Top 9 Tips on How to Attract Top Talent to Your Renewable Energy Project

The renewable energy sector is experiencing unprecedented growth, creating a surge in demand for skilled professionals in wind, solar, and battery energy storage jobs. As the industry expands, companies face fierce competition to attract and retain top talent with specialised technical and engineering skills and experience, particularly in emerging technologies like Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

Businesses can apply various strategies to maximise their hiring potential and attract the broadest range of candidates. This article explores nine key tactics to draw exceptional candidates, including:

• showcasing sustainability initiatives, 
• offering competitive compensation packages, 
• investing in career development, 
• and building a strong employer brand. 

By implementing these strategies, companies can position themselves as employers of choice in the renewable energy sector, ensuring they have the talent to drive innovation and progress in this vital industry.

1. Focus on Employer Brand 

Employer brand is the face of an organisation in terms of recruitment. It’s the first place that prospective talent will look when identifying whether they want to work for a company, and it’s the most crucial factor when attracting candidates who align with that company’s mission. 

A company’s employer brand includes its website, social media, and any content it produces. It is also passively affected by the perception of an organisation and how it acts according to its mission, including employee and client reviews, mentions in news or industry articles, and even word of mouth. 

Leverage social media presence

Renewable energy companies can use platforms like LinkedIn, X, and Facebook to connect with potential candidates and promote job openings to a broader audience. By posting regularly and consistently, organisations can establish their brand's personality and values. Sharing information about the industry, new developments, and industry insights demonstrates the passion for renewable energy that candidates will seek.

Highlight employee success stories

Showcasing employee success stories significantly impacts attracting top talent. Companies can feature profiles of team members who have grown within your organisation or the project success of specific teams. These narratives demonstrate your company's commitment to employee growth and development, making it an attractive prospect for potential candidates.

Participate in industry events and job fairs

Engaging in industry events and job fairs provides an excellent opportunity to build a strong employer brand. Organisations can showcase their latest projects, innovations, and career opportunities by participating in such events. Events like Wind Energy Hamburg allow employers to showcase their opportunities, sites such as Dogger Bank have held career taster days, and major wind energy employers such as SSE have sponsored career fair events. 

This exposure helps attract passionate individuals eager to engage in meaningful, world-changing work within the renewable energy sector.

2. Showcase Sustainability

The renewable energy industry's main focus is to develop clean energy, reduce fossil fuel usage, and improve the world. Companies in this sector should prominently feature their green policies and sustainability achievements to attract passionate candidates. By integrating social responsibility and sustainability into their business model, companies can establish themselves as top employers in the renewable energy sector.

Highlight green projects

The key focus of renewable energy projects, and their main draw in the industry compared to other sectors, is their sustainability efforts. Companies must make every effort to communicate these initiatives effectively to attract passionate candidates who align with this mission. 

This includes avoiding jargon and focusing on results, including recent achievements and statistical information. It’s also essential to highlight your company’s work's impact on the environment and people’s lives. To be effective, this information needs to be carefully curated and easily accessible on company websites and social media.

Communicate long-term environmental goals

Sharing long-term environmental goals demonstrates a company's commitment to sustainability. It’s common for companies to have a Sustainability Statement as part of their web content, and renewable energy companies need to have robust and demonstrable goals. 

When communicating sustainability goals, companies must be transparent about progress, address their challenges openly, and emphasise their commitment to the industry's sustainable development. It’s crucial to highlight the positive impact of industry growth on employment in the sector, highlighting the continued opportunity for potential candidates.

Emphasise corporate social responsibility

Renewable energy companies will naturally integrate sustainability into their business model and culture to attract candidates who share the industry's vision. 

This is achieved by making public, measurable commitments that fulfil your organisational purpose, focusing on protecting people and the planet first in business processes, and directly involving employees in sustainability initiatives. These initiatives embed the sustainable objectives of a renewable energy business into the core of the culture. 

3. Improve Job Descriptions

Often, the first interaction a candidate will have with a renewable energy company is through a job advert. If the information in the job generates enough interest, the candidate will move on to further research your company via your website and social media channels. The candidate will also scan the job description to ensure they meet enough of the key requirements before applying.

A job description that accurately describes a role in a language that the candidate will be aware of, in an easily understandable way, encourages a candidate to consider their wider skills and emphasises your company's environmental mission will attract the broadest range of candidates.

Use appropriate language and keywords

Job descriptions should accurately reflect the keywords an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) will look for in candidates. Using industry-specific keywords increases the number of relevant applicants. A job description's tone and language style should reflect your organisation’s culture, and the most important keywords for candidates should be prominent in the description. 

Benchmarking against existing job adverts is a quick way to check tone and language. Still, the best results come from trusting the production of job descriptions to recruiters focused on renewable energy. Recruitment agencies specialising in the renewable energy sector understand the market's language, are experienced in writing engaging descriptions and will benchmark against the competition to attract the most relevant candidates.

Consider transferrable and soft skills as much as experience

Given the global demand for renewable energy skills, some positions, such as senior engineers with many years of experience, can be challenging to fill. Companies can increase their potential talent pool by thinking beyond academic or vocational qualifications. 

