January 2012: The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has published a working paper titled “Renewable Energy Jobs: Status, Prospects & Policies,” which analyzes the potential for employment creation of grid-connected renewable energy generation and biofuels, calling for increased training and education in renewables to boost job benefits in this sector, currently estimated as employing over three million people.

Highlighting key lessons for policy makers, the paper underscores that caution is needed when relying on existing data on renewable energy jobs, the potential for net job creation, job opportunities across the value chain, and the need to shift towards renewables in order to create greater employment opportunities. The paper also highlights that sustainable job creation depends on stable and predictable deployment policies, and the influence of industrial policy on job creation.

The paper contains sections on the skills required for jobs in the sector, the current number of jobs in the sector globally, the potential for global job creation in the renewable energy sector, and how countries can promote employment benefits within the sector. [Publication: Renewable Energy Jobs: Status, Prospects & Policies]