6th Report - Workforce planning to deliver clean, secure energy

Key findings

• The UK will not achieve clean energy and decarbonisation targets without further government intervention in workforce planning; climate models suggest net employment gains of 135,000–725,000 jobs by 2030 in low-carbon sectors.
• Both existing workers and new entrants are needed; the Climate Change Committee and skills sector evidence reject the idea that either alone will suffice due to retirements, skill obsolescence, and sector growth.
• Existing energy and construction workforces possess highly transferable skills, but barriers prevent transitions: mid-to-late-career workers doubt their capabilities and fear green jobs won't materialise until the 2030s.
• Clear career pathways are lacking; David Hughes noted it is not clear to workers what learning is needed to enter clean energy or retrofit careers. The committee recommends detailed occupational mapping and portability of skills across UK nations.
• Skills gaps may require short-term immigration, but witnesses emphasised long-term focus must be on home-grown talent; cheap migrant labour has historically undermined UK apprenticeships and vocational training.

Recommendations

• Continue to tackle barriers preventing existing energy sector workers transitioning successfully, including transferability of skills between roles and sectors.
• Launch further initiatives to promote clean energy and retrofit careers among under-represented groups (women, ethnic minorities) and those outside the existing workforce.
• Explore leveraging the short-term need for skilled immigration to boost longer-term home-grown talent, including placing conditionality on visa use to incentivise employer investment in skills.
• Publish the Warm Homes Plan as soon as possible to clarify workforce needs for retrofit and decarbonisation of buildings.
• Effectively resource the Office for Clean Energy Jobs to cover both clean energy and retrofit workforces and ensure skills portability across UK nations.
• Demonstrate how government is working with employers and the education sector to deliver clear career pathways and occupational mapping.
• Maintain measures aimed at increasing demand for skilled workers during this Parliament; evaluate impacts of funding schemes addressing skills supply.
• Clarify government stance on the balance of levies between electricity and gas, revisions to the Energy Performance Certificates regime, and the role of hydrogen in heating.
• Facilitate a greater role for local authorities in the Warm Homes Plan to accelerate retrofit roll-out; develop local skills improvement plans that match employer needs with training provision.
• Explore measures taken by the Danish government to manage migration and fill skills gaps in construction and related sectors.

Key actors

Bill Esterson, Sarah Jones MP, Katy Heidenreich, Brian Berry, Professor James Robson, David Hughes, Dr Christian Calvillo, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero