A major new study into the economic and employment opportunities in clean energy in the North East and Yorkshire – and what need to be done to take advantage of them – has been launched in Hull at a roundtable of local employers, local authorities and skills and training providers.
The North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub Clean Workforce Mapping Study was delivered by the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub at the request of the government.
The study sets out that clean energy employment could more than double in the region by 2030 – creating up to 55,000 direct jobs – but highlighted how weaknesses in workforce data could impede efforts to take advantage of the opportunity.
The study can be downloaded in full below.
NEY Net Zero Hub clean energy workforce mapping study
The study was launched at a policy-roundtable where senior representatives of local employers, business groups, local authorities and skills and training providers met with government policy makers to give their reflections on the study and to discuss potential next steps to build on its findings.
A white paper of findings from the roundtables will be published later this year.
Attendees at the event, which took place at local training provider HETA’s Hull offices, included Skills England, Office for Clean Energy Jobs, Humber Energy Board, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Tees Valley Combined Authority, Hull College and NETA.
All five Local Net Zero Hubs have worked with the Office for Clean Energy Jobs to build a regional picture of clean research to examine workforce evidence across the geographies, identifying both significant growth opportunities and major challenges in understanding future skills demand.
The North East and Yorkshire study highlights the scale of the economic opportunity associated with clean energy investment across North East England and Yorkshire. Drawing on the Government’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan, researchers estimate that the region’s direct clean energy workforce could grow from around 20,000 jobs in 2023 to between 45,000 and 55,000 jobs by 2030.
Particular demand is expected in:
- Construction and retrofit trades
- Engineering and technical occupations
- Electrical and electronic trades
- Research and technology professions
- Process and manufacturing roles linked to clean energy infrastructure
The report also identifies energy efficiency retrofit and heat network development amongst the sectors most likely to drive future employment growth.
Researchers found that different parts of the region are well positioned to benefit from specific clean energy opportunities.
The Tees Valley, Humber and North East are expected to see significant growth linked to offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture projects, while West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, York and North Yorkshire are focusing strongly on retrofit, heat pumps and low-carbon construction activities.
Despite strong growth prospects, the study found substantial challenges in accurately measuring the potential size of the clean energy workforce.
Different organisations use a variety of datasets, definitions and methodologies which result in significant inconsistencies when information is collected together. In some cases, local estimates of green employment are between two and five times higher than national Clean Energy Jobs Plan figures.
Researchers concluded that these differences are largely driven by:
- Inconsistent definitions of clean energy and green jobs
- Inclusion of wider supply chain employment in some datasets
- Different forecasting methodologies
- Variations in occupational classifications and assumptions
The study also found limited availability of local authority-level workforce forecasts and weak links between workforce intelligence and locally held project pipelines.
The study sets out six recommendations to strengthen clean energy workforce planning across the North East and Yorkshire:
- Creation of a Consistent National Framework: government should produce clear guidance on how clean energy jobs are defined, measured and forecast to ensure consistent approaches across England.
- Improvements to Local Data Availability: National agencies should work with Combined Authorities and others responsible for developing Local Skills Improvement Plans to provide more granular workforce data at local and sub-regional level.
- Link Workforce Intelligence to Project Pipelines: Establish a live regional project pipeline that tracks expected job creation, occupations required and project timelines. This would provide much stronger evidence for skills commissioning and investment decisions.
- Strengthened Occupational Intelligence: Greater access to detailed occupational and skills data is needed to support future training provision and workforce development planning.
- Increased Regional Collaboration: Data, methodologies and intelligence should be shared to improve consistency and reduce duplication.
Hub Manager Karen Oliver Spry commented:
“The study confirms that clean energy is one of the most significant economic opportunities facing the North East and Yorkshire over the next decade. However, achieving the region’s ambitions will require renewed collaboration and co-ordination and greater use of workplace intelligence.
“Without consistent definitions, better local data and stronger links between project pipelines and workforce planning, there remains a risk that training provision and skills investment will fail to keep pace with rapidly growing demand. The report’s recommendations therefore provide an important foundation for ensuring that local people can benefit from the jobs created by the clean energy transition while supporting delivery of national energy ambitions and demand.”
The report was delivered for the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub by Little Lion and GC Insight.