Workforce planning to deliver clean, secure energy

Status / emerging 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.

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)