By Abby Lombardi on February 23, 2012 in Energy, Engineering.

Over the past several weeks, we've reported on the hiring trends for job related to several alternative energy sources – solar energy and shale mining. Today, we thought we'd look at another type of energy – wind power – and hiring across the United States.

Hiring for this alternative energy increased in 2011, despite some declines in the last months of the year. In January, about 2,400 jobs were advertised online for positions that specified involvement with wind energy. This represents a 32% increase in hiring demand compared to the same month period in 2011.

Hiring Demand for Wind Energy Jobs – 4 Year Hiring Trend

Not surprisingly, most of these jobs are for various types of Engineers. On average, demand for Engineers to work on wind energy projects increased 34% in January 2012 versus January 2011. Industrial Engineers were the most demanded field among wind enery jobs. Other types of Engineers that saw increased volumes of job ads were Mechanical, Electrical, and Aerospace Engineers. Other than engineers, highly demanded occupations include Truck Drivers, Software Engineers, Production Managers, and Wind Turbine Service Technicians.

The 5 metropolitan areas with the highest volume of job ads for wind energy projects during January were Cincinnati (Ohio), Houston (Texas), Erie (Pennsylvania), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), and Albany (New York). Recruiters in Cincinnati not only placed the most job ads but also saw the highest growth of these 5 locations, with 132% more jobs placed in January 2012 than were advertised in January 2011. Albany, however, was the only location of these top 5 to see a year-over-year decline. Hiring demand in the Albany area is down 18% compared to last year.

5 Metro Areas with Highest Demand for Wind Energy Jobs – 4 Year Hiring Trend

Of these 5 high-demand locations, our Hiring Scale™ shows that these jobs will be fairly hard-to-fill due to the specialized skill requirements that are often needed in these jobs. Despite seeing year-over-year declines in hiring demand, Recruiters in Albany are likely to see some of the most difficult and longest recruitment processes in the US. In the Albany area, job ads are posted online for an average of 48 days – or about 7 weeks. In comparison, Recruiters in Philadelphia are likely to have the easiest locations of the above 5 cities. Consequently, if you are searching for work in the energy industry and have experience on wind power projects, it is likely to be easier to find a job in Albany since there are more employers hiring and fewer candidates competing for jobs. It is likely to be harder to find work in this space in Philadelphia.

Hiring Scale for Wind Energy Skills – Albany vs. Nationally

Hiring Scale for Wind Power Engineers – Philadelphia vs. Nationally

Are you hiring for wind energy projects? Or, are you looking to work in this alternative energy field? Try our free online Hiring Scale™ to see how competitive the talent marketplace is, average salary ranges, and which employers are currently hiring for these skills!

Links to this article (1)

• March 23, 2012 - windenergyprosandconss.com
  Wind Energy Jobs – Which fits your needs? | Alternative Energy Facts
  

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