costs, or compromise operational resilience. However, these challenges also present significant opportunities. Investment in workforce readiness strengthens local communities, builds technical capacity, and supports long-term economic development. Nations that invest in training infrastructure, expand access to certification, and prioritise safety will be better positioned to deliver wind energy at scale. For companies, the benefits are equally clear: improving reliability, reducing operational risk, and enhancing their ability to attract and retain skilled people.
to meeting project timelines and maintaining asset performance.
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Foreword
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Matt Riding Chief Commercial Officer Atlas Nextwave
Lead sponsor
The global wind industry is moving into a decisive decade. Ambition is rising in every major region and governments are turning commitments into auctions, targets and long-term policy frameworks. Technology is advancing, capital is available and project pipelines are growing at a scale the sector has never experienced before. Yet as this report shows, there is a fundamental constraint that will determine how much of this ambition can be delivered in practice. That constraint is the availability of skilled people. The labour challenge facing the wind sector is not only about technician numbers. It is a structural issue that spans the entire workforce system. Every country entering a major build-out phase is now experiencing pressure on construction crews, turbine technicians, commissioning specialists, cable and foundation teams, marine personnel and the many operational roles that ensure long-term availability. The speed and volume of global expansion are outpacing the systems that prepare, deploy and support these workers.
What makes this moment different is that workforce constraints are no longer local market problems. They are global coordination problems. The United States is navigating the dynamics between union and non-union labour and the availability of experienced offshore crews. Europe is competing with oil and gas for many of the same technical skill sets and is seeing experienced workers pulled across sectors. APAC markets are encountering visa and mobility bottlenecks that slow the deployment of specialised roles. In Latin America and markets such as South Africa and Vietnam, talent potential is high but structured entry pathways and large- scale training capacity remain limited. Each of these regions faces different pressures, but they all point to the same underlying issue. The current labour ecosystem of the global wind industry is not designed for the speed and intensity of the growth ahead.
Traditional recruitment and local training models cannot meet the next decade of demand. Wind is becoming a true global industry with interdependent talent flows. Large projects operate on international schedules and depend on workers who move from one region to another as demand peaks and dips. Developers, OEMs, vessel operators and service companies need workforce systems that can react quickly and safely to shifting project requirements. They need a stable base of new entrants arriving through structured, high quality pathways. They need internationally recognised competence standards that reduce retraining and accelerate time to deployment. They need mobility frameworks that allow skilled workers to move across borders without adding legislative or compliance risk. And they need all of this to happen at scale.
The wind industry has made strong progress over the past decade, especially in the development of technician training frameworks and safety standards. Yet the next phase of global growth will require a far broader and more coordinated approach. Competence standards need to evolve across a wider range of roles. Entry programs need to be faster and more accessible, particularly in regions with high talent potential and limited training infrastructure. Workforce mobility requires deeper alignment between regulators, industry bodies, vessel operators and crew managers. And workforce planning must be integrated into project development in the same way that supply chain and infrastructure planning already are.
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Foreword
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
At Atlas NextWave, we see these dynamics every day. Our work supporting offshore wind projects across established and emerging markets shows how quickly workforce shortages can slow
The Greenhands Offshore program is one example of how fast new talent can be developed when industry, training partners and local authorities work together. By preparing new entrants for offshore work within weeks, it creates a consistent flow of job ready personnel in regions where demand is rising rapidly. On the other end of the experience spectrum, compliant international mobility allows projects to access critical expertise at the moments it is needed most. Together, these elements support a more resilient and more flexible workforce ecosystem. The findings of this report highlight the urgency of building that ecosystem at global scale. Workforce strategy can no longer sit behind supply chain strategy or project engineering. It must be treated as core infrastructure for the energy transition. If the world is to meet its 2030 wind targets, the industry must widen the pool of new entrants, accelerate training capacity, expand international competence standards and strengthen the systems that allow skilled people to move safely between markets.
