Government must do more to tackle green skills gap ahead of net zero, MPs say

Oct 25, 2021

The government is not doing enough to train workers for the jobs needed to reach its net zero goals, a group of MPs has warned.

The environmental audit committee said that, despite announcements promising millions of pounds for green jobs initiatives, the government has yet to define what a “green job” actually is and how the vacancies are to be filled.

The Net Zero Strategy claims to support up to 440,000 jobs by 2030 but the MPs said that achieving this depends on having a “skilled green workforce in the economy to deliver these”.

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In its report – Green Jobs – the committee said that the work carried out by the Green Jobs Taskforce was a good foundation but a “detailed plan” was needed to show “how these ambitions will be delivered”.

The committee recommended that environmental sustainability should appear in National Curriculum and A-level courses and that a module on sustainability should be included in every apprenticeship and T Level course.

EAC chairman Philip Dunne said: “From renewable energy clusters in the North East and Scotland, to engineering powerhouses in the Midlands and nature conservation in the South West, we are building an economy set for net zero.

“But the workforce of the future is being undermined by a lack of evidence-based government policies on how jobs will be filled in green sectors.

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“Encouraging announcements of investment in green sectors of the economy are very welcome but the government admits that claims about green jobs lack explanation and data on how the targets will be achieved.”

The committee also said there is a huge number of people in the country whose skills and abilities are not being used.

Only 9% of engineers are women and just 3.1% of environment professionals are from an ethnic minority.

The committee said that the government’s commitment to diversifying the green workforce is welcome but sentiment is not enough.

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Young people also need more advice and information on what jobs are available in the sector, they added.

A government spokesman said: “Over the past year, 56,000 jobs have been created and supported in the UK’s green industries.

“To build on this success, we are delivering various initiatives to ensure people have the right skills to gain employment in Britain’s new low carbon industries.”

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