Higher Education is not adapting at the speed of industry demand!

18th August 2025

One of the key hurdles in chasing down the skills gap in the renewables industry is education’s ability to keep pace with the energy sector’s transformation.

With a global pool of new-generation talent required in increasing numbers over the next decade, creating those skills, in an ideal world, needs an education system geared towards the energy transition.

But as a recent E.ON sponsored report pointed out: “If you want to introduce new studies at universities, it normally takes at least three years to have a new curriculum out and then it has to be implemented.”

“Efforts to address emerging skills requirements in areas such as digitisation, electric vehicles, energy storage, bio-energy, heating and cooling, manufacturing and energy access will be vital for avoiding skills shortages,” said the International Renewables Energy Agency (IRENA) in the report.

The agency states that the current situation provides an exciting opportunity for a new generation of tech-savvy professionals to innovate and make an impact ,while transitioning talent from sectors such as IT to help address the skills gap.

Renewables Connect is responding to the international skills shortfall with its “Introduction to Renewables” programme, a 60-hour learning experience, incorporating 15 sub-modules, equipping higher education students and in-sector and non-sector professionals with the knowledge to stand out at interview and beyond.