Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 32
32
Accepted
Define 'green jobs' and publish methodology for measuring progress towards green jobs targets.
Recommendation
Despite recognising the electrification skills shortage in the UK, the Government has delayed the publication of its green skills plan. We reinforce the recommendation from our 2021 report that the Government sets out how it will measure progress towards its green jobs target, including a definition of ‘green jobs’ and how it will measure the number, type and location of these over the 2020s, for the purpose of monitoring and evaluating the impact of its policies. (Paragraph 114) Planning, community engagement and community benefit
Government Response Summary
The government published a Green Skills Plan and a Green Jobs and Skills Report with an updated estimate of green jobs using ONS statistics. It states the Office will focus on improving data consistency and availability for monitoring and evaluation, drawing from various sources.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government published the Green Skills Plan in January 2023, outlining how the UK will ensure it has the skilled workforce to deliver Net Zero. The Plan highlighted key actions the Government is taking to support green skills, including boosting the number of apprenticeships in relevant sectors, reforming technical qualifications and launching new green skills bootcamps. The Department for Education’s ‘Green Jobs and Skills Report: 2023 Update’ was published in December 2023, providing new data on the progress of the UK’s green economy and its workforce. This includes an updated estimate of ‘green jobs’ in the UK from the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Environmental Goods and Services Sector statistics. The report estimates there were 540,000 green jobs across the UK in 2021, an increase of 21% from 2019, with growth projected to grow to over 780,000 in 2030, a 45% increase from 2021. The Government recognises the need for more granular information to inform policy-making in this area and is working with ONS to further improve the quality of green jobs data and develop additional metrics. 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.