We are committed to playing our part in building that foundation and to working with partners across the world to ensure
Atlas NextWave is proud to support this report as lead sponsor. We share the belief that the next era of global wind growth will be shaped by the ability to build and sustain the workforce that delivers it. The turbines, vessels and infrastructure of the future will only reach their potential if the people behind them are supported by a workforce ecosystem that is robust, coordinated and ready to grow.
that talent is never the reason a project cannot move forward.
down project delivery or increase operational risk. It also shows how
powerful coordinated workforce systems can be when they are implemented well. Structured entry programs, harmonised competence development and compliant cross-border deployment are not theoretical concepts. They are practical solutions that allow developers to build and operate assets more predictably and more safely. Our focus is to operate as a long term knowledge partner to developers, OEMs and vessel operators, providing the workforce architecture and global deployment capabilities that enable projects to be delivered predictably and safely.
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Foreword
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Executive Summary Chapter 1:
The global wind industry is entering a decisive period of expansion as countries accelerate their energy-transition strategies and electricity systems adapt to growing demand. Wind power’s competitiveness and scalability continue to strengthen its position as a cornerstone of the global clean-energy mix. Against this backdrop, the capabilities, availability, and resilience of the wind workforce have become central determinants of the industry’s ability to deliver on its ambitions. Around the world, the energy transition has proven to be a powerful job creation engine – and the wind energy sector stands as one of its most dynamic examples.
sustained maintenance activities. These trends reinforce the importance of a well-trained workforce capable of safely executing high-risk technical tasks throughout the project lifecycle. O&M Represents an Increasing Share of Total Technician Demand One of the clearest findings of this year’s Outlook is that O&M forms a growing share of total onsite workforce requirements as global installed capacity expands and the turbine fleet ages. Although C&I continues to drive significant and often peak labour demand during construction years, O&M needs increase steadily and predictably over time.
This does not mean that O&M will become an increasingly substantial component. Rather, it becomes an increasingly substantial component of total workforce demand, while C&I remains essential for delivering new capacity. C&I Remains a Cornerstone of the Wind Workforce C&I continues to represent a major driver of technician demand, especially in markets with large project pipelines or concentrated build-out phases. Activities across this segment – supported by pre-assembly and staging – require mechanical, electrical, and commissioning capabilities, strong project coordination, and rigorous safety practices. Labour availability in this phase has a direct influence on project timelines, quality assurance, and cost control.
Wind Expansion Drives Increasing Labour Needs Across C&I and O&M Both onshore and offshore wind markets are projected to expand over the 2025–2030 period, though the pace of growth varies across regions. As the global installed fleet expands, technician requirements rise across the value chain, particularly in C&I – where turbine assembly, mechanical and electrical completion, and commissioning take place – and in O&M, where the long-term performance and reliability of the global fleet are maintained. Labour demand is shaped by both annual build-out cycles and underlying structural factors. Turbines continue to grow in size and sophistication; project logistics require higher coordination; and expanding installed capacity necessitates
This year’s Global Wind Workforce Outlook analyses the workforce requirements associated with wind deployment between 2025 and 2030, with a particular focus on the two value-chain segments that rely most heavily on onsite technicians: Construction & Installation (C&I) and Operations & Maintenance (O&M). Integrating energy deployment forecasts, workforce modelling, and industry expertise, this edition emphasises that meeting global wind targets depends fundamentally on the strength and preparedness of these technician workforces.
The growth in O&M is driven by:
• the expanding size of the global operating fleet, • the rising complexity of turbine systems,
• the need for routine inspections, repairs, and troubleshooting, and • the importance of maintaining safety and performance standards.
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Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Workforce Development is now a Core Industrial Challenge Across global markets, workforce constraints are becoming more visible and more consequential. Many countries face shortages of experienced technicians, competition for skilled labour across industrial sectors, limited training capacity, challenges associated with workforce ageing, and inconsistent application of internationally recognised training standards. These pressures highlight why workforce development is increasingly recognised as a strategic industrial issue rather than a peripheral concern. Project-level Workforce Planning Must Be Strengthened Chapter 3 of the report highlights a growing recognition of the importance of workforce planning in project management, people-competence management, and companies’ strategic planning. At the same time, we identify a gap: proactive workforce planning for installation work – both in terms of competence management and strategic planning – is relatively missing compared to maintenance sector.
