The UK government has unveiled plans to invest in green skills training across the nation to address the growing green skills gap.
Today (22 January), a new “skills passport” has been launched. Current oil and gas industry workers can use an online portal to assess how they can move their careers into the renewable energy sector.
The online portal, which is led by trade bodies Renewable UK and Offshore Energies UK, allows workers to identify where their current qualifications will be recognised in the clean energy industry, with an initial focus on opportunities in the offshore wind industry.
The tool, which is supported by funding from the UK and Scottish governments, will be expanded throughout 2025 to include other pathways from the fossil fuel industry into the renewable energy sector. According to Offshore Energies UK, 90% of oil and gas workers currently possess skills relevant to the clean energy transition.
Acting Scottish cabinet secretary for net zero and energy Gillian Martin said: “It is absolutely vital that we recognise and retain the considerable skills of oil and gas workers and ensure they are supported, as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to ensuring a fair and just transition for Scotland. That’s why the Scottish Government has provided £3.7 million of funding to support oil and gas and renewables industries to jointly develop the Energy Skills Passport – helping to ensure that the skills, experience and expertise of oil and gas workers are harnessed and that they are ready to apply for the long term sustainable jobs that are created as part of our fair and managed transition to net zero.”
Regional funding to identify solutions
Additionally, the government has announced that it will invest in several key regions of the UK to identify opportunities to close the green skills gap through training and development. Aberdeen, Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire have been identified as key growth areas for the renewable energy sector, owing to strong offshore wind, nuclear, and solar industries in these regions.
Funding will initially be granted to Cheshire West and Chester, North and North East Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire, to allow these regions to research and identify where skills support funding could be best used; a significant volume of this kind of research has already been carried out in Aberdeen.
Once all four regions have presented completed research, they will be considered for further targeted funding to support the green skills transition, for example, for new training courses and centres to upskill workers or to fund career advisors to help workers wishing to change their career path into green industry.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “Our Plan for Change to deliver clean power is not just about protecting households and businesses from the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets, it is also about reindustrialising Britain with thousands of well-paid, good union jobs in industrial communities. We are working with communities, businesses, and trade unions to train workers here in Britain, so we can seize the opportunities that clean power brings.”
Green skills in the spotlight
The green skills gap has become an increasing concern in the energy industry, and one which the government is anxious to address.
In September 2024, prime minister Keir Starmer announced plans to overhaul the English apprenticeship system to recruit young people into the green industry and other key sectors. This announcement came on the same day that Skills England released its first report on the nation’s working skills in a variety of sectors. The report noted that a fifth of workers will play a core role in delivering net zero, with a further 21% helping to enable the transition in other ways.
