Recommendation 47

HM Government Accepted

The Government agrees with the Committee that upskilling and supply chain growth will be needed as we progress to net zero, which is why both the Heat and Buildings Strategy and the Net Zero Strategy set out our plans to work with industry to create the skilled workforce needed to deliver our climate targets. Last year, the Green Jobs Taskforce report called on government and industry to work together to drive action on green jobs and we have recently established the Green Jobs Delivery Group, co-chaired by Minister Hands and Michael Lewis, CEO of E.ON Energy UK, with the aim of bringing together government, industry and other key stakeholders to progress work collaboratively on the green jobs and skills agenda. In April 2022, the Department for Education (DfE) published a Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, which builds on the work already underway across the education and children’s services sector to support the delivery of the UK government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and Net Zero Strategy. Working through the Green Jobs Delivery Group, DfE will continue to ensure that existing skills programmes can be directed to support the net zero agenda, and where appropriate identify further opportunities to flex key skills programmes to support green sectors and occupations. On retrofit specifically, BEIS spent almost £6 million on a skills training competition which delivered around 7,000 training opportunities for the energy efficiency and low carbon heating supply chains, including training for retrofit coordinators and assessors. We are currently developing options for further funding. The Department for Education are refining interventions for the construction sector through the Construction Skills Delivery Group – a joint HMG-industry initiative which develops and promotes skills initiatives to improve progression routes into the sector. Through the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, we are supporting workers to gain the skills they need to transition to the green economy and support improved energy efficiency across the country, including through targeted support for retraining. We are delivering Skills Bootcamps, which are short, flexible courses covering digital, technical and green skills, including retrofit. We are continuing to roll out T Levels which support green careers, providing high quality technical qualifications as an alternative to A Levels, which are underpinned by the same employer-led approach as apprenticeships. The building services engineering for construction T Level, launched in September 2021, will cover housing retrofit and heat pump installation. From September 2022, new T Levels will be available in Engineering, Manufacturing, Processing and Control. The suitability of potential future T Levels and occupational specialisms to support green skills is being considered. The Free Courses for Jobs offer has, since April 2021, been supporting adults who do not have a qualification at Level 3 or higher to access over 400 Level 3 courses for free. The offer currently includes qualifications linked to green sectors such as Building and Construction. This offer replaces loan funding with grant funding for any adult over the age of 23 looking to achieve their first Level 3 qualification. In addition, we have recently announced that, from April this year, any adult in England who is earning under the National Living Wage annually (£18,525) or unemployed will also be able to access these qualifications for free, regardless of their prior qualification level. Further, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) has convened a Green Apprenticeships Advisory Panel (GAAP) to work with employers to align apprenticeships to net zero objectives. Work is underway to map existing apprenticeship standards against green occupations and identify opportunities to create new standards, including in retrofit. The GAAP has endorsed existing apprenticeships which support green career pathways. Proposals for a new Low Carbon Heating Technician apprenticeship have already been approved, and the standard and assessment plan for this apprenticeship are currently being developed.