12 July 2021
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3 min read
National Grid engineers | Credit: National Grid
Survey of more than 400 professionals reveals an industry in flux, with more than half of respondents revealing they have moved or plan to shift into a different part of the sector
A national skills policy is urgently needed to ensure the UK's net zero transition does not get derailed by a future skills shortage and offers opportunities to existing workers in the energy industry and related sectors.
That is the main conclusion from the the latest edition of the Energy Institute's annual Energy Barometer, published this morning, which reveals widespread support across the energy sector for policies that would ensure workers in high carbon industries are reskilled and are not 'left behind' as the transition towards cleaner energy sources gathers speed.
The survey reveals an industry already in major flux, with the majority of respondents revealing they planned to undertake training over the next year as a result of the net zero transition, and just over half reporting they had already moved or were considering a move into a different part of the sector.
However, almost half of respondents said concerns about the cost and availability of new training courses was hampering their skills development.
Energy Institute president Steven Holliday said the findings highlighted the critical need for policy makers to make long-term investments now in skills development that would preempt future skills shortages.
"We often hear about the long lead times involved in building a new power plant," he said. "But the lead times required to bring on a heat pump installer or wind turbine engineer - from inspiring interest in STEM in schools through the necessary apprenticeships and university degrees and into the workforce - are as long if not longer."
Policies to incentivise low carbon technologies must be accompanied by a green skills drive, Holliday added. "A laser focus on policies and initiatives to drive the development of low carbon technologies is vital, but it must not eclipse the equally important need to support and develop the net zero workforce," he said.
More than half of the 400 professionals that took part in the survey pointed to the need for the government to complement the 'push' of a national net zero skills strategy with the 'pull' of a stable energy policies that would help entice people into the industry.
The survey also reveals that energy professionals believe investment in the existing workforce is needed to engage communities with the net zero transition, with 57 per cent of respondents supporting skills and retraining to help avoid oil and gas professionals becoming 'stranded' as the transition gathers pace.
Energy and Climate Change Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the findings complemented the government's ongoing efforts to ensure the UK's workforce was prepared for the net zero transition.
"Today's invaluable findings from the Energy Barometer support the government's priority to invest in the UK's most important asset - our workforce - ensuring that people from every region of the UK have the right skills for the green industrial revolution and thrive in the jobs this will create," she said.
However, the survey joins a series of recent analyses that have argued the UK's green skills policies are not yet sufficiently ambitious and warned that the net zero transition could yet be hit by serious skills shortages. Just last week a report from the think tank Onward argued the UK was "woefully prepared" for the surge in demand for skills from low carbon industries that is expected to accelerate over the coming decade and beyond.
Today's Energy Barometer also reveals that tackling climate change is a motivating factor for new entrants to the industry, ranking second after job security and career progression in the list of what attracted them to the sector.
Elsewhere, the survey highlights shifting attitudes towards fossil fuels among energy sector professionals, with only just over a third of respondents reporting that they supported new licensing of offshore oil and gas projects.
New coal mining and shale gas projects saw even lower levels of support, at 12 per cent and 25 per cent respectively, while 43 per cent of respondents said they supported gas fired power generation.
