How Can Recruitment Companies Reduce T&D Project Delays In 2025?

As the global transmission and distribution (T&D) market gears up to grow from €295.6 billion in 2024 to over €472.9 billion by 2030, the demand for talent is surging just as fast. With up to 2 million new jobs in electricity distribution alone by 2050 in the EU, the industry faces a critical challenge: a projected global shortfall of 1.5 million skilled energy professionals by the end of the decade. 

Bridging this gap will be key to sustaining the sector’s momentum and driving the energy transition forward, especially in the EU. Businesses can take internal steps to attract and retain energy specialists, but they often encounter common hurdles such as cultural mismatch, lack of skills or knowledge, and limited availability.  

What are the biggest T&D project challenges of 2025 and how can a recruitment company support global T&D project leaders, so delays are being avoided? 

T&D Project Challenges 

Staff Shortage 

To fill the million new jobs in the EU, the workforce must grow by 50% by 2030. While this presents a significant opportunity, it also highlights the pressure facing T&D leaders. 

The current T&D engineering workforce is ageing and, with the approaching deadline for net-zero targets, the demand for experienced T&D specialists is rising sharply. The need for experts in project management, grid planning, and electrical engineering is particularly strong, making it increasingly difficult for employers to assemble complete and compatible teams of professionals.  

Project Duration 

T&D projects are often highly time-intensive and involve many parties in their execution. This can lead to complex communication, information silos, and stakeholder mismanagement, all of which contribute to longer project durations. 

Many T&D projects are also government-funded, which often results in lengthy funding processes. The average implementation time for a project is 10 years, with half of that typically spent on permitting procedures. 

These delays can create staffing challenges through scheduling issues, workforce instability, and higher turnover. Over time, repeated delays make it increasingly difficult for utilities to attract and retain talent, reinforcing a cycle in which staffing shortages and project delays feed into one another. 

Cost Overruns 

Besides project delays, cost overruns are a major challenge within the T&D industry, with 60% of energy infrastructure projects worldwide exceeding their budgets. But why is that? 

The procurement of cables typically takes between 2 to 3 years, while large power transformers can take up to four years. For specialised components such as direct current cables, procurement can even take as long as five years. The issue is not only supply chain delays but also rising material costs. Since 2019, cable prices have nearly doubled, and the cost of power transformers has increased by almost 75%. 

Having the right people in place early on, with the project experience and knowledge to set realistic budgets, work with the right suppliers and plan for potential issues, can be the most important thing for avoiding future cost overruns.   

Modernisation 

The power blackout across the Iberian Peninsula in April 2025 highlighted the urgent need to modernise and digitalise Europe’s power grids to meet the surging electricity demand. This comes as no surprise, given that 40% of Europe’s electricity grids are more than 40 years old. But to achieve this goal, T&D projects need the right expertise with digital skills. 

Modernisation and digitalisation therefore remain major challenges for T&D projects in 2025. Outdated energy infrastructure is causing project delays, with leaders forced to wait for connections. As a result, €7.2 billion worth of renewable power was wasted in just seven EU countries in 2024. 

Skills Gap 

In a recent LinkedIn poll by Amoria Bond, 50% of respondents indicated that the biggest challenge for the T&D industry in 2025 is finding niche-skilled specialists. This is largely because many open T&D vacancies require trained professionals with specific expertise, making the search for the right fit particularly difficult. Skills such as high-voltage DC (HVDC), electrical engineering, project management, grid planning, and digital expertise are especially scarce. 

How Can T&D Businesses Benefit From Working With A Specialist Recruitment Company 

The EU is increasing investment in T&D infrastructure, allocating €730 billion for distribution and €477 billion for transmission grid developments by 2040. This creates significant opportunities for T&D employers with ambitious energy goals, if they have the support they need to overcome those staffing hurdles. 

With rising costs, a strained talent pool, and tight deadlines, companies can benefit from partnering with a specialist recruitment firm. If you work with Amoria Bond’s Transmission & Distribution hiring team, you have access to: 

An Extensive Talent Pool 

Specialist recruitment companies already have access to a talent pool of local and international specialists in transmission, distribution, grid modernisation, renewable integration, and regulatory compliance, many of whom can be available more quickly. This means employers do not need to start an exhausting multi-channel search or screen large number of candidates before finding the right fit. 

Cost-efficiency 

Because of possible budget overruns, operating cost-efficiently is an important aspect of a T&D project. Recruiters understand this and work within your budget. Since employers don’t need to hire through the internal HR department, they can reallocate these costs to other business operations. 

Time-efficiency 

Companies can minimise project delays by outsourcing time-consuming HR tasks, such as sourcing, screening, and conducting pre-interviews, to a recruitment company. These crucial steps require a lot of time, which T&D project leaders could spend to important project tasks rather than hiring processes. 

Market and Industry Knowledge 

Specialised recruiters are often up to date with the latest T&D industry insights and job market trends. This enables them to provide employers with value-added advice on salary benchmarks, skills availability, and workforce trends. They also understand hiring challenges and common issues, such as skills mismatches and cultural fit. 

What Sets Amoria Bond Apart from Other Recruitment Companies? 

Amoria Bond goes the extra mile to source the perfect candidate with world-class staffing solutions from trained specialists focused on the European T&D market. We offer tailored services for T&D projects in Europe and the USA, ranging from sourcing and screening candidates to contract handling and staffing advice.  

Within 48 hours, we can rapidly provide multiple suitable and screened freelance candidates worldwide, prioritising on cost- and time-efficiency as well as skills and cultural fit.