How the installation industry’s skills shortage ended up on the European Commission’s agenda
2024-03-18
Three quick questions to Pär Lundström, Senior Policy Advisor at the Swedish Installation Federation’s Industrial Policy and Skills Provision Department, about the climate impact of the installation industry’s skills shortage.
The Swedish Installation Federation has recently notched up some successes in Brussels. Can you say a bit about that?
We worked intensively in Brussels with our colleagues at EuropeOn, and as a result, Julie Beaufils, General Secretary of EuropeOn, was invited to a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The meeting discussed how to solve the skills shortage in renewable energy, energy storage, e-mobility, heat pumps and so on.
Together with the Electrification Alliance, the Swedish Installation Federation is calling for a major investment in skills. The basis for this work, and the background to the meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, is the report ‘Kompetensbristens klimatkonsekvenser’ [The Climate Consequences of the Skills Shortage], which we presented to the Swedish Parliament back in June 2019.
The report was written five years ago. How do you make use of the material for such a long time?
A skills shortage in the installation industry is an issue we have driven for a long time, the reason being it is crucial for societal development and the climate transition. And as the issue of climate transition becomes more important and more urgent, so too does this report. The installation industry is crucial to the success of the transition, and the industry must be well-equipped for this.
What is the most important thing the EU can do to improve skills provision in your industry?
Together with our colleagues at EuropeOn, we have produced a manifesto for this spring’s European elections. In it, we call for, among other things, extensive investment in training programmes but also support for workforce skills development.
Pär Lundström, Senior Policy Advisor at the Swedish Installation Federation’s Industrial Policy and Skills Provision Department, was interviewed by Malin Sahlén, Director of Operations and Partner at New Republic. ‘Three Quick Questions…’ is a series of interviews conducted by New Republic.