National workforce strategy is needed to deliver clean energy jobs, says Prospect
A national workforce strategy is needed to help decarbonise the UK economy because of the huge demand for green jobs and skills in the clean energy sector, said Sue Ferns, Prospect Senior Deputy General Secretary, in her evidence to a parliamentary select committee.
Sue Ferns, Prospect Senior Deputy General Secretary
While private companies would have a large role to play as well, the scale of the demand for jobs was such that a national strategy is required, Ferns told the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee for their inquiry looking at workforce planning to deliver clean, secure energy.
Ferns was giving evidence alongside Jodie Coe, Director of People and Change, Northern Powergrid, on Wednesday, 30 April, where they were asked about various aspects of workplace planning for the clean energy sector such as the role of local governments, further education institutions and trade unions.
The whole evidence session can be viewed here on Parliament.tv.
Sue Ferns’ opening remarks on the importance of a national workplace strategy and what success would look like for the recently established Office for Clean Energy Jobs can be seen here: watch the clip.
More remarks
During the nearly hour long session, Sue Ferns also gave the following remarks:
On the effects of importing labour from overseas and the need for companies to train home-grown labour:
“In terms of up-skilling our own workforce, that will take time. One of the things we need to ensure is that people entering the clean energy sector get the certainty that they will have good jobs. That, in turn, depends on the certainty and direction of government policy.”
On the role of trade union reps to support the existing workforce:
“Trade union representatives have a role to play here. Union learning reps have done a great job in supporting people, acclimatising them, mentoring and guiding them. Policy and regulation, yes, but there is that on the ground support as well. This is a heavily unionised sector full of people who care about their industry and their communities too.”
Is the government helping to make a successful transition from high carbon to low carbon jobs?
“There’s a good start with the skills passport and the regional skills pilots. Hopefully they will develop into mechanisms that will be successful. Some of the pushback you will get, particularly from workers in oil and gas, is that the skills passport is fine but it doesn’t have a job at the end of it.
“The issue is providing good jobs, one that is well-paid, and gives you opportunities to develop and progress. That’s what the clean energy sector has to provide. We’ve talked a lot about just transition but we haven’t seen much of it happen as yet.
“Advance planning is another key thing. We can’t allow the crisis to happen and then we think about the transition. We already have a clear idea about the skills required and the jobs that will emerge. There is a responsibility of government, employers, unions and education providers to be working with young people in advance to develop those skills.”
On the importance of supply chains; and the discrepancy between the high number of jobs that are needed and the actual number of jobs that are created:
“Supply chains are a really important part of the clean energy picture. They also need policy certainty to ensure that they are investing in the skills that they need. There is a huge gap between job predictions and the jobs that are actually realised – part of that is because quite a lot of those jobs are being offshored in countries with poorer labour standards and lower costs.
“This is a key issue for energy security because if you are not able to manufacture the components in the supply chains in the UK, then not only do you not have good jobs, but you don’t have energy security either.”
On collaboration between government and other stakeholders, such as employers and trade unions:
“Speaking on behalf of Prospect, we don’t see it in practical terms except in small patches. I don’t think it is the norm, or the expectation, that you would consult with your trade unions on workforce planning.
“There is no regulatory requirement for this. As energy unions, year after year, we push Ofgem hard on workforce planning and resilience, but the response we always get is ‘that’s up to the companies.’
“We’ve had good engagement with the Office for Clean Energy Jobs but obviously they are just in the stage of developing proposals. We hope that engagement will evolve beyond consultation into how we can actually work together to deliver.”
How will the success of workforce planning be measured:
“We will be looking at the impact on jobs and communities in the run up to 2030. I don’t think that anybody expects the Office of Clean Energy Jobs to have an answer about the exact combination of technologies by 2050, so it needs to be a dynamic plan, which they are consistently working with key stakeholders on.
So it’s about what can be delivered in the short-term, what’s the plan for the longer term and what the engagement looks like for the longer term plan.
“I think a really good outcome would be to demonstrate in a couple of industrial clusters exactly what has been delivered by 2030, and what difference has been made to jobs and communities in those areas.”