Consider applicants with transferrable qualifications, such as civil, structural, or scientific engineers. Less directly qualified applicants with proven experience leading teams, a commitment to learning, or analytical skills necessary in the energy industry can also be valuable assets as they develop qualifications over time. 

4. Embrace Diversity and Inclusion

With a global need for increasing renewable energy capacity, there are new opportunities for people from all backgrounds and experiences in the renewable energy sector. Companies that focus on implementing, achieving, reviewing, and improving their DE&I objectives position themselves favourably in front of the broadest possible pool of potential candidates. Those candidates are also more likely to consider roles at companies showcasing their inclusivity and diversity successes.

Consider expatriate and foreign workers

Finding engineers with the right skills and experience for a project is only half the challenge – the other half is finding local candidates or candidates willing to relocate to often remote projects. 

Expatriate workers who regularly travel for different projects on a contract can fill the skills gap. They can bring valuable experience from similar projects, provide training for a local permanent workforce, and offer new insights and ways of working through experience gained outside the region. 

Additionally, the complications of hiring expatriate labour can be minimised through an Employer of Record (EOR). An EOR is an entity that legally employs workers on behalf of another business. EORs take responsibility for all aspects of employment, including compliance, payroll, taxes, and benefits, which significantly reduces the cost, complexity, and legal challenges of navigating local labour laws.

Develop and Monitor DE&I and gather feedback from existing employees

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies remain critical for attracting the broadest possible candidate base, diversifying a workforce, and fostering innovation. It also ensures existing employees from all backgrounds feel valued and respected.  

Regular consultation with existing employees and implementation of changes and improvements based on their feedback demonstrate a clear commitment to equity and opportunities, which can be a deciding factor for a qualified renewable energy professional assessing the best fit for their next career move.

Ensure working environments are inclusive

A good DE&I strategy and process are only helpful if used in practice. Renewable energy companies that continually ensure all employees are treated fairly, without discrimination, and rewarded with the same opportunities are key to retaining a skilled, diverse workforce.

Ensuring transparency in performance reviews, promotion processes, and career development plans across teams builds employee confidence. Implementing fair processes for employees to report issues with fair and unbiased resolutions is crucial for demonstrating a fully inclusive environment.

5. Competitive Salaries and Comprehensive Benefits

In the rapidly expanding renewable energy sector, attracting top talent for engineering jobs requires a comprehensive approach to compensation and benefits. Companies must offer packages that at least meet industry standards and reflect the unique challenges and opportunities in renewable energy engineering.

Benchmark salaries to industries with similar skills

There is a misconception in the energy sector that salaries in renewable energy are lower than in traditional energy sectors like oil and gas. Generally, 51% of wind turbine engineers reported a pay rise in 2024, compared to 47% in 2023. The average salary for renewable energy jobs in the UK was around £50,000 in 2024, whereas average salaries in the oil and gas industry were around £40,000. Although this is a broad number for technician and engineering roles, it clearly indicates the level of investment in renewable energy.

Salaries within the industry are rising, but renewable energy companies and other energy industries are competing with similar demands for skills and experience. Companies that compare these salaries and build their remuneration packages accordingly are more likely to attract workers considering a move into clean energy but are concerned about salary ranges. 

Develop comprehensive benefits packages

Businesses should consider more than salary to attract and retain skilled professionals. Changes in work patterns and perceptions of work-life balance mean businesses must be creative with comprehensive benefits packages that offer flexibility and opportunities for growth and traditional benefits that have become essential to remaining competitive. 

Essential benefits include health insurance, retirement plans, and reasonable holiday allowances. To be competitive, benefits packages could also include hybrid or flexible working opportunities and budget and time allowances for training and development opportunities in line with a clear career progression path. Companies must benchmark against competitors and survey existing employees to identify the most attractive potential benefits. 

Consider equity and profit share

Companies can offer equity options or profit-sharing schemes to incentivise top talent further. This approach aligns employee interests with your organisation’s success, particularly those invested and passionate about driving the energy transition. Employees directly affected by project success, with the promise of long-term reward, drive innovation.

6. Training and Development Opportunities

A 2023 study showed that 92% of job candidates across various industries use learning and development opportunities as a key factor in deciding whether to take a new job. The training statistics highlight employees' importance on ongoing training and development. With regular compliance requirements, training is a necessity in the renewable energy industry.

Implement clear career progression paths

Organisations should establish well-defined career paths for renewable energy professionals. This approach allows employees to envision their future within your organisation and understand the steps needed to advance their careers. For instance, an energy manager responsible for a facility's energy use might progress to lead renewable energy production or storage system upgrades.

By implementing and showcasing career development during the hiring and interview process and sharing employee stories through social channels, companies can demonstrate long-term opportunities to candidates. 

Offer external training and upskilling opportunities

Encouraging employees to pursue relevant certifications, such as the Renewable Energy Professional (REP™) designation, can enhance their expertise and credibility. REP™ certified professionals focus on renewable energy generation, production, storage, and sustainable energy technologies.

Renewable energy companies can improve their attractiveness to new talent and retention rates with the existing workforce by subsidising training and offering employees the opportunity to earn additional recognised qualifications.

