Leave a comment? Why not! Respondents to the Bradman Recruitment-EcoGeneration Renewable Energy Salary Survey 2021 had plenty to say about topics other than salary levels in the industry that bother them. Here are a few of the most interesting ones.
“[The renewables sector] may be seen as a bit like zookeeping. Those who do it love it and are willing to give a little in pay to do what they enjoy and contribute through work for the betterment of society and the planet as a whole.”
“There’s definitely some gender bias in salaries. Men still tend to get paid more.”
“There are significant gaps between developer, OEM and construction wages for people with the same roles.”
“The value of what we propose and sell has better ramifications for business than credit is given.”
“The businesses I have worked for have been in the small category and the salaries are poor relative to other businesses. One business was an international solar product wholesaler/distributor and most of the staff were low-paid warehouse staff. The small engineering team was an initiative of the local GM. He felt he could not pay the engineers much more than the warehouse staff, so everyone received relatively low pay.”
“The renewable energy industry is behind in so many ways, from wages to safety. It lacks the professionalism I’ve seen in oil and gas.”
“The industry needs to improve when it comes to bonuses and long-term incentive schemes.”
“Salespeople are probably making more money than the engineers developing these projects.”
“Salary levels cannot change until we can raise the prices of systems. Sadly, we are dictated by the entry-level pricing. It’s appalling that our industry has ended up this way. The bottom-feeders need to be eradicated so we can receive fair payments.”
“Salaries have grown and are now comparable to other major industries, but investment in new renewable energy projects is still relatively small. Therefore, job opportunities are limited.”
“Renewables and ESG must include human rights and modern slavery. Solar sales is one thing, but ESG as whole profession is another; one needs to be slippery, one needs to be qualified.
“Compared to thermal power, renewables pay is higher. But compared to mining or oil and gas I don’t think it’s as competitive.”
“Oil and gas have more salaries instead of renewable sector.”
“In most aspects of renewable energy the people seem to be of very high calibre. Many need to be across many different fields (construction, regulatory, political, financial) all at once to be successful. There seem to be ample rewards for people with many strings to their bow.”
“If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. There are a lot of unskilled people entering the industry, which is driving rates down. Then skilled people aren’t interested in moving into the industry, leading to low quality and a rise in accidents.”
“It’s important for developers and OEMs in Australia to build their own technical teams and invest in their compensation and training.”
“As the industry grows and organisations grow and require more peripheral roles, they will need to be better defined as the skills (particularly knowledge of the NEL) will likely push up salaries for similar roles in other industries.”
“The salaries are high compared to the level of competency in the sector. To earn a comparable salary in the traditional power industry would require much more core knowledge, training and experience. Young people coming into the industry are demanding high salaries not realising that their salary has to be paid for somehow – and that is driving up the cost of projects as well as increasing the number of silly mistakes/decisions being made.”