“Spain has the capacity to produce the cheapest electrical energy in Europe due to the amount of solar resources it has and therefore it will produce the cheapest green hydrogen. Added to this is that it has a lot of space available to implement electricity production parks without colliding with the population or agricultural plantations. So it will become a natural energy exporter.” With these words he praised Spain’s strategic position in the ecological transition Maarten Wetselaar, CEO of Cepsa. this Wednesday in Davos.
The oil company’s main executive participated in the presentation of the report Green Molecules: the imminent revolution in the employment market in Europe, carried out by ManpowerGroup and Cepsa this Tuesday at the headquarters of the World Economic Forum.
The report estimates that renewable fuels will increase European GDP by 145 billion euros until 2040 and places Spain as the country that will benefit most from the push for renewable fuels. Keys, according to its authors, to reach the sustainable objectives set, given the impossibility of electrification of some sectors such as heavy transport or energy and heat intensive industry.
In terms of economic growth (GDP), the sector will contribute an additional 15.6 billion euros until 2040, this would mean an increase of 1% compared to the GDP of 2022.
From an employment point of view, it is expected that the tractor effect of the Spanish industry linked to green molecules will generate more than 116,000 jobs in this decade and 181,000 until 2040, which correspond to 11% of the total employment generated in the EU. and United Kingdom. The creation forecasts for the United Kingdom stand at 173,000, in Germany at 145,000 and in France at 105,000 new jobs linked to this new energy.
That leadership will not come regulated. The report indicates that the transition requires upskilling and reskilling of 60% of professionals in Europe to provide them with critical green skills. Countries such as Italy, Germany and Spain itself face the largest skills gaps that must be addressed through vocational training, mapping tools of the workforce and its capabilities, and public-private collaboration.
Specifically, Spain is the country where new jobs require more skills linked to the energy transition to 2040, a challenge for the training of the workforce. But at the same time, they will make it possible to reduce the gender gap that currently exists in the energy sector, reaching 37% representation of women in the green molecules industry.
This is due to a higher rate of incorporation of women, which would double their incorporation than that of men between 2030 and 2040, allowing them to occupy 51% of the new direct jobs generated in renewable fuels at the end of the 2040s.
“We are facing a new era that represents an enormous opportunity, not only for companies, but for millions of professionals. However, it can only be taken advantage of if we prepare people for it. The future of work is green and we have to work together to guarantee the future of the planet and its inhabitants,” commented Becky Frankiewicz, CEO of ManpowerGroup.
The demand for technical professionals is growing. Only about twenty occupations account for 8 out of every 10 new jobs generated in the renewable fuels industry: they are mainly mid-level and higher-level technical positions. Until 2040, the demand for mid- and high-level scientists and engineers, electricians, administration and sales directors, mining and construction workers, IT professionals (telecommunications), and metallurgy and machinery operators will grow.
88% of the new jobs generated by green hydrogen and biofuels by 2040 arise in sectors other than energy, such as the service, industrial or construction sectors, which indicates that the economy of green molecules has a driving impact in the entire productive value chain. Professionals who want to take advantage of one of the new jobs that will be created must be trained in one or more of the skills necessary to perform these occupations.
