Stepstone analysis: Energy transition causes boom in "climate jobs"
- Essential shift to more climate-friendly technologies undermined by considerable labor shortage
- Job offers in the "climate skilled labor sector" more than doubled compared to 2022
- Rising demand for skilled workers in heating, electrical and refrigeration engineering
The energy and heating revolution is creating a boom in "climate jobs". Heating engineers, roofers, electricians, refrigeration engineers, solar and photovoltaic technicians: Depending on the job title, there were up to twice as many job ads on Stepstone.de in May 2023, when compared with the same time last year, according to an analysis by The Stepstone Group. These skilled trades are essential for the installation and operation of climate-friendly technologies.
For example, the demand for roofers who also install solar systems on houses has increased sevenfold within one year. Further results show:
- Mechatronics engineer for refrigeration technology: + 163 percent
- Electrical engineering technician (energy and building technology): + 99 percent
- Solar or photovoltaic technician: + 65 percent
- Heating technician including heating engineer: +54 percent
"We continue to see very strong demand for jobs in the skilled trades - this includes a large number of 'climate jobs'. Trade businesses are adapting to the energy and heat transition and are urgently looking for personnel in these areas. Experienced skilled workers and master tradespeople are not the only ones being sought. Soon the apprenticeships commence in Germany, where we will find out that the need is unbroken" says Dr. Tobias Zimmermann, labor market expert with The Stepstone Group. Hundreds of jobs in the skilled trades apprenticeship sector can currently be found on Stepstone.de.
Salaries over 40,000 euros possible in the "climate skilled labor sector"
According to the Stepstone Salary Report 2023, the gross median salary in the skilled trades occupational group is 39,956 Euro. Employees in the climate skilled labor sector in Germany can expect comparable salaries:
- Roofers: 36,000 Euro
- Mechatronics engineer for refrigeration technology: 39,000 Euro
- Electrical engineering technician (energy and building technology): 42,000 Euro
- Solar or photovoltaic technician: 40,000 Euro
- Heating technician including heating engineer: 42,300 Euro
About the Stepstone analysis
The StepStone Group's analysis is based on the average number of daily job advertisements on Stepstone.de. On the other hand, data experts have analyzed the change in the actual number of advertisements for the job titles mentioned. Basis of these analyses is the period from May 2022 to May 2023.
About the 2023 Stepstone Salary Report
The 2023 StepStone Salary Report draws on data from one of Germany’s largest salary information databases with data segmented by city and region, professional group, sector, professional experience, and much more. The collection and evaluation methodology used for this year’s report is different to that of the 2022 report. The salary information is now even more precise. Changes include a new weighting that ensures data is representative in terms of age, gender, university degree, and geographical distribution across the federal states. The information and salaries contained in the 2023 salary report are therefore not directly comparable with those in the 2022 report.
About the database and methodology
The salary report is based on an analysis of 561,761 salary datasets collected between January 2021 and November 2022. Of these, 69 percent relate to men and 31 percent to women. The proportion of employees with staff responsibility is 32 percent. All salary data is stated in euros and refers to the median, unless otherwise specified. All salary figures refer to gross annual salary including bonuses, commission etc. They are based on salary information collected from full-time employees. The information is representative of the working population at national and regional level based on the criteria of age, gender, and educational attainment.
The report is based on the salary data in the StepStone database. Unlike previous salary reports, the information on the Gehalt.de portal is no longer collected directly, but via the StepStone salary planner. The data is collected via the StepStone salary planner on StepStone.de and scientifically analyzed. All data has been checked by our compensation consultants and weighted.
What is the median salary? And how does it differ from the average salary? The average is calculated by adding up all values and then dividing by the number of data records. The average value can be influenced by extremely high or low values. A comparison using the median therefore helps to better classify the average value. The median is the value that lies exactly in the middle of all the values. This means that the number of salaries that are lower and higher than the median salary is exactly the same.
