mEFhuc6W1n5SlKLH
Climate Action

UK Government to Support Workers to Benefit from Thousands of Clean Power Jobs

Regional skills investments will help workers access thousands of jobs in UK heartlands as part of Plan for Change to make Britain energy secure with clean power by 2030.

  • 22 January 2025
  • Press Release

Workers across the UK will be supported with government-backed training programmes so they can benefit from thousands of new job opportunities in the clean energy sector, as part of the government’s Plan for Change and clean energy superpower mission. 

Aberdeen, Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire have all been identified as key growth regions for clean energy, with flourishing offshore wind, nuclear, and solar industries. Local partners will receive funding to identify the skills support that is needed in their area to deliver clean power by 2030 – which will protect households and businesses from unstable fossil fuel markets for good. 

Funding could go towards new training centres, courses or career advisers - supporting local people into opportunities in industries such as welding, electrical engineering, and construction.   

Alongside this, the government has delivered on a longstanding campaign to help oil and gas workers access opportunities in clean energy jobs by launching a ‘skills passport’, in collaboration with industry and Scottish Government. Oil and gas workers will be able to access the skills passport online, which will initially help them identify routes into several roles in offshore wind including construction and maintenance.    

These initiatives will help build the pipeline of skilled workers needed to deliver clean power by 2030, which will unlock £40bn of investment a year and reindustrialise Britain with thousands of good jobs across the country. This underscores the government’s commitment to deliver a jobs-rich clean energy transition, putting communities and trade unions at the heart of the UK’s clean energy future. 

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.” 

Many of the skills required for the transition already exist, with research from Offshore Energies UK showing that 90% of oil and gas workers have skills that are relevant to the clean energy transition. 

From today (22 January), workers will be able to create an account to access the four career pathways currently available, helping them identify where their existing qualifications are recognised. Led by Renewable UK and Offshore Energies UK, and supported by the UK and funding from Scottish Government, the tool will be expanded over the coming year to recognise other pathways from oil and gas into the renewable sector. 

Funding will initially be given to Cheshire West and Chester, North and North East Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire, as significant work identifying skills has already been done for Aberdeen.  

All four areas will be considered for further funding for targeted measures such as new training centres and courses to upskill workers. This could support the offshore wind sector in South Wales, or nuclear fuel cluster in Cheshire. Around £1 million will be available for each area, with local and devolved partners empowered to develop their own plans for how best to target the funding. 

Employers will also get a handbook which highlights where businesses can access support to grow and upskill their workforce. This will include, for example, sector-based work academy programmes which help jobseekers into the sector, ensuring they have the necessary skills to deliver clean power by 2030. 

It comes as the government recently confirmed that contracts have been signed for the UK’s first carbon capture project in Teesside, marking the latest milestone in the government’s mission to reignite its industrial heartlands, tackle the climate crisis and turbocharge growth for decades to come.