Ensure internal ongoing training is available

Alongside set courses and certifications, renewable energy companies have abundant opportunities to offer training internally. This approach may not offer industry-recognised certifications, but it still allows companies to provide extensive learning support for employees through internal training materials. 

A learning management system (LMS) is a good investment, as it allows your team to create learning materials and critical training for employees, monitor and track skills gaps that may require external qualifications, and more. A well-rounded LMS combines compliance training, general industry courses available remotely, and company-specific training—for example, bespoke software or technology training. 

7. Open the Door to Young Entrants

As the demand for renewable energy grows globally, so does the demand for skills. An important part of that growth will be convincing the next generations – particularly those under 18 who are considering the next steps in their education – that the renewable energy industry is right for them.

Consider graduate programmes

Renewable energy graduates, or wider graduates with transferrable skills, will seek opportunities even before graduating. Graduates are a valuable resource for any renewable energy company, as they are eager and ready to get into their first roles and develop their careers. 

Graduate recruitment programmes allow fresh engineers to experience a renewable energy company first-hand, demonstrate their skills, and learn more than they would from desk research or job adverts. It also allows companies to get ahead of their competition by proactively engaging potential new entrants before competitors approach them. 

Partner with educational establishments 

Companies already considering graduate hires can take a further step forward by partnering with existing educational establishments. There are many options, including course sponsorships, work experience days, attending career fairs, and providing materials to educational establishments. 

By proactively engaging with students, exciting them with the industry's possibilities and efforts to tackle climate change, and positively influencing their study decisions, renewable energy companies can inspire a new generation of engineers who may remember the experience and proactively seek employment with that company later. 

Implement internships and apprenticeships

Internships and apprenticeships are tried-and-tested solutions for developing new careers. Many existing energy companies have apprenticeship programmes that combine on-site experience with formal mechanical or electrical engineering qualifications. 

An apprenticeship programme requires short-term time and resource commitments to develop. Still, it is a cost-effective method of hiring for long-term projects or increasing the growth of a permanent workforce. 

8. Innovate your Recruitment Process

A significant challenge for many renewable energy companies is keeping talent in the recruitment process once engaged. There has been interest in the role, and candidates have provided their details but then dropped out of the process. Often, the problem isn’t the job or the circumstances of the candidates but frustration with the recruitment process. The best quality candidates may have multiple options open to them, including competitors, so it’s vitally important that the recruitment process keeps them engaged and excited.

Use automation to improve communication

Poor communication is one of the biggest reasons candidates drop out of the hiring process. Accurate and timely communication is key to ensuring talent remains engaged and enthusiastic. 

Automation can help to solve some of these issues. Renewable energy recruiters can trigger automated emails that inform candidates of application updates, request additional information, and schedule interviews at convenient times. Automating the data-based processes allows recruitment teams to focus on providing bespoke, relevant feedback to candidates. 

Streamline and shorten the hiring process

Another big reason candidates exit the hiring process is the length of time and effort involved in the application process. Complex processes with multiple levels of interviews and tests, often with long gaps between, can cause candidates to lose interest in the position and look elsewhere. 

Instead, renewable energy businesses can streamline their recruitment process to a single application and use data to identify the most suitable candidates. Reduce the application and interview process to as few steps as possible and consider including only the most important stakeholders. Ensure that the time between interviews and feedback is as short as possible to keep candidates engaged and arrange additional interviews promptly. 

9. Partner with Renewable Industry Talent Acquisition Experts 

Internal HR teams within renewable energy companies are typically provided with enough resources for day-to-day business activities. However, the complex challenges of sourcing, interviewing, and hiring a combination of permanent and contract staff, managing multiple suppliers, and providing site support when starting new projects or moving from planning to building phases can be time-consuming, resource-intensive, and costly to manage internally. 

Instead, renewable energy companies that use staffing solutions providers like NES Fircroft can benefit from the support of industry recruitment specialists. Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) services are designed with the client’s needs in mind to find permanent and contract staff that can be managed internally by the client's business. 

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) manage whole contractor teams on clients' behalf, including sourcing, hiring, supplier management, HR, payroll, compliance and tax. These specialist services can lower costs, streamline services on busy projects, find the right talent when needed, and free internal HR teams to focus on their permanent staff elsewhere.

Connect with NES Fircroft’s Specialist Renewable Energy Recruiters

The renewable energy industry offers exciting challenges and opportunities to make the world better for all. It naturally attracts people who combine an interest in technology and engineering with a passion for the environment. Attracting the right talent in an industry with high competition for select skills is an ongoing challenge for all renewable energy companies. 

If you’re looking to implement some of these processes for your renewable energy business but are unsure where to start or are concerned about the effort, resources, and cost of optimising your recruitment strategy, we can help. NES Fircroft is a global staffing solutions provider, and we recruit for major renewable and alternative energy projects worldwide. Our localised specialist teams are industry experts and comprehensively understand the requirements and challenges of the renewable energy industry. 

Get in touch today to learn how partnering with NES Fircroft can optimise your recruitment strategies, maximise your candidate reach, and place needed talent in a shorter time.