From data to delivery: Building Europe’s wind workforce at scale

When: Tuesday, 21 April 2026, 15:00 - 15:45
Where: "Powering the Future" stage - Hall 9

Session description

Europe’s wind sector is growing fast — but people, not turbines, may become the real bottleneck. Today, 442,000 people work in wind; by 2030, nearly 600,000 will be needed, across technicians, engineers, and digital roles. We now have unprecedented workforce data, yet training systems remain fragmented and rules still differ across borders.
This session looks at how industry, governments, training providers and policymakers can work together — faster and smarter — to turn skills ambition into delivery. Alongside a policy and industry panel, the session features a live virtual reality training demonstration, showing how new technologies can speed up training, improve safety and scale the workforce.
The focus is practical: what works, what blocks progress, and what must change next.

Session chair

Mariana Batista

Head of Education and Skills, WindEurope

Panel

Sergei Perapechka

Head of Partnerships and Network Development, GWO

Maria Irvin

Group Director People and Culture, RES

Daniela Santopolo

Policy Officer, European Commission DG EMPL

Yvonne Cannon

Assistant Principal , Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Ireland

Lene Thirup

Chief Commercial Officer, Kanda