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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