Overcoming Talent Shortages for Multi-Billion Electricity Grid Upgrades in the UK & Europe

Summary: 

• The UK’s Great Grid Upgrade and Europe’s €2 trillion transformation plan require a huge workforce across digital, electrical, mechanical, and civil engineering disciplines.
• The ageing workforce, increased project demand, and competition for skills with other sectors are drivers of the talent shortage.
• Working with a specialist power recruitment agency can close the talent gap by providing niche contract talent, local expertise, and international reach.

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction: The Scale of the Grid Challenge
2. Key UK and European Upgrade Projects
3. Talent Demand: Why Shortages Exist
4. The Advantage of a Flexible Contractor Workforce
5. The Importance of Employer Branding
6. How NES Fircroft Solves the Challenge

Introduction: The Scale of the Grid Challenge

The UK and Europe are experiencing the largest electricity grid transformation in generations. The investments in power infrastructure are pivotal for energy security, decarbonisation, and economic growth. But the greatest challenge to delivering these ambitious infrastructure upgrades isn’t just technical complexity or capital investment; it’s the people. Due to the planned projects across the region, a serious shortage of specialist talent threatens to hinder progress.

How will energy businesses secure the skilled workforce needed to build the next-generation electricity grid?

The answer lies in recognising the extent of the talent shortage, understanding what’s driving it, and utilising expert recruitment partners who can help you source and retain a flexible contractor workforce with the right skills.

Key UK and European Upgrade Projects

Across Europe, national governments, utilities, and transmission operators are racing to modernise their energy infrastructure to support decarbonisation and electrification goals.

The UK’s Grid Upgrades

The UK’s National Grid is leading the ‘Great Grid Upgrade’, the most significant overhaul of its electricity transmission system in decades. Comprising 17 major infrastructure projects, the plan is to update their onshore network to meet the UK’s target of connecting 50 GW of offshore wind to the grid by 2030, as current capacity will be unable to suffice this new volume of energy. Other undertakings that the National Grid has been working on include replacing conductors on 229 pylons, installing cables capable of operating at higher temperatures, and boosting the system by approximately 3,000MVA, removing bottlenecks for 175 clean energy projects slated for connection from 2028. These initiatives will enable cleaner energy from generation points like the North Sea to demand centres across England and Wales. By the end of this decade, these projects are expected to:

• Support over 55,000 jobs
• Contribute £14.5bn to the UK economy

But the workforce demands don’t end there. According to the Net Zero Energy Workforce Report, the UK energy sector will need to recruit 400,000 roles by 2050 to meet net-zero goals. Projects like the Eastern Green Link (EGL) interconnectors, spanning from Scotland to Norfolk, are critical in transporting clean power south. These projects require high-voltage transmission engineers, civil and electrical professionals, and substations and offshore infrastructure specialists.

Moreover, Ofgem has also recently concluded a draft settlement that outlines £24bn in investment, including £8.9bn to expand Britain’s high-voltage electricity network over the next five years, encompassing 80 transmission projects nationwide. These will connect up to 126 GW of clean power generation by 2030 and drastically reduce reliance on fossil-fuel backup.

European Grid Expansion

While the EU leads globally in renewable adoption, its grid is straining under new demands.  At the Power Summit 2025 in Brussels, energy leaders agreed that grid modernisation in Europe is no longer a secondary priority; it’s foundational.

Much of Europe’s grid was built in the 20th century and is unfit for a decentralised, electrified future. Wind and solar output are growing faster than transmission capacity. New AI power projects have emerged to meet the rising renewable output for power generation; however, it's become a ‘double-edged sword’ as these facilities also require a lot of electricity. Driven by AI and cloud computing, AI data centres are consuming increasing volumes of electricity, with projections showing data centres will drive more than 20% of electricity demand growth by 2030. Countries like Ireland, where data centres accounted for 21% of national metered electricity in 2023, are pushing grids to their limits, a trend expected throughout the continent as electrification accelerates.

According to the European Commission and the IEA, up to €2.3 trillion will be required by 2050 to modernise Europe’s grid infrastructure. This includes annual investments of at least €67 billion, double the current average. Projects are being fast-tracked across key regions, including Germany, France, the Nordic countries, and the Iberian Peninsula, where grid resilience and cross-border connectivity are critical to meeting future energy demands.

