Delivering good work in clean energy: Prospect’s five goals 

Prospect’s latest report sets out five goals for delivering good work in clean energy.

Delivering good clean energy jobs will be one of the most important tasks facing the UK in the years ahead, with a clear ‘green jobs’ strategy presenting opportunities within the sector, as well as economic and environmental benefits.

This should be a core goal of the UK’s energy and industrial policy, which cannot be undermined by short-term politics. Many of these jobs will be in private sector, but the government has a central role to play in shaping the quantity and quality of them.

What are clean energy jobs?

‘Clean energy jobs’ refers to jobs in renewables, nuclear, electricity networks, and other technologies that will underpin a decarbonised energy system.

For several years, Prospect and other unions have been raising concerns about health and safety, pay, staffing levels, and other issues across the emerging clean energy industry. This paper outlines some of those challenges and a set of recommendations to address them.

Five goals for delivering good work in clean energy

1. Creating clean energy jobs that are accessible to a diverse workforce, including those transitioning from high carbon work.
2. Guaranteeing fair pay to recruit and retain energy workers and share the benefits of the energy transition.
3. Improving working conditions across the clean energy industry to ensure it supports secure jobs, with decent hours, fair treatment, and safe workplaces.
4. Building a skilled workforce with the range of technical, scientific, engineering, managerial, and digital skills needed to deliver the clean energy transition.
5. Giving workers a voice in their workplaces and the policy debate by enabling trade union organising and expanding collective bargaining.