Growing a Green Workforce: The Challenges and Opportunities on the Road to Net-ZeroUpskilling and reskilling a workforce capable of making the UK’s leaky buildings more energy efficient will be crucial if the country is to achieve its environmental and economic goals. In this article, Glynn Williams outlines how we can deliver the green jobs we need.With a surging demand in people looking to install energy-efficient measures in their properties, the stark shortage of qualified installers and technicians couldn’t be more apparent. And this challenge will only grow in severity if it isn’t tackled head on.A main barrier holding Brits back from investing in energy efficiency is the lack of expertise available, with one in five UK respondents citing this as an obstacle. This lack of available installers contributes to a cumulative loss in potential energy savings to the tune of £3.1 billion annually.With low-carbon sectors expected to add up to 725,000 new jobs to the UK economy, upskilling and reskilling a workforce capable of equipping the UK’s leaky buildings with energy efficient measures will help the UK meet its environmental – and economic – goals.It will require strategic and sustained efforts from Government and the private sector. Mandating and implementing Government-funded training for installers and engineers, standardising best practice across the industry and investing in attracting and upskilling new talent are among the crucial steps that should be adopted to meet the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow.PROVIDING GOVERNMENT-FUNDED TRAININGEarlier this year, Chris Skidmore MP’s ‘Net Zero Review’ emphasised the importance of equipping Britain’s workforce with the necessary skills to accelerate the transition to net-zero by driving forward the delivery of the Green Jobs Taskforce . Initiatives such as the this are a step in the right direction, but Government is yet to evolve from an advisory role to one of action.To prepare the country for net-zero, Government should allocate funding for a new, national Green Skills training programme. This programme would mandate that current and newly certified installers and energy technicians undertake skills training to learn how to install energy-efficient technology correctly and perform routine maintenance and energy efficiency audits.While fiscal measures such as the energy price cap are helpful for households and businesses in the short term, a better long-term solution would be for Government to get to the crux of the issue. Government could therefore redirect investment from short-term fiscal measures into a more long-lasting and impactful programme that contributes to the UK economy and makes energy savings possible.Investment in the mandatory training programme will directly benefit the UK economy. Not only will the training unlock new job opportunities for hundreds of thousands of workers, but it will also lead to massive savings in energy bills for consumers and businesses.Backed by national funding and made available throughout the country with support from local authorities, the programme would fill a current gap in the market by setting a common standard of best practice and upskilling and reskilling a high volume of installers and technicians.STANDARDISING BEST PRACTICE ACROSS THE SECTORIn addition to the Government-funded training programme, Government should collaborate with experts to develop and issue a set of standards for best practice in retrofitting and installation. These standards are essential for ensuring that the energy infrastructure installed across the country is fit for purpose for years to come.Standardising best practice means not only emphasising excellence in installation, but building energy efficiency into regular monitoring and maintenance. Data suggests that most Brits associate boiler services with energy efficiency checks, but the former does not include the latter as standard.As a result, many people are running old or...

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