Country Insights Show Common Workforce Themes Across Diverse Markets
Developers currently only consider workforce preparedness at a minimal viable level. This leaves substantial untapped value, including improved risk mitigation and more efficient resource allocation, that could be unlocked through more robust workforce planning. As project volumes continue to grow, the potential benefits of enhanced workforce planning will become even more impactful. Workforce Readiness Underpins a Just and Socially Resilient Transition Chapter 4 highlights the macro context of the energy transition, in which wind energy is positioned as both a driver of decarbonisation and a source of high-quality employment. Workforce preparedness contributes to economic resilience, supports regional development, and offers new technical career pathways – including for workers transitioning from fossil-based sectors. Ensuring equitable access to training, strengthening safety cultures, and offering durable employment opportunities will remain essential components of a just transition.
Despite their differences, common themes emerge: technician availability, training capacity, and retention are core challenges across all focus markets. Although many of these countries have outlined offshore wind development plans, substantial progress is not expected until after 2030. To provide a more comprehensive and objective perspective, this chapter extends workforce forecasts through 2030-2035, delivering a long- term outlook on demand across both onshore and offshore sectors. Detailed projections are presented in the dedicated section for each country. A Clear Call to Action The findings of this Outlook reaffirm that workforce readiness must be elevated to the same priority level as supply- chain investment, permitting reform, and grid development. Achieving 2030 wind deployment goals will require coordinated, strategic investment in technician training, certification, and long-term retention.
The six countries examined in this edition – United States, India, Brazil, Germany, France, and Australia – represent a wide range of market conditions. Each faces distinct workforce challenges: • USA: rapid onshore growth and the emergence (albeit uncertain) of offshore wind increase demand across both C&I and O&M. • India: deployment growth requires major scaling of training infrastructure. • Brazil: strong O&M demand and a need for upskilling in line with turbine modernisation. • Germany and France: mature markets with ageing workforces and growing O&M loads. • Australia: fast-growing onshore markets with significant shortages in electrical and mechanical skills, plus
a long term offshore pipeline with considerable planning demands.
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Chapter 1: Executive Summary
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Wind Workforce Forecast: from Energy Outlook to People Outlook Chapter 2:
Workforce demand in onshore and offshore wind is projected to increase significantly. By 2030, approximately 628,000 professionals will be required to meet industry needs. This growth is particularly pronounced in the operation and maintenance portion of the wind energy value chain, where the surge in workforce demand reflects an evolving need for higher and more diverse skill sets to service and maintain the world’s 2.1 TW wind fleet. Consequently, this trend raises critical questions for the industry regarding talent availability, skill development, and workforce readiness.
The updated GWEC Global Wind Energy Outlook, shows that between 2025 and 2030, new wind capacity additions are projected to reach 982 GW, bringing total cumulative installed capacity to approximately 2117 GW by 2030. This continued expansion of the wind sector will significantly increase labour demand across the value chain. On the implementation side, beginning at construction to commissioning and operation, the number of wind technicians required worldwide is expected to reach 493,000 in 2026, and exceed 628,000 by 2030, reflecting both the scale of new installations and the growing need for ongoing operations and maintenance.
Job creation is often cited as one of the strongest arguments supporting the clean energy transition – both as a key benefit and as a justification for it. Compared with nuclear power, renewable energy sources such as wind distribute their economic and social value more broadly across communities and industries; they are, quite simply, more inclusive and widely beneficial. 1 From a business perspective, employment in the wind sector – the wind workforce – should not merely be viewed as a byproduct of the transition, but as an essential means of achieving it. Building and empowering this workforce is fundamental to realising our collective clean energy goals.
