Due to the package of new laws and strategies of the German state to increase the share of solar energy in total national consumption, there has been a parallel growth in employment in this industry. In this way, as of July 2023, Germany, behind the USA, became the world's largest employer in jobs related to PV systems.
According to data collected by GlobalData, with 619 new jobs recorded in July 2023 alone, Germany left far behind its closest competitor, the UK, which employed 376 people in the same period.
When looking at the overall figures, German employers from the solar sector employed 96,000 workers by the end of 2022, according to Solar Power Europe estimates.
According to Carsten Körnig from the German Solar Industry Association (BSW), it is necessary to hire at least 100,000 more workers if the goals of solar expansion set by the Federal Government are to be met. These targets foresee an annual level of new installations of 22 GW by 2026 or even double what was installed in 2023.
In the Law on Renewable Sources, the Government outlined that 215 GW of solar capacity should be installed by 2030.
In addition to facilitating bureaucratic procedures, the state is aware that to achieve this goal, it is necessary to have a sufficient number of qualified workers. Since there aren't enough of them on the German labor market, BSW and the Skill Council of Green Jobs have signed an agreement to integrate skilled Indian workers into the German solar industry.
"The deployment of well-trained experts for the solar industry in Germany is important for our energy transition," said Udo Philipp, German state secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.