How To Transfer From Traditional Energy to The Renewable Energy Sector
24 Nov 2025
More and more professionals working in the traditional energy sector are choosing to transfer to renewable energy sector jobs instead. The transition from traditional to renewable energy roles is a natural one, calling on many of the same skills, knowledge and expertise. With government incentives and policies in place to encourage more people to change job to renewable energy, doing so can also be lucrative.
Many reasons to change job to renewable energy
A transfer to renewable energy sector roles offers long-term job security, since these are 'sustainable' energy types by definition.
Meanwhile for more experienced professionals, the switch from traditional to renewable energy jobs can bring new challenges into your career path.
In this guide, we will look at why more people are choosing to change job to renewable energy, as well as how to transfer from traditional to renewable energy in a managed and seamless way.
Ultimately, this should help you to make your traditional to renewable energy career change with confidence, while capitalising on the lucrative employment opportunities this sector has to offer over the coming years.
Why are energy professionals making the change?
First of all, let's look at why an ever-growing number of energy professionals are choosing to transfer to renewable energy sector roles.
Government policies and incentive schemes can have a significant influence on this decision. In October 2025, the UK government published its Clean Energy Jobs Plan, which predicts that employment in the sector could almost double from 440,000 jobs in 2023 to 860,000 by 2030.
The policy paper said: "Britain is already powered by hundreds of thousands of skilled energy workers, and they will be a huge asset in getting ahead in the race to lead the industries of the future.
"Oil and gas will play an important role for decades to come, but we know production in the North Sea is naturally declining. We have an obligation to ensure the clean energy revolution delivers for its workers and communities."
More jobs and better pay in renewable energy
Clean energy jobs pay more than the national average, with salaries in excess of £50,000 a year, compared with £37,000 for a typical job in the UK.
And job opportunities are growing fast. In 2022 and 2023, the UK's clean energy workforce increased in size by 8% and 10% respectively, creating new opportunities for professionals making the move from traditional to renewable energy vacancies.
What transferable skills will help?
The usual 'soft skills' can help you to change job to renewable energy, such as effective communication, strong teamwork, the ability to work autonomously and a proven track record in leadership roles.
It all depends on what type of job you are hoping to have once you transfer to renewable energy sector employment - whether that's a senior management position, a specialist engineering role or an administrative discipline like accounting, finance and legal.
Some specialist skills are also 'transferable' in the sense of making the transition from traditional to renewable energy.
In March 2025, the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) published its 'Assessment of the Clean Energy Skills Challenge'. This outlined opportunities in 'key occupations' that are likely to see especially high demand in the years ahead:
Engineering
Civil, electrical and mechanical engineers will see demand in roles across offshore wind, nuclear and infrastructure construction.
Chemical, design and environmental engineers will also be needed, making STEM skills (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) highly transferable across the clean energy sector.
Electrical Trades
Electricians and electrical fitters have a crucial role to play in helping the UK meet its targets for decarbonisation of the economy.
Again, offshore wind will be a significant employer of senior electrical professionals, while level 2-3 electrical fitters should find a sustainable career in electricity networks.
Mechanical and Welding
A shortage of candidates for mechanical trades and welding jobs means demand is high for candidates with relevant experience to change job to renewable energy.Welding in particular is an important skill across the sector, especially in CCUS (carbon capture, use and storage) and in power networks installation and maintenance.
Planning
Expertise in planning applications is a potentially surprising roadblock to many major infrastructure projects in clean energy.
In 2023-24, more than 60% of the Environment Agency's delayed responses to planning applications were due to resourcing issues, while over 80% of Natural England's extensions to planning deadlines were for the same reason.
Management Roles
Finally, leadership and management experience are among the most valuable soft skills for candidates seeking to make a traditional to renewable energy career change.
The DESNZ assessment stated: "A high transferability of skills means those already in managerial roles could take up similar positions in clean energy sectors. Opportunities will also exist in roles across the legal, finance, procurement and corporate services sectors."
