Introduction
Submitted to: Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee
Our response to the inquiry on how to build the workforce needed to deliver the policies and infrastructure for the UK’s clean, secure energy mission. Given that our policy interest lies in making sure the UK has the skilled engineering and technology workforce needed for the government’s clean energy mission to succeed, our focus is on expanding routes into the engineering and technology sector for young people. We approached this submission through the lens of improving educational, apprenticeship and training opportunities for young people.
Who this is for
- MPs
- Policymakers
Key recommendations
We welcomed the government’s recognition of the centrality of addressing the skills crisis to achieving all 5 of its missions, not least turning Britain into a clean energy superpower. Our submission includes the following recommendations:
- Make sure that Skills England can work effectively across government departments and with its devolved counterparts. This is to support meaningful co-ordination of skills development across the UK, including when developing a sector skills plan
- As part of a clean energy sector skills plan, release a breakdown of estimates of the engineering specialisms required to meet the 2030 target. This should be extrapolated backwards to assess the required number of A level and T Level students and apprentices in STEM subjects each year to satisfy future engineering and technical needs
- Develop up-to-date skills taxonomies which can differentiate between ‘expansion’ and ‘replacement’ jobs, particularly in the clean energy industries, to track the demand for new talent as workers retire
- Encourage many more young people to pursue careers in these sectors, recognising that apprenticeships are a vital pathway into the industry. In addition to the announced creation of new foundation and shorter apprenticeships, EngineeringUK calls on the government to go a step further and directly fund apprenticeships for young people between the ages of 16 and 18, paid for through unallocated levy funding that would otherwise be returned to the Treasury
- Take measures to improve the diversity of the workforce through better attraction, training and retention of under-represented groups, not least for women as the most under-represented demographic in engineering and technology roles.
