From Fossil Fuels to Renewable Energy: Navigating the Workforce Transition in the U.S. Energy Sector (2024)
Undergraduate: Gu Wei Tian Xie
Faculty Advisor: Jeffrey Mittelstadt
Department: Kenan Flagler Business School
The transition towards renewable energy sources in the United States represents a crucial shift in the pursuit of green energy, which carries considerable implications for the labor market within the energy sector for extraction workers. This study focuses on the transition of human capital from non-renewable to renewable energy sectors in the energy industry. Utilizing comprehensive data from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), this study analyzes cognitive and non-cognitive worker requirements between extraction and renewable occupations. The results indicate that requirements for renewable energy occupations are more dissimilar from extraction occupations compared to Career Starters. While the path is not uniformly straightforward, specific extraction occupations are identified as very well aligned to renewable energy occupations with cognitive and non-cognitive requirements. These select pipelines suggest an opportunity for fostering a seamless transition to align workforce development with environmental and energy goals, offering a hopeful vision for the future.