Talent Demand: Why Shortages Exist

The magnitude of infrastructure growth is only one side of the story. The other is the widening shortage of talent to deliver it. This is due to several structural issues:

• Retirement of experienced professionals - Large segments of seasoned engineers and field specialists (Baby Boomers) are reaching retirement age, creating a considerable loss of hands-on experience and mentorship.
• Skills competition – Many energy and utilities companies often struggle to position themselves as aspirational or an employer of choice. Tech and finance firms dominate graduate choices among those studying STEM courses. This is not only because of compensation, but also because they market purpose, work-life flexibility, and career progression more persuasively.
• Limited diversity - The talent shortage is also a talent exclusion problem. Women, neurodiverse candidates, and ethnic minorities are underrepresented across many engineering roles. This leaves a vast potential pool remaining untapped due to recruitment practices, and the sector’s image hasn’t evolved as quickly.  
• Slow training and onboarding cycles – Digitalisation, renewables integration, and smart grid deployments demand new skill sets, but education pipelines and on-the-job development schemes often follow legacy timelines. Time-to-productivity for new hires in high-skill roles remains challenging, especially for large-scale infrastructures.

Additionally, many traditional engineering roles are evolving. The rise of hydrogen, carbon capture, smart grid technologies, and digitalised systems is creating new positions while transforming old ones. Electrical engineers with oil & gas backgrounds can be retained for carbon capture and storage (CCUS) work, but they need clear pathways and support.

To support the UK and Europe’s electricity growth, other skills in demand include:

• Project and HV Engineers – New lines, substations, and complex system upgrades need multi-disciplinary engineering teams.
• Renewable Integration Experts – Skills for renewable energy grid integration, including wind, solar, hydrogen, and CCUS, are in short supply.
• Digital & Data Talent – Digitalisation of grids and surging demand from data centres require IT, cybersecurity, AI, and big data infrastructure specialists.

In practice, this leaves employers in fierce competition, triggering project delays and the risk of cost overruns. Without a proactive, well-resourced approach to workforce development and recruitment, many of Europe’s clean energy targets may become aspirational rather than achievable.

The Advantage of a Flexible Contractor Workforce

As power projects in Europe grow increasingly complex and urgent, many businesses find hiring the specialised talent they need challenging. Traditional hiring methods often just can't keep up with the industry's fast-paced demands. To meet aggressive timelines and advancing technical requirements, energy companies can gain a strategic edge by adopting a flexible workforce model that leverages high-quality contract staffing.

At NES Fircroft, we offer contract staffing services that help firms optimise their workforce for essential updates in power transmission, distribution, and renewable energy integration. With 25,000 contractors currently working on our clients’ global projects, and access to a global database of more than a million qualified professionals, we enable our clients to:

• Quickly mobilise technical talent across all power verticals
• Stay compliant with EU-wide and country-specific labour regulations
• Fill workforce gaps that arise from project demands or geographical challenges
• Simplify the onboarding process with pre-qualified, project-ready candidates

Our contract staffing model is tailored to support intricate energy projects, even in remote or logistically challenging environments. We ensure that our contractors arrive on-site fully compliant, equipped, and ready to contribute from day one.

The Importance of Employer Branding

Establishing a compelling employer brand is also essential to attracting and retaining the industry’s best talent, helping you to avoid the structural challenges mentioned above. Improving your employer brand can position you as an employer of choice, where you can highlight technical excellence, an inclusive workplace culture, and long-term career development pathways. Through tailored campaigns and sector-specific insights, you can ensure your company resonates with skilled professionals who might otherwise look elsewhere. Employer branding becomes a strategic lever for recruitment, long-term retention and reputation when paired with meaningful internal change and visible leadership commitment.

How NES Fircroft Solves the Challenge

Meeting grid upgrade deadlines requires more than engineers - it requires the right engineers in the right locations with the proper support.

NES Fircroft is a global leader in energy recruitment, supporting hundreds of projects across the power and renewables sectors. We’ve been delivering compliant, project-ready talent for the world’s most ambitious initiatives, trusted by grid operators, utilities, and EPCs for over 50 years. We have over 80 offices across 45 countries, including a strong foothold throughout the UK and Europe. Our recruiters focus exclusively on the energy sector and understand the complex demands of grid projects. We maintain an active network of technical professionals worldwide, including niche positions that may not be available in local talent pools. This ensures you can obtain the necessary talent, no matter where you are. To back this, we provide a full suite of contractor support services to ensure you remain compliant, including:

• Employer of Record (EOR) and contractor payrolling
• Visa, immigration, and right-to-work support
• Labour law and tax compliance
• Workforce mobilisation and relocation
• Employer branding

Governments are funding the grid. NES Fircroft is fuelling the workforce.

If your business is involved in the UK or Europe’s grid transformation and you’re struggling to find the right talent to deliver, it’s time to partner with a power recruitment agency built for the energy transition.

For more information or to discuss your contract workforce requirements, contact NES Fircroft’s specialist UK & European teams today.