Recruitment in the UK’s burgeoning solar technology industry has swelled significantly in the first quarter of 2011, with the Feed in Tariff (FiT) programme taking much of the credit for the rapid increase in solar staffing.
The UK Solar Jobs Index has been compiled by technology personnel company, Capital Green Ltd., and has shown that the British solar industry created 951 new jobs in the first three months of 2011, representing a quarter-on-quarter rise of 32 per cent.
The index broke down the employment figures according to region and discipline, and showed that already developing trends in these aspects gained momentum in the most recent set of figures.
The workforce composition showed a marked shift, with the number of solar industry jobs involving sales decreased, while demand for and the creation of technical and engineering jobs showed a significant rise.
Emerging regional disparity was also emphasised, with only 10 per cent of the new jobs located in Scotland and Wales. The jobs located in England also showed particular concentration on the south-east region.
Commenting on the figure, one solar industry expert from Capital Green said, “While we don’t need to wait too long for the government to put an end to all the uncertainty surrounding FiTs and whether we are looking at market beyond 50kW, the UK solar industry from a ‘hiring’ prospective looks relatively healthy.”
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