“We are facing a great need”: how to make new “green” jobs attractive, which are already in short supply

Le secteur du photovoltaïque souffre notamment du manque de main d'oeuvre. Midi Libre – MICHAEL ESDOURRUBAILH

Le salon international des énergies renouvelables débute ce mercredi 11 décembre au parc des expositions de Montpellier. La question des emplois à venir, jusqu'à un million en trente ans, sera notamment évoquée. 

How to make the booming renewable energy sector attractive? The international Energaïa forum, which starts this Wednesday, December 11 at the Montpellier exhibition center (read below), will try to provide answers to professionals, particularly those in sectors under pressure.

Because the challenge is immense. Today, all audiences can be reached when it comes to these new jobs: young people still in school as well as adults in retraining.

Between 500,000 and one million jobs created in 30 years

“We have a mission to democratize training in ecological and energy transition professions. Because despite the level of education, it is never too late to move towards these new professions that make sense and carry major challenges” explains Kais Hannachi, coordinator of the association and training center ETRE (School of Ecological Transition) for Hérault.

There, young people aged 16 to 25, “with few or no qualifications”, are trained for two weeks or three months, or around a hundred per year for this department alone. Some of them will be present at Energaïa, this Wednesday, with those specialized in engineering from the EPF of Montpellier, to discover these “green” professions.

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“We are facing a great need” recalls the coordinator. Because of the 100,000 young people who leave the school system each year without a diploma, in parallel, in the next 30 years, “between 500,000 and a million jobs will be created in the ecological transition.”

At the forum, for example, a partnership will be signed with an energy company that finds itself in dire need of photovoltaic panel installers.

A young ecological income

“The jobs under pressure are found in all renewable energies, for maintenance, operation, construction sites, modernization of networks, etc. The recruitment needs are important” adds Agnès Langevine, vice-president of climate, green deal and sustainable housing at the Region, first partner of the Energaïa event.

“Furthermore, we need to make these sectors, whose image is sometimes conveyed as a little dated in their presentation, a little more attractive and revisit them in light of the commitment to the ecological transition. Young people can find fulfillment theret.”

The elected official recalls, alongside traditional training aid, the existence of the young ecological income. Funded by the region, it allows those who have had “atypical career paths, school dropouts or graduates who want to change direction” to resume a training course. This income, which varies between €700 and €1,000, “allows them to devote themselves to their training and if they create a business or an agricultural installation, we also support them.”

Hydrogen, offshore wind, green gas, geothermal energy… Two days of debates at Energaïa

The international forum on new energies is being held this Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 December at the Montpellier exhibition centre (free, for professionals, register online).

In the rich menu on offer, in addition to the stands, many conferences will deal with, for example, progress in structuring the hydrogen sector in Occitanie with training in dedicated professions.

But also what to expect for the solar sectors in 2025, collective self-consumption in the service of short energy circuits, understanding the issues and making the right choices on photovoltaic installations, the debates will also focus on geothermal energy as a tool for adapting to global warming or agrivoltaics, an acceptable or no.

The structuring of the offshore wind industry will be discussed, as will its economic benefits, or the development of green gases in Occitanie.

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