Supply of new power industry workers not keeping pace with forecast demand, report warns
Wednesday, 25 March 2026
New Zealand will need to rapidly expand its energy workforce, according to an industry report that maps skills shortages and proposes structural reforms across the sector.
The Re-Energise 26 report, produced by industry bodies Energy Resources Aotearoa and the Electricity Engineers’ Association, identifies workforce capability as a “core system constraint” on the country’s energy transition.
There were an estimated 18,500 employees, contractors and consultants working in the sector in 2024, but the report estimates the workforce will need to grow to 32,200 by 2040.
In many cases, the supply of new workers was not keeping pace with forecast demand, the report warned.
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“Māori and Pasifika are under-represented at all levels of the workforce and gender imbalances persist, although data shows some progress,” it said, noting about 40% of employed engineering graduates were female.
“Retirement and emigration data has shown that the risk of losing valuable employees is lower than previously thought, but the consequences remain high.”
The report said the key challenge was not recruitment alone but the time required to turn new employees into fully competent workers.
Pressure on supervisors, mentors and training capacity in general was constraining workforce growth, the report said.
Electrical engineers, maintenance workers and cable jointers were already in short supply, while demand for experienced supervisors and technical specialists was increasing, they found.
But Electricity Engineers’ Association chief executive Nicki Sutherland said many of the new roles were desk jobs, for example involving AI, and it was already the case that only a minority of employees needed a head for heights.
“Sixty percent of the 18,500 roles are what you’d call ‘non core’ and those are the ones that are definitely not up power poles.”
Energy Resources Aotearoa and the Electricity Engineers’ Association have proposed a four-point action plan to “attract, develop, collaborate and retain” workers.
One recommendation is the creation of a national energy sector workforce governance body to coordinate workforce planning and reduce duplication across government agencies, industry groups and training providers.
It also calls for increased government funding for industry associations to deliver workforce coordination programmes and standardised training initiatives.
Another proposal is earlier integration of workforce planning into major energy policy and infrastructure decisions, with the report arguing workforce needs should be considered when large projects were being considered, rather than down the track.
Declining participation in some education and training programmes was a risk to future labour supply and there was a need for “targeted efforts” to attract students and mid-career workers into the sector, it said.
It proposed pilot programmes to expand supervisory capacity, suggesting companies could collaborate to increase the number of mentors and assessors able to support apprentices and graduates.
Immigration was an “under-used” source of labour supply, it said.
Energy Resources Aotearoa chief executive John Carnegie said workforce investment was essential to achieving a lower-emissions energy system.
“Timing is critical for regions experiencing declining industries, where skilled workers are being displaced and risk being lost before new energy projects and opportunities come online,” he said.
“It will take skilled people with the capacity to design, run and improve the system. If we want a more secure, lower-emissions energy future, our country needs to invest in the workforce that will make it happen.”
The organisations are planning to hold a workforce summit in May to set priorities.