Energy: A Value Chain Analysis 2020

This chapter describes the composition of the labour force involved in the Energy Value Chain¹ (EVC) in Ireland, using the 2022 Census of Population² to look at the education, sex, region and occupations of workers. The chapter also compares the earnings of these employees by sector.

Employment by Sex

Figure 3.1 shows employment detail in the EVC. There was a higher proportion of males (63%) than females (37%) involved in the value chain, although there was a clear distinction between the retail workers and the rest of the labour force in this respect. Workers in Retail Sale of Automotive Fuel were predominantly female (58%) while there were male majorities for the other sectors.

Administrative Regions

Figure 3.2 looks at the geographic distribution of workers in the EVC. For this analysis, the country is divided into eight large administrative regions. Most workers in the EVC were in Dublin (27%), Mid-East (17%) and South-West (15%), although there was significant variation between sectors. Extraction of Gas & Peat workers were mainly from the Midlands (37%) and Mid-East (26%). The most common region for Gas, Steam & Air-Conditioning Supply was South-West (32%), while for workers in Electric Power Generation, Transmission & Distribution it was Dublin (35%). Retail Sale of Automotive Fuel had the most notable geographic diversity, with no region having more than 18% of the workers in this sector, and no region having less than 9%.

Occupations

Figure 3.3 shows the ten most common occupation categories in the EVC. Looking at broad occupation categories, the most popular roles in the sector were Sales Assistants & Retail Cashiers (14%), Engineering Professionals (7%) and Electrical & Electronic Trades (6%). The most common Engineering positions were Electrical, Mechanical and Civil. The other more popular roles related to business, sales and administrative positions. Overall, the ten most common occupation types accounted for 54% of employment in the value chain.

Education

Figure 3.4 shows the highest level of educational attainment by sector in the EVC. The highest educated sectors were Gas, Steam & Air Conditioning Supply and Electric Power Generation, Transmission & Distribution. In these sectors a majority of workers had a bachelor’s degree or higher (54% and 52% respectively). These sectors also had a relatively high proportion of workers whose highest level of education was an advanced certificate or an apprenticeship (11% and 17% respectively). Within Retail Sale of Automotive Fuel, 41% of workers had a qualification beyond secondary school.

Earnings

Figure 3.5 looks at average earnings per employee in 2020 in the EVC using National Accounts data. On average, employees earned €46,203, however there were significant differences between sectors. Extraction of Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas (€98,812) and Electricity, Gas & Steam (€76,763) had by far the highest earnings per employee of the sectors shown. This was far above the earnings of workers in Coal & Peat (€40,766), Wholesale & Retail of Fuel (€28,496) and Coke & Refined Petroleum (€16,462).

There is a general distinction between the workforce involved in production and generation of energy and its distribution. While a majority of retail workers are female, most of the workers in power generation are male. The retail workers are fairly evenly distributed throughout the country, while workers in the extraction of fuel and generation of electricity tend to be concentrated in particular regions. Those working in filling stations generally had a secondary education, while those in electricity and gas generation and supply most commonly had a third level degree. Finally, as expected, the occupational groups differ markedly depending on the part of the energy chain workers were involved in. The EVC includes a wide range of workers with varying degrees of specialisation, and remuneration.

¹Excludes NACE 4670 as data not available from the Census.

²Although the 2022 Census postdates the year of this publication, it provides the most detailed data available to analyse labour in the sector.