Around the world, the energy transition has proven to be a powerful job creation engine – and the wind energy sector stands as one of its most dynamic examples. On the production side, renewables have spurred growth in industries that supply equipment, components, and technology. Manufacturers are hiring engineers, technicians, and factory workers to meet rising demand.
Then, on the implementation side, there’s a boom in construction, installation, and maintenance – the boots-on-the-ground work that brings wind energy projects to life. This report specifically addresses the implementation side in C&I and O&M processes (the teal boxes highlight the scope of research in the figure below).
Figure 1: Value Chain of Wind Capacity Development
Design & Planning
Manufacturing
Transportation & Logistics
Construction & Installation
Operation & Maintenance
Decommissioning
1 Submission 69. (n.d.). Inquiry into nuclear power generation in Australia: Evaluating Australia’s energy future – Renewable energy vs. nuclear power. Submission to the House Select Committee on Nuclear Energy, Parliament of Australia.
Design & Planning
Manufacturing
Transportation & Logistics
Construction & Installation
Operation & Maintenance
Decommissioning
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Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Ultimately, the same forces that shape the global energy outlook – policy ambition, technological innovation, market dynamics, and societal priorities – also define the outlook for people. As expectations for wind energy deployment rise, so too does the demand for skilled professionals who can design, build, and maintain these systems. In this sense, the energy outlook determines the people outlook: workforce growth follows the trajectory of the energy transition itself. Anticipating these shifts is essential for ensuring that the supply of talent keeps pace with the scale of opportunity in wind energy.
The outlook for global energy is shaped by a combination of interconnected factors. Policy ambition, regulatory frameworks, and government incentives set the direction for energy development, while market dynamics – such as investment flows, technology costs, and supply chain maturity – shape economic viability. At the same time, technological innovation, including advances in turbine efficiency, digitalisation and offshore capabilities, drives the pace and scale of deployment. Environmental and social priorities, from decarbonisation goals to community engagement, further influence the speed and distribution of energy growth.
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Chapter 2: Wind Workforce Forecast: from Energy Outlook to People Outlook
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Figure 2: Technician Demand 2022-2030
Workforce Structure We are in an era where the structure of the workforce evolves alongside energy deployment, creating new demands across the entire industry. The trend, in short, points to increased maintenance needs, with a gradually growing emphasis on offshore wind – an area that requires experience, exposure, and specialised skills. Historically, the development of wind energy has evolved along two main segments: onshore and offshore. Reflecting this structure, the workforce forecast continues to maintain a clear separation between onshore and offshore, as each requires substantially different skill sets and technical expertise.
Oshore Total per year:
Onshore Total per year:
468,985
441,952 447,226
428,137
390,407 387,337 385,918 380,647
351,658
159,432
159,432
119,345 120,012
106,713
89,031
76,031
66,621 73,999
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
Asia
North America
Europe
Middle East
Africa
Oceania
South America
Source: Brinckman, GWEC, GWO Intelligence
Workforce Structure: Onshore vs Offshore Offshore wind is expected to grow beyond 212 GW by 2030, representing approximately 10% of cumulative global
wind capacity (out of an estimated 2,117 GW worldwide). In the long term, onshore wind will remain the backbone of global wind energy, accounting for most of the installed capacity.
Workforce demand does not scale in the same way as capacity growth. While offshore wind may account for only about 10% of total installed capacity, it can represent as much as 25% of workforce demand by 2030.
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Chapter 2: Wind Workforce Forecast: from Energy Outlook to People Outlook
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Figure 3: Technician Demand by Portion of the Value Chain 2023-2030
Workforce Structure: Maintenance and Construction
Technician demand in the maintenance sector is catching up with the installation sector. As new capacity is added and the energy transition accelerates, the structure of the workforce is evolving. The construction and installation segment is directly impacted by new capacity additions, taking on the responsibility of deploying the new fleet. In contrast, the operations and maintenance segment must manage the entire cumulative installed capacity, which continues to grow over time. These dynamic drives increasing demand for technicians in O&M as cumulative capacity expands. It also introduces new skill requirements, as these two parts of the value chain – while related – are not identical and require distinct competencies.