It added that some roles may also require sector-specific knowledge, indicating that transferable skills are just one component when existing professionals want to change job to renewable energy.
New certifications or qualifications that will help
Getting the right training is an important part of knowing how to transfer from traditional to renewable energy roles.
The DESNZ report lists the following levels of qualification as being in demand:
- Engineer level 6+ (university degree or degree apprenticeship)
- Welding support operative level 2
- High-integrity welder level 4
- Welding engineer level 6-7
- Electrical fitter level 2-3
- Electrical trades level 2-4
- Managerial level 3-8
A transfer to renewable energy sector jobs should be easier for those already working in traditional energy roles: the DESNZ assessment adds that over 90% of the existing workforce in oil and gas has "medium to high transferability" skills.
What qualifications are most in demand?
For those looking to retrain or upskill as part of the shift from traditional to renewable energy, the report lists the specialist skills seen in the highest proportion of clean energy job advertisements in 2024:
- Engineering: 23.8%
- Electrical/Electronic Trades: 6.7%
- Building/Construction Trades: 5.7%
- IT Professionals: 5.6%
- Sales-Related Occupations: 5.6%
- Science/Engineering/Production Technicians: 5.4%
- Business Associate Professionals: 5.4%
A qualification in any of these disciplines could be a useful step towards a traditional to renewable energy career change, by giving candidates access to the greatest share of job vacancies in clean energy roles.
What are the key differences in terms of innovations and technologies?
Some parts of the renewable energy industry look quite similar to traditional energy roles; for example, the DESNZ assessment found that there is a 69% correlation between jobs in electricity and gas supply, and equivalent roles in clean energy electricity networks.
A number of other 'traditional vs clean' disciplines also showed a high degree of overlap:
Outside of these pairs, no other disciplines shared more than 50% of the same skills and expertise, with no traditional manufacturing roles scoring higher than 42% overlap with jobs in clean energy.
With a high degree of innovation and continual development of new technologies, the renewable energy sector raises new challenges and skills shortages on an ongoing basis, creating opportunities for candidates who want to target roles where there is a shortage of available talent.
What does a long-term career look like?
Once you know how to transfer from traditional to renewable energy, you might reasonably want to know what your long-term career path could look like.This depends largely on the type of role you take on, but there are some broad trends shaping the sector too.For example, the massive increase in jobs in clean energy means that the potential for progression is huge. New middle management and senior leadership roles are being created all the time, and those who have worked in renewable energy have a natural advantage.
What will my job title be?
Again, this depends on your chosen discipline, but many jobs in renewable energy offer high-level titles: engineer, specialist, manager, director. These are words that are seen time and time again across the highest paying jobs in the renewable energy sector.
The strong relevance of transferable skills like leadership and communication mean that candidates with a strong track record should stand a good chance of securing employment at the highest levels of the industry.
What will my salary be?
This is a sector with above-average salaries across many roles. As noted above, a typical job in clean energy pays over £50,000, around 35% more than the UK average for all sectors.
Reach the top tiers of the renewable energy sector and you can expect to see this rise to £80,000 for senior supervisory and director-level roles with significant responsibility.
How can a recruitment agency help me move sectors?
The UK government's Clean Energy Jobs Plan notes: "The majority of the 2030 workforce is already in employment. Therefore, we must ensure that people with the right skills to work in clean energy have clear, simple routes to transfer across sectors."
It adds: "We must ensure those already working in the sector have ample opportunities to improve their skills and advance their clean energy careers."
A recruitment agency like First Recruitment Group can help in both scenarios, by identifying skills gaps in this rapidly changing sector and helping candidates to target roles where they are most in demand.
With a shortage of talent and a rapid growth in jobs, this is a lucrative time to transfer to renewable energy roles. But it's also a time when candidates with the relevant skills are needed most - so making the move from traditional energy to renewables is a win-win.
