The global market for energy is, quite simply, enormous. We currently work our way through 15,000 gigawatts a year (a gigawatt being the output of the largest of the current coal-fired power stations) spending about a staggering $6 trillion in the process. But the fossil fuels we depend upon to satisfy so much of this demand are either running out or threaten to engulf us in uncontrolled climate change. Which is why the renewable energy sector has been attracting so much interest and investment in recent years and is now predicted by the United Nations environment programme to be worth as much as $600 billion by 2020.

Under the renewables umbrella, one of the most promising and fastest moving technologies is that connected with solar power. And for electronics engineers with their eye on the next big thing it may well prove the source of mini-boom in jobs and career development over the next few years.

Major players in electronics such as Applied Materials and GE are already investing heavily in solar with the creation of substantial dedicated business units, whilst other household names such as Bosch and Siemens have sought to move into the arena through acquisitions rather than developing expertise and capacity from scratch.

As a result the industry currently employs around 30,000 people across Europe - still well behind more established electronics sectors such as semi-conductors with its 150,000 staff, but growing steadily  and is predicted to be worth around $3 billion by 2010. Solar certainly offers many attractions to the ambitious electronics engineer  because it is relatively new it provides novel technical challenges, its base technology is less complex than that already used in other electronics sectors meaning that barriers to entry are low and last, but certainly not least, it gives the opportunity to do your bit in saving the planet. But for the moment it appears that there are not enough good people to satisfy employer demand. So why should this be?

The problem lies in the fact that activity in the solar sector is presently focused on a relatively small number of countries. The UK, for example, has largely turned its back on the technology (look out the window and you may see why) in favour of alternatives such as wind turbines and bio fuels. Consequently, in Europe, the front-runners are Spain (although a recent cap on solar installations by the Spanish government may dampen this) and Germany.

Germany has been the worlds biggest investor in the solar sector since 2005 and the German government is estimated to have subsidised the industry with over ¬1 billion to date. The government has also used its legal powers to stimulate the sector, incentivising organisations and private individuals to generate their own electricity which power companies then have to buy from them at a preferential rate. The result has been the creation of the countrys own Silicon Valley in several of the eastern states such as Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia.

Servicing the development of these growing enterprises is, however, proving difficult given the fact that Germany is suffering from a serious shortage of engineering professionals  one commentator, the Federal Labour Agency, has estimated that up to 95,000 positions remain unfilled because of this. Plans are consequently now afoot to open the door to more non-EU engineers, but for the moment the result is one of the fiercest wars for talent on the European continent.

Further afield, Algeria and Morocco in north Africa and the Gulf states in the Middle East are also investing heavily in the solar sector  no great surprise perhaps given the nature of their climates. Abu Dhabi, for example, has recently made a $15 billion investment in the industry and has announced plans to build the first city in the world with a zero carbon footprint  Masdar - as part of its strategy to move from a dependence on oil to becoming a leader in the alternative energy field.

On the other side of the globe, the fast growing economies of China, India and Malaysia are providing homes to the next generation of manufacturing facilities - Signet Solar, for example, the US maker of photovoltaic modules that use thin-film technology is building its next major factory in Madras, while Q-Cells, the world's biggest producer of photovoltaic solar cells, is developing a similar operation in Malaysia.

Again, however, as in Germany, the question arises as to who is actually going to do the work. The Gulf states are acutely short of both technical and managerial specialists, in large part because their level of investment and development in the solar arena has not been matched by that in training and education, but also because of a failure to attract sufficient expatriates. And, whilst the Asian countries seem to have few problems in finding sufficient production staff for their manufacturing operations, they struggle to find sufficient senior managers with in-depth technical and commercial experience.

For the ambitious electronics engineer willing to follow the advice of a well-known former Conservative minister and get on their bike, the opportunities are consequently obvious. In a shrinking world a CV which features truly international experience, particularly if that experience covers both the traditional centres in the US and Europe and the emerging markets, is likely to become increasingly valuable. The international career option is, of course, not one which will suit everybody. Working in a developing country, for example, can mean coming to terms with a completely new type of environment. Basics you may now take for granted such as an uninterrupted power supply or a serious work ethic are not necessarily the norm in many nations.

Some cultures have altogether different attitudes to the importance of the workplace, from the exceptionally high levels of commitment expected in a country like Japan through to a decidedly more relaxed approach in some of the smaller, newer economies. Therefore ask yourself the direct question  am I flexible enough in my approach to adapt to such a change in circumstances? If the answer is yes you may be able to reap rich rewards from the investment of time effort and commitment involved.

By: DocMemory
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