As the UK’s renewable economy continues to grow, consultancy firm PwC stated that green jobs are currently growing at four times the rate of the overall UK employment market.
According to the firm’s Green Jobs Barometer, which tracks the green jobs market in the UK, the number of renewable jobs currently account for around 2.2% of all new jobs.
PwC also said the number of green jobs being advertised had almost trebled in the last year to around 336,000 positions.
In terms of geographical hotspots for green jobs, Scotland has the highest proportion of green jobs, owing to its substantial renewable generation sector, with 3.3%, an increase of 1.7% on the previous year.
London has the second largest proportion, with 110,067 unique green job ads in 2022. The capital and the South East are pulling away from the rest of the country according to PwC, with just 7,594 green job ads for the North East over the last year for example.
The South’s dominance is boosted both by the population density and the growth of scientific roles, key for innovation and optimisation in the sector, and professional roles in the green space, where London leads.
The huge growth in green jobs over the last year illustrates how we are creating a Green Britain. One year on, our Green Jobs Barometer has shone a light on the regions and sectors where these jobs are being created,” said Carl Sizer, PwC UK’s head of regions.
“While Wales and Scotland are among the top performers, it’s striking that one in five new green roles are based in the Capital. If growth continues on this trajectory, the compounding effect means the green economy will increase London’s dominance over other cities and regions. If we want to meet our net zero ambitions while driving growth, then the green economy needs to be nationwide.”
The creation of green jobs is a fundamental aspect in the creation of a healthy, rich renewable economy. As the UK’s renewable prospects increase and projects come online, more green workers will be required to maintain this accelerated growth projections.
“We must be conscious that this is not just a story of job creation, but also one that highlights the critical requirement for upskilling and training to prepare the UK workforce for the jobs that will realise the country’s ambitions,” Sizer said.
“This will need significant investment – for example, our data shows that between 10,000 and 66,000 new tradespeople will be needed each year to retrofit the 29 million homes with low EPC ratings.”
The Green Jobs Taskforce declared in 2021 that every job has the potential to be a green job, with a holistic approach which takes into account the lifecycle of green jobs in the UK needed to grasp all opportunities.
Crucial to this is expanding training for workers to supportnew and upcoming renewable technologies. Training has been a key area for governmental policy in 2022 with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) having recently launched a £9.2 million scheme that would help establish 9,000 training courses for heat pump and energy efficiency installers.
In doing so, installers will be able to train in green jobs via the Home Decarbonisation Skills Training competition. This will be of particular importance as the UK transitions to renewable technologies and reduces the carbon intensities of buildings.