400,000
351,210
344,723
343,048
336,968
326,182
311,680
315,205
311,441
305,328
300,000
277,209
249,868
224,998
202,762
182,035
200,000
163,508
146,133
130,848
116,013
100,000
0
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
Operation & Maintenance Operation & Maintenance
Construction & Installation Transportation & Logistics
Design & Planning
Manufacturing
Construction & Installation
Decommissioning
Source: Brinckman, GWEC, GWO Intelligence
Design & Planning
Manufacturing
Transportation & Logistics
Construction & Installation
Operation & Maintenance
Decommissioning
Design & planning
Manufacturing
Transportation & logistics
Construction & installation
Operation & maintenance
Dec
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Chapter 2: Wind Workforce Forecast: from Energy Outlook to People Outlook
Figure 4: Technician Demand by Roles and Responsibilities (2025-2030)
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
Workforce Structure: Technician Responsibility and Job Roles
300,000
Wind energy is setting a precedent with its rapid technological evolution and fast deployment. This has been achieved without formal agreements between companies, but it is possible to align definitions of technician roles at a high level 2 . This steady alignment between employers on job roles provides a good foundation to forecast workforce needs at a more granular level, considering technician roles and responsibilities. While companies may use different naming conventions, the purpose of this forecast is not to enforce terminology but to understand the skills and experience levels that will be needed.
200,000
100,000
0
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
Wind Workforce Demand by Responsibility – C&I – O&M
Assembly (Pre-Assembly Support Technician and Assembly Technician)
140,250 137,340 156,870 150,900 153,830 157,130
Electrical Work (Commissioning Technician)
106,940 104,750 118,810 117,170 117,820 119,940
EHS/QHSE (Lead Technician/Supervisor, Site Manager, Construction Manager)
27,410 26,840 27,990 28,570 29,970 31,410
Assembly
Technical Advisory (Field Engineer/Technical Support, Troubleshooting Technician)
36,810 36,380 41,030 40,310 41,420 42,710
Electrical
Component Repair (Blade Repair Technician, Advanced Blade Repair Technician, Blade Repair Supervisor Regular Inspection (Service Support Technician, Service Technician, Electrical Repair Technician, Mechanical Repair Technician) Corrective Maintenance (Troubleshooting Technician, Field Engineer/Technical Support)
68,120 75,560 83,340 919,30 101,120 110,300
EHS/QHSE
Technical adv
86,520 96,640 108,580 121,100 135,600 152,560
Component Repair
2 Global Wind Organisation Job Roles in Wind (2025, May 23): Mapping career pathways for wind turbine technicians. Global Wind Organisation.
8,850 9,820 10,830 11,950 13,140 14,330
Regular Inspection
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Chapter 2: Wind Workforce Forecast: from Energy Outlook to People Outlook
Corrective
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
In terms of experience levels, which are considered as a separate layer rather than a secondary attribute of job roles, we foresee growing demand for intermediate to advanced-level technicians, reflecting the sector’s increasing technological complexity and the operational requirements of both onshore and offshore installation.
‘Global Wind Organisation’s Job Roles in Wind’ outlines the structure of technician roles and their corresponding experience levels within the wind industry. The research identifies four primary career pathways – Pre-Assembly, Installation, Service, and Blade Repair – which represent the core areas of work for wind turbine technicians. Progression within these pathways is achieved through a combination of education, technical certification, and hands-on field experience 3 . Among the four groups, Service Support Technician and Blade Repair Technician are closely associated with the maintenance sector. Currently, the largest share of the workforce holds technician roles in Assembly (2025–2029). However, this distribution is expected to evolve over time as maintenance demand continues to grow. By 2030, the demand for technicians in Regular Inspection is expected to exceed that for Assembly.
3 Global Wind Organisation Job Roles in Wind (2025, May 23): Mapping Career Pathways for Wind Turbine Technicians. Global Wind Organisation.
