Source · Select Committees · Energy Security and Net Zero Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Accepted
Incorporate digital skills and modern construction methods into workforce planning for productivity.
Recommendation
In addition to increasing the overall number of workers, we recognise that productivity improvements and new working practices will be essential to meet the scale of labour demand identified in this Report. Evidence submitted on the sheer volume of work required, including retrofitting most UK homes to EPC C by 2035 and delivering 1.5 million new homes and 5 million retrofits, with at least a quarter of a million additional workers needed for new build alone, suggests that relying solely on headcount growth will be challenging. The Government’s workforce planning should therefore explicitly consider how digital skills, new technologies and modern methods of construction can help increase productivity, improve quality and reduce bottlenecks, particularly in off-site manufacture, design, surveying, grid connection and project management. Skills England and the Office for 50 Clean Energy Jobs should work with industry to ensure that occupational standards and training provision reflect these evolving practices. (Recommendation, Paragraph 94)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government agrees with the recommendation, committing to review the system of standards, oversight, and protections for energy efficiency installations, consult on simplifying the system, and review PAS standards to broaden the definition of competence to ensure installations are completed correctly and reflect evolving practices.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
The government agrees with this recommendation. Skills England and the Office for Clean Energy Jobs will continue to work with industry to ensure occupational standards meet evolving practices and we make best use of the range of training options available, for example apprenticeships, apprenticeship units, shorter-duration apprenticeships, foundation apprenticeships, T Levels and HTQs, to plug these gaps. As outlined in the Warm Homes Plan, the government, in its review of the PAS standard will consider how competence is defined for PAS retrofit roles to ensure the approach followed is aligned to the dutyholder and competency regime set out under the Building Safety Act 2022 and the construction industry’s wider approach to competence. This action will enable government to work with the sector to develop clearer competence frameworks for retrofit roles that can support the skills system in developing more robust training standards and pathways that align to evolving practices. Furthermore, the Department is working across government and with industry to avoid unnecessary competition for skilled workers and maximise the benefits of investment across sectors. This includes working collaboratively with other government departments, industry training boards and industry on skills and training pathways to ensure they can address skills shortages and are suitable for new innovations and working practices.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