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Inquiry · 11 November 2024 → 27 February 2026

Workforce planning to deliver clean, secure energy

From: Energy Security and Net Zero Committee

Closed2 documents6 evidence sessions

What this inquiry is asking

Can the UK train and deploy enough skilled workers to meet its clean energy and retrofit targets by 2030-2050? The inquiry examined whether government workforce planning, skills infrastructure, and employer coordination are adequate to support doubling clean energy jobs from 440,000 to 860,000 by decade's end, while retrofitting 5 million buildings.

Headline findings

  • Skills bottlenecks are acute and systemic: electricians need 3-5 years' training before independent operation; 150,000 energy sector workers retiring within 2-3 years; further education severely under-resourced and unable to invest in new programmes.
  • Government published Clean Energy Jobs Plan and Industrial Strategy after evidence sessions, committing £1.2bn annual skills investment by 2028–29 and establishing five Clean Energy Technical Colleges.
  • Office for Clean Energy Jobs is under-resourced (20 staff), analytically focused rather than delivery-focused, and has low visibility across departments and local bodies; regional coordination fragmented across mayors and devolved authorities with no single coordinating body.
  • Overseas labour imports at depressed wages create disincentive for employers to invest in home-grown training and downward wage pressure; offshore wind workers earning below national minimum wage despite skills transferability from oil/gas sector.
  • Definition of 'clean energy jobs' inconsistent across government; job quality, wage standards, and career sustainability matter more than headcount.

Why it matters

Without adequate workforce planning, the UK cannot meet its 2030 clean power and 2050 net zero targets—the transition hinges on training half a million workers in jobs that don't yet have clear career pathways or consistent wage standards.

Tone arc

Opened cooperatively with academic experts on systemic challenges; shifted to critical after industry and union testimony exposed fragmentation, under-resourcing, and wage disparities; concluded with cautious approval of government's published response but concerns remain about Office for Clean Energy Jobs capacity and coordination.

Themes

skills-gapworkforce-transitionregional-coordinationjob-qualityfurther-education-funding

Key witnesses

Sarah Jones MP (Minister for Industry), Sue Ferns (Prospect trade union), Jodie Coe (Northern Powergrid), Brian Berry (Federation of Master Builders), Simon Ayers MBE (Aldersgate Group), David Hughes CBE (Trades Union Congress), Dr Christian Calvillo (academic expert), Professor James Robson (academic expert)

Outcome verdict

Government accepted the committee's framing on need for workforce strategy and committed £1.2bn annual skills investment plus Clean Energy Technical Colleges; however, government response does not explicitly address the committee's concerns about Office for Clean Energy Jobs resourcing, regional coordination gaps, or wage conditionality on immigration.

Outcome

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

The government accepts six of the eight core recommendations in full (Recs 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 18, 20) and partially accepts four (Recs 2, 3, 8, 21). On Rec 2, it agrees in principle to promote clean energy careers among underrepresented groups but cites Post-16 Education White Paper timescales as constraints. On Rec 3 (skilled immigration conditionality), it rejects new conditionality measures beyond those in the May 2025 Immigration White Paper, though establishes Labour Market Evidence Group to link migration to skills policies and increased Immigration Skills Charge by 32%. On Rec 8 (career pathways beyond technical colleges), it agrees to monitor Regional Skills Pilots but notes qualification reform consultations are ongoing. On Rec 21 (impact assessment for procurement conditionality), it partially agrees, arguing the Better Regulation Framework does not require publication of formal impact assessments, though commits to case-by-case consideration and clear communication of rationale. Government emphasises whole-of-system coordination via Office for Clean Energy Jobs, Skills England, devolved governments, and industry partnerships, with 10-year policy horizons for long-term certainty.

Read the government’s full response →

Reports & Government Responses

Witness sessions

Themes & actors

Topics across publication summaries

workforce-planning ·2skills-training ·2clean-energy-transition ·1energy-security ·1retrofit ·1clean-energy ·1construction-retrofit ·1immigration-labour ·1

Top organisations & named entities

Source · parliament.uk inquiry record ↗