On November 19, the EU-funded project RESkill4NetZero took centre stage during the conference “Growing Renewable Skills in the Installation Sector”, co-organised by the consortium partners EuropeOn and GCP Europe, as part of their Installers’ Summit 2025. The event brought together experts, policymakers, and industry to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the development of renewable skills in the electrical and mechanical contracting sector.
The conference kicked off with the welcome speeches by EuropeOn and GCP Europe Presidents, Kimmo Hallamaa and Ola Mansson, and an introduction to the RESkill4NetZero project by Oana Penu, Skills Institute Director at InnoEnergy, the organisation leading the project. This was followed by a keynote speech by Rémi Mayet, Advisor to the Director for “Just Transition” in the European Commission’s DG ENER.
The programme was structured around two panels. The first panel “Getting the Skills Right” explored key strategies to strengthen the renewable energy workforce, featuring insights from Dr Elisa Forestan-Barnes, Director of Skills Intelligence Solutions at Abodoo and responsible for the coordination of the RESkill4NetZero skills strategy. Anna Banczyk, Head of Unit “Vocational Education and Training, CEDEFOP” (European Commission), focused her speech on the Commission’s upcoming VET Strategy (expected next year). Finally, Cedric Borzee, Member of the RESkill4NetZero Advisory Board and Director at NIIT provided some conclusions.
The second panel “Getting the Growth right”, showcased best practices from across Europe that can be replicated. Jan Cromwijk, Programme Manager for EU Projects at Centraal Register Techniek, provided examples with a focus on the heat pump ecosystem. Paul Morolz, Managing Director at WKO Steiermark, showed how Austria is revising its apprenticeship system and improving the sector’s attractiveness. Johnny Petré, CEO of Installatörsföretagen, presented a new full-time electrical reskilling programme targeting adults and striking the right balance between accelerated learning and quality standards.
A major highlight of the day was the formal launch of the Renewable Skills Alliance, with a keynote from Eva Schultz, Member of Cabinet of Commission EVP Roxana Mînzatu, who emphasized the central role of skills in driving the EU’s energy transition and industrial competitiveness. The European Renewable Energy Skills Alliance will work on building a robust, scalable, and industry-aligned skills ecosystem that supports workforce growth development across all renewable energy sub-sectors
The event concluded with some final remarks by EuropeOn and GCP Europe General Secretaries. It was a morning full of valuable insights on tackling workforce and skills shortages in the electrical and mechanical sectors, and an opportunity to showcase the work of the RESKill4NetZero project and get feedback from professionals in the installation sector.