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Chapter 2: Wind Workforce Forecast: from Energy Outlook to People Outlook
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Wind Workforce Development as an Industrial Challenge Chapter 3:
This evolution has undoubtedly improved efficiency, as the industry has discovered that specialisation streamlines operations and drives performance. However, it has also created a new challenge: no single entity now holds full responsibility or influence over workforce development and long-term capability building across the entire value chain. This fragmentation raises important questions about how the industry can collectively ensure the availability of a skilled and competent workforce to meet the demands of the accelerating energy transition. No single entity now holds full responsibility or influence over workforce development and long-term capability building across the entire value chain
Early wind development was led by fully integrated companies handling the entire value chain. They knew the whole value chain and took ownership of the roles and responsibilities that defined a framework for workforce planning. That is no longer the case. The wind energy sector has undergone rapid evolution, both technologically and commercially. Over the last twenty years, the industry has moved away from a model in which a single company could handle the entire value chain – covering construction, maintenance, and power generation – toward one in which firms increasingly focus on specialised services, supplies, or solutions. Technicians are an essential component in delivering energy transition targets, yet in this context, no single company can take full ownership of addressing the shortage as companies are increasingly focusing on specific segments of the value chain.
Today, only a handful of OEMs retain a wind farm development and operation business. The degree of OEM involvement, however, varies by market. In North America and parts of Asia, Engineering, Procurement and Construction(EPC) contractors typically handle installation and project commissioning. In China, asset owners often carry out installation work for their own wind farms and may even procure towers directly from third-party suppliers, leaving OEMs with a limited role in construction. By contrast, in Western markets, turbine OEM contracts commonly include installation and commissioning services, contributing to higher turbine costs compared to Chinese models. Overall, there is no universal (‘one-for-all’) approach, but a clear movement toward specialisation and redistribution of project responsibilities across the value chain.
Technicians play a vital role in delivering renewable energy projects, which collectively drive progress toward global renewables development and energy transition targets. In public discussions about these targets, much attention is often given to policy frameworks and supply chain challenges. However, one critical aspect is frequently overlooked: the workforce. The availability of skilled workers is, in fact, a fundamental part of the supply chain. Yet, it has not received the same level of recognition or systematic planning.
Through interviews with industry experts, this report identifies how workforce planning and competence management are increasingly acknowledged as key enablers of the energy transition – but the practice is still underdeveloped at any meaningful level. As wind energy continues to expand rapidly, a clear trend has emerged: companies are becoming increasingly specialised within specific segments of the value chain. For example, in the past, an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) might have acted simultaneously as a power producer, turbine supplier, and constructor.
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Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Wind Projects Duty Holders and Workforce Planning Chapter 4:
Figure 5: Wind Project- Project Lifecycle, Major Tasks and Contracting Practices
Workforce planning in the wind industry typically reflects where an organisation sits in the project value chain – a pattern that is well understood but often underestimated. Upstream developers tend to defer workforce planning to partners, especially in onshore wind, and most companies still manage talent needs within discrete functions rather than enterprise-wide. In contrast, O&M has developed more sophisticated and broadly adopted workforce planning practices, driven by its strategic importance and long-term labour demands. This uneven maturity underscores the central challenge: organisations are expanding faster than their workforce strategies, creating operational, financial, and competitive risks that can no longer be treated as routine.
Common Contracting Practices and Duty Holders The content in brackets indicates the duty holders in common practices
Construction & Installation
Operation & Maintenance
Owner/Operator
Project Management Company (PMC)
Developer/Investors
Warranty typically lasts 5 years, and a wind farm’s operational life is around 20 years, which means 15 years of maintenance beyond the warranty.
