Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 31
31
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 113
Conduct a nationwide electrification skills needs assessment and develop a comprehensive plan addressing gaps.
Recommendation
Ministers must communicate clearly to industry their expectations on the rollout of energy and electrification infrastructure to meet Government policy objectives in a timely fashion. In tandem with this, we recommend that the Government conduct a nationwide electrification skills needs assessment across all relevant sectors, so as to inform a comprehensive plan which ought to include robust policies for addressing skills gaps. The Government should also take an active role, through promotion and funding and deployment of development and training programmes, the promotion of electrical education colleges in each region and the delivery of clear career pathways for skilled roles.
Government Response Summary
The government has established the Clean Energy Workforce Office to coordinate skills activity and improve data on the UK's clean energy workforce, which will include monitoring the labor market, but does not explicitly commit to a specific nationwide electrification skills needs assessment or the full range of suggested training and education programmes.
Paragraph Reference:
113
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
DESNZ, working with other government departments, has recently established the Clean Energy Workforce Office to coordinate government activity on skills across the breadth of the clean energy sector. The Office will take an active role in promoting and developing skills for the workforce in clean energy sectors, working with the Department for Education and the newly established Skills England to ensure we have the skills we need to meet our targets. The Office will focus on clean energy jobs required in the transition to more sustainable energy systems. These jobs are needed across a variety of sectors including renewables; hydrogen and CCUS; and heat and buildings to deliver the Government’s clean energy mission. The Office will focus on improving the consistency, quality, and availability of data on the UK’s clean energy workforce, to ensure the successful monitoring and evaluation of the impact of its policies. This will include monitoring the labour market, drawing from a wide range of sources including official data, and collaborating with employers, trade unions and relevant sector skills bodies.