Green energy jobs plan launched by UK government

The UK Government has launched a new national plan to ensure Britain has the workforce needed to power the green energy transition.

It sets a pathway to creating 40,000 new clean energy jobs in Scotland by