Option A
Option B
Maintenance beyond warranty (OEMs, ISPs, Owner/Operator)
Maintenance within warranty (OEMs)
Balance of Plant (OEMs or EPCs)
Turbine installation (OEMs or EPCs)
Commissioning (OEMs or EPCs)
Civil Work (EPCs)
Wind Farm Operation (ISPs, Owner/Operator)
In the Construction & Installation phase, it is common for Developer/Investors to use multi-contract approach. A contract for turbine supply, and its installation, depends on region, and is either handled by OEMs or EPCs. Developer/Investors may also choose to contract with a project management consultancy, which creates a single point of responsibility. Separate contracts will be signed for civil works (foundations, roads) and electrical balance of plant (eBoP). In some cases, EPCs may take on project design responsibilities, extending their value chain by stepping into Project Management Company (PMC) roles and contracting directly with OEMs as turbine suppliers. These are exceptional scenarios, not the standard practice.
After commissioning, the developer hands over the completed project to the Owner/Operator. The operation of a wind farm is typically carried out by the party responsible for running the asset, typically the operator or owner, and is independent of warranty. Wind farm maintenance depends on its warranty status during the warranty period. The OEM usually performance maintenance, while after the warranty expires, maintenance can be handled by any contracted party- OEM in-house teams, Independent Service Providers (ISPs), or the operator’s own maintenance team, depending on winning the bid. SCADA systems often give OEMs significant influence over operations and maintenance, even beyond the warranty period. Warranty typically lasts 5 years, and a 20 years, which means 15 years of wind farm’s operational life is around maintenance beyond the warranty.
Design & planning
Manufacturing
Transportation & logistics
Construction & installation
Operation & maintenance
Dec
16
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Workforce Planning and Competence Management Workforce planning is the process of understanding prospective workload requirements and applying this knowledge to inform staffing needs. Throughout the process, workload estimation is essential. In the wind energy sector, workforce planning for wind technician 3 roles involves estimating installation and maintenance workloads specific to wind turbines, while considering critical factors such as technician availability, skills and competence assessments and their alignment with future business goals or technology advancements. This report finds that investors and developers, who operate in the upstream segment, often delegate workforce planning to their partners, a pattern that is particularly pronounced in onshore wind. Onshore projects are typically smaller and dispersed across multiple sites, making direct management of technical staff challenging. Developers focus on
Plant (eBoP) contractor connects the turbines to the substation, handling internal cabling, switchgear, and grid connection works. Some Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractors have the capacity to perform both civil and eBoP scopes. Once construction is complete, the wind farm Owner/Operator becomes the power producer, selling the generated electricity to the grid. To maintain high availability and minimise downtime, O&M are handled either by the owner’s in-house team or by ISPs. When reading the chart, it can be understood as a workflow showing how responsibility flows from project development through construction to operation – starting with the developer (project initiation and contracting), moving through PMC, civil works, turbine supplier, and eBoP during the construction phase, and finally ending with the Owner/Operator responsible for long-term operation and maintenance.
securing approvals and financing, defining workforce eligibility requirements while relying on specialised contractors and service providers for implementation and execution. This approach is reinforced by the established contracting tradition in onshore wind, where a well-developed network of ISPs handle installation, maintenance, and operations, providing flexible, site-specific workforce solutions. This allows developers to concentrate on their core strategic activities. A similar pattern exists in the offshore segment, where it is rare for a single company to manage the entire value chain, from approvals to operating the asset. Projects can still run smoothly even when developers are not directly involved in technical execution. However, in offshore wind, there is often a closer connection – or overlap – between the roles of OEMs and turbine installers. Input for this chapter has been collected from a range of companies, including turbine manufacturers, service providers,
In a wind energy project, the developer (often the investor) is the driving force behind the project, responsible for securing land rights, obtaining government permits, conducting feasibility studies, and arranging financing. Developers also negotiate the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and, after construction, may either operate the wind farm themselves or sell it to another owner. Sometimes, developers manage all contracts directly – including those with turbine suppliers and construction contractors – but they may also appoint a PMC to oversee the project and act as a single point of responsibility. The civil works company begins the physical construction phase, carrying out activities such as building access roads, laying turbine foundations, and preparing logistics and accommodation facilities. After this, the turbine supplier delivers and installs the wind turbines; their engineers often supervise installation and commissioning to ensure technical compliance. The Electrical Balance of
3 A wind turbine technician is a broad term for professionals who are responsible for assembling, installing, inspecting, servicing, maintaining, operating and repairing wind turbines. Global Wind Organisation. (2025, May 23). Job roles in wind: Mapping career pathways for wind turbine technicians. Global Wind Organisation.
