HE failing to match clean energy workforce demand – Study

The rapid adoption of renewable energy around the world is not being matched by changes in higher education, with the result that the world still produces more workforce personnel for fossil fuel than renewable energy industries, according to a recent academic study.

“The global higher education system may be slow to reform because of the entrenched interests of the fossil fuel industries, which have political and financial influence on higher education,” argues the paper titled “The failure to decarbonise the global energy education system: Carbon lock-in and stranded skill sets” that will be published in the April issue of Energy Research & Social Science.

Authored by Roman Vakulchuk and Indra Overland, both of whom are based at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, the study argues that concept of carbon lock-in, which refers to the self-reinforcing inertia of the fossil fuel-based energy system through structural path dependence, prevents the introduction of alternative energy technologies despite their environmental and economic advantages.

While numerous studies have dealt with carbon lock-in effects in different areas and at different levels, no research has examined the presence of carbon lock-in in the global energy education system in terms of educational content, the study argues.

As the energy transition involves the transformation of professions and labour markets, which in turn depend on the availability of a workforce with the right education and competence, the study assesses how quickly global higher education is transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy in terms of educational content.

The research is based on a review of 18,400 universities and the creation of a dataset of 6,142 universities that provide energy-specific education in 196 countries. The study compares the prevalence of educational programmes oriented towards fossil fuels and renewable energy.

Workforce mismatch

Lead study author Vakulchuk told University World News the most important finding of the study was that “the world still produces more workforce for fossil fuels than for renewable energy industries”.

Vakulchuk explained: “Many universities all over the world continue to prioritise education in fossil fuels and are failing to meet the growing demand for a clean energy workforce.”

In 2019, the study found that 546 universities had faculties and-or degrees dedicated to fossil fuels whereas only 247 universities had faculties and-or degrees in renewable energy.

The global share of renewable energy degree programmes at public universities rose from 16% in 1999 to 34% in 2019 and was lower than that of private universities, which saw an increase from 21% in 1999 to 39% in 2019, according to the study.

“The private universities have been slightly more active than public universities in shifting to renewable energy education. This may be because private universities are less prone to carbon lock-in effects,” the study suggests.

As many as 68% of the world’s energy-focused educational degrees were oriented towards fossil fuels, and only 32% focused on renewable energy, it found.

Vakulchuk said this structural problem has “negative implications for renewable energy education as the latter remains greatly underfinanced”.

He added: “We also found that there is a shortage of skilled teaching staff in the area of clean energy, both in developed and developing countries which also adds to the structural problem.”

This situation is confirmed by a study on graduate and undergraduate university programmes in wind energy in the United States which estimated that the United States will need more than 50,000 university-educated professionals with graduate degrees by 2030 to support wind sector development and that the current US education system falls considerably short of meeting this demand.

Vakulchuk said developing countries lag even further behind developed ones such as the US in terms of investing in higher education for renewable energy “even though the need for professionals trained in renewable energy is greater in developing countries” where energy demand is projected to grow faster.

According to the study, the continued prioritisation of fossil fuel education by universities is likely to complicate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of carbon neutrality, “since the qualifications and skill sets of the workforce will be mismatched with the needs of the energy sector”.

At the current rate of change, energy-focused university degrees would be 100% dedicated to renewable energy only by the year 2107.

“Since a career may last 30 to 40 years, this creates a risk of long-term carbon lock-in and stranded skill sets through (mis)education,” the study notes.

“Along with lack of capital, underdeveloped regulatory frameworks for renewable energy, and entrenched fossil-fuel business interests, the mismatch between energy education and the needs of the renewable energy industry may hold back the energy transition in many developing countries,” the study argues.

Urgent reform

Vakulchuk said there were already severe shortages of skilled labour for clean energy industries which are likely to grow further as the world transitions towards renewables.

“Universities are facing the challenge of receiving continued support and funding from fossil fuel actors which creates carbon lock-in effects at universities which struggle to introduce new educational programmes in clean energy,” Vakulchuk said.

The latest study, therefore, provides “important take-away messages” to higher education policy-makers and decision-makers to “focus on human capital production for clean energy systems through reorienting public funding – that now goes into supporting educational programmes in fossil fuels – towards the needs of renewable energy education”, he explained.

“Ministries of higher education need to work together with universities and plan fast-tracking educational (degree) programmes in solar, wind, and hydro energy,” he said.

“Without urgent reform, carbon lock-in in the global energy education system may have a detrimental impact on the energy transition,” he concluded.

More intensive engagement

Professor Walter Leal, head of the Research and Transfer Centre, Sustainability and Climate Change Management, at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany, told University World News the study draws attention to the need for universities to engage more intensively on matters related to renewable energy.

“Universities are at the forefront of research and innovation, making them critical players in advancing renewable energy technologies,” Leal said.

“Apart from educating students about the importance, technology, and implementation strategies of renewable energy, universities can engage in a holistic understanding of renewable energy, encompassing its technological, economic, social, and political dimensions.

“This interdisciplinary approach is important for solving complex energy challenges, especially in developing countries,” Leal said.

Dr Annalisa Pavan, long-time academician and currently an independent researcher on higher education in Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states, told University World News she suspects the decision adopted at the recent COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems by 2050, “in keeping with science”, may impact the global energy education system and “delay changes and reforms of university programmes”.

Pavan said: “It will be especially interesting to see if and how university programmes will change in the six member countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), namely, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.”