Welsh onshore wind developer Bute Energy is aiming to close the green skills gap with a new initiative in schools.
The company has launched its Net Zero Skills Strategy in order to help encourage young people to enter the green workforce and fill the 25,000 green roles Wales is projected to need by 2050. The strategy focuses on engaging children in schools, as well as upskilling and training through partnerships with Careers Wales and further and higher education institutions across Wales.
So far, over 7,000 pupils have taken part in workshops under the strategy, with a further 100 taking part in work experience placements, and six paid internships have also been delivered. Additionally, Bute Energy has collaborated with Cardiff University to fund two students through their Masters degrees in Spatial Planning and Development. Bute Energy’s own onshore wind developments are expected to create 2,000 new jobs.
“Wales is facing a monumental challenge in creating a workforce that can meet the demand for green jobs,” said Biba Chuta, social mobility partner at Bute Energy. “Our Net Zero Skills Strategy is designed to address these gaps head-on, from the classroom to the boardroom, with the aim of building a diverse, inclusive workforce ready to deliver the infrastructure needed for a sustainable future.”
Green skills gap is increasingly concerning
As the UK enters Green Careers Week between 4 and 9 November, for which Bute Energy is leading the Welsh campaign, it is worth considering the growing green skills gap in the UK and worldwide and the potential threat this poses to the net zero transition.
A report released in September by social media site and careers board LinkedIn revealed that the global green talent pool needs to double in size by the year 2050 if the world is to have any chance of meeting global decarbonisation goals. In 2023, demand for workers with green skills grew by 11.6%, while the number of workers with any green skills grew by only 5.6%, less than half of demand.
In the UK, the supply and demand gap for green skills is even more alarming; UK demand for green talent grew by 46% between 2023 and 2024, during which time the nation’s supply only grew by 5.3%.
While it may seem like the current UK workforce has little interest in upskilling for the net zero transition, this is not the case. In May, utility OVO Energy released a report showing that despite one in five (21%) people asking for green skills training at work, and three in five (61%) recognising the career benefit of green skills development, fewer than one in ten (7%) are given any form of green skills training.
The first report by the newly launched Skills England highlighted the importance of a strong green workforce, noting that a fifth (19%) of UK workers will have a core role in delivering net zero, with a further fifth (21%) helping to enable the transition in other ways.
Skills England’s analysis, released on the same day that Prime Minister Kier Starmer announced an overhaul of the English apprenticeship scheme to get workers into key sectors, including the green industry, did note the current struggle to expand the green talent pool, as well as the risk of not rising to the challenge. The report notes that “building the supply of necessary skills will take time, with some complex occupations requiring reskilling to meet the standards needed.”, adding: “As the economy transitions to low carbon, without action there is a risk that businesses will be unable to find staff with the necessary skills, thereby slowing down pace of business activity and growth of the green economy.”
A previous Current± blog exploring the green skills gap discussed if changes to the style of education could help encourage upskilling; read it here.