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Chapter 4: Wind Projects Duty Holders and Workforce Planning
Global Wind Workforce Outlook 2025-2030
Figure 6: Presence of Workforce Planning and Competence Management
The color coding has three levels, from lightest to darkest: Ad hoc ■ , Medium ■ and Integrated ■ . Users can find the detailed definitions in Chapter 7, Methodology.
Construction & Installation
Operation & Maintenance
EPC (installation and balance of plant & commissioning) The contracted work and projected income for the next 1–2 years are used to guide technician training and recruitment planning. With the expansion of construction demand, some EPCs have established task–skill– technician competence management systems and have begun investing in in-house training capacity.
OEM (installation and balance of plant & commissioning)
OEM owner/operator service function
Third-Party Recruiting
EPC (civil work, logistics)
Investor/Developer
ISP s
The transactional recruiting service company actively
is strongly embedded at the strategic level. OEMs benefit from robust internal resource pools, which allows them to align their workforce and competencies with the turbine technology roadmap, upcoming project pipelines, and the needs of the maintenance and service function.
ISPs demonstrate a high level of workforce planning. They expect their technicians to have well-rounded skills and experience with as many dierent turbine models as possible, to be able to solve issues eectively. Technicians from ISPs are often required for major maintenance and troubleshooting tasks, which often require senior expertise. ISPs that sign long-term service contracts will have a strong understanding of capacity management as well.
as a strategic planning process
maintains and manages technician competence, invests in programmes to attract new entrants to the industry, and innovatively integrates their data—CRM and competence management
Workforce planning is conducted on an ad hoc basis to support project scheduling and resource allocation. The process also supports the training and retention of experienced technicians, ensuring that skilled personnel are available for complex lifting, transport, and assembly operations across multiple projects.
OEM’s in-house maintenance function
OEMs have established task–skill–technician competence management systems and have long histories investing in in-house training capacity.
has a long history of skill development and strong technician competence. Also, when it comes to developing the workforce for the industry, we observe many technical and commercial leaders at EPC companies who have earlier careers in OEMs and asset owners’ service teams. Close collaboration between the OEM and the Operator’s in-house maintenance function in the area of maintenance is observed. The maintenance function also has a solid understanding of the turbine’s technical requirements and often takes an advisory role in manpower planning for maintenance projects.
as a competence management process
systems—to predict regional technician shortages.
Aside from a small number of oshore developers who have an established process, most implement it to meet compliance requirements, verifying contractor eligibility. Local workforce readiness is rarely considered during the Final Investment Decision (FID) stage, which occurs before contracts with construction partners are signed.
At the project management level, workforce planning in OEM installation and commissioning tends to be ad hoc and reactive. This is due to the high degree of subcontracting in project execution (onshore), where the OEM often provides key specialists rather than full installation teams. As a result, OEMs frequently operate in a Technical Advisor (TA) role, working closely with EPC contractors who supply the majority of on-site labour.
Regular workforce planning is carried out to maintain alignment between stang levels and project timelines.
as a project management process
its level of priority within organisations. This is due to the critical nature of maintenance activities, which require a higher level of technical skill – such as troubleshooting and system diagnostics – and are typically carried out by full-time
and project developers, to understand how workforce planning is positioned across different segments of the wind project development value chain.
The findings indicate that workforce planning practices tend to be function- dependent rather than organisation-wide. Moreover, the process is most developed within the maintenance sector, both in terms of its breadth of application and
employees under long-term contracts. As a result, maintenance workforce planning tends to be more structured and strategically integrated compared to other functions.
See the detailed definitions in Chapter 6, Methodology
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Chapter 4: Wind Projects Duty Holders and Workforce Planning
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