AEE Survey Finds 75% of Energy Professionals Report Workforce Shortages

A new report from the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) indicates that three-quarters of energy professionals worldwide report workforce shortages, with the figure rising to 90% in the Middle East and North Africa. The 2025 Energy Jobs & Market Trends Survey notes that while demand for energy efficiency remains steady, the workforce needed to deliver it is not available globally.

The report also highlights concerns about retirements in the sector, with more than one-third of professionals planning to retire within the next decade. In North America, nearly one-quarter expect to exit within five years.

Despite economic and political challenges, the AEE report shows job opportunities for energy professionals remain consistent. It also found that energy reduction is the top strategic priority for 81% of organizations, a stable level compared to previous years. However, nearly half of companies surveyed still lack a decarbonization strategy.

According to Donatas Karčiauskas, CEO of Exergio, an AI-based energy optimization company, training new specialists takes years, while digital tools can address shortages today. “The industry can’t hire its way out of this gap fast enough, it’s simply impossible,” he said. “And that is why AI is the only lever we can pull today to make an immediate difference while new professionals are trained.”

Karčiauskas described the workforce shortage as an “invisible bottleneck” that could hinder progress toward climate goals. He pointed to facility management as an example of how responsibilities have shifted. “In the past, one manager with a team would run a single hotel. Now a single manager oversees multiple buildings. Digitalization is inevitable, but we need to speed it up,” he said.

He added that many inefficiencies are not tied to equipment. “When we built Exergio, we saw that waste was often due to poor management practices, not outdated hardware. That’s where algorithms can deliver instant savings and help buildings become more sustainable too.”

The AEE report found growing recognition of digital tools, with 51% of respondents in 2025 rating AI implementation as “extremely” or “very” important for efficiency.

Karčiauskas argued that AI can help organizations lacking formal decarbonization strategies by automating many building operations. “Much of what wastes energy in the buildings can be automated through AI tools with human oversight. It would free professionals to focus on strategic tasks rather than daily micro-management. You would be surprised to see how many operations are run badly, even in newly built assets – only AI can spot these issues.”

According to the AEE survey, other challenges remain significant. Government funding limitations were cited by 46% of respondents, while 73% pointed to budget pressures—reversing an improvement reported last year.

“With AI-based platforms, we’re solving two issues at once: the shortage of specialists and the high cost of deep renovations. Energy waste can be cut by up to 30% simply by letting algorithms optimize HVAC, lighting, and sensor systems. It’s far cheaper than tearing out hardware, and it works today. Especially when there are no experts to deal with it – we can’t just keep the buildings alone,” Karčiauskas said.