Due to climate change mitigation, employment in the conventional (fossil) energy sectors will decrease, while many jobs in alternative energy sectors are being created along the way. Your PhD research project aims to develop an approach to evaluate spatial labour market frictions in the job churning process invoked by the energy transition. The research has a high societal and economic importance as the shortage of workers with technological skills that are needed to realize the energy transition of the coming decades might be the single most important bottleneck for reaching the climate goals in 2050. In the project, you will pair quantitative research on changes in jobs with qualitative research on skills need in the energy transition. One of the important focuses will be on regional labour market (mis)matches between demand and supply of skills. Having detailed insight into regional labour market (mis)matches of skills for the energy transition is of key importance to guide education and labour market policies and interventions for attaining the climate goals set out for 2050.

This PhD-position is part of a joint research project between the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) of Maastricht University's School of Business and Economics, and TNO Netherlands Energy Transition Studies. You will work as a PhD candidate within ROA with supervision and collaboration from both ROA and TNO. You will build your research network within the ROA research community and within TNO’s extensive network of professional and research experts in the field of energy transition and labour market research.

• You are self-motivated, curious and interested in research;
• You have a strong academic background (e.g., good grades and/or involvement in other academic activities) and willingness to publish in high-ranking academic journals;
• You have excellent quantitative and analytical skills, as well as oral communication and writing skills in English;
• You have affinity with empirical analyses on large data sets and/or natural or field experiments;
• You have knowledge of statistical software (e.g., Stata, R, Python, Qgis);
• A preference is given to MSc graduated economists or social scientists who have shown excellence in at least one of the following subjects: labour economics, energy economics, regional economics, (applied) micro-economics;
• A Research Master's degree (or equivalent in ECTS) is preferred.

If you do not yet meet the starting requirements (e.g., if you do not have a Research Master's degree or equivalent), we can discuss possibilities for a part-time pre-PhD position that offers time to catch up. We also invite candidates from other disciplines to apply who fit the other requirements.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

The full-time position is offered for four years (1+3), with a yearly evaluation.

Your salary will be € 2,541 gross per month in the first year up to € 3,247 gross per month in the fourth year according to the PhD-candidate salary scale. On top of this, there is an 8% holiday and an 8.3% year-end allowance.

The terms of employment of Maastricht University are set out in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local UM provisions also apply. For more information look at the website www.maastrichtuniversity.nl > About UM > Working at UM.

Maastricht University

Maastricht University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 22,000 students and about 5,000 employees. Reflecting the university's strong international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.
For more information, visit www.maastrichtuniversity.nl

ROA has a leading position nationally and internationally in research in the field of education and the labour market. As a PhD-student at ROA you will have access and contribute to ROA and Maastricht University's School of Business and Economics international network of renowned scholars, and you will be part of the Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE) that coordinates SBE’s PhD programme. TNO is an independent and interdisciplinary research organization that connects people and knowledge to create innovations that boost the competitive strength of industry and the well-being of society in a sustainable way.  The PhD candidate can benefit in particular from two TNO expertise groups: Energy Transition Studies and Work, Health & Technology. TNO Energy Transition conducts interdisciplinary research that aims to accelerate the energy transition, including research on renewable energy, CO2 neutral industry, the economics of the energy transition and system transition. TNO Work & Health offers knowledge, strategies and solutions to keep people working as long and as healthy, engaged and productive as possible. Both TNO units are working together to develop innovative scenario models that provide insight into changes in local employment related to the energy transition, with a focus on the distributional effects of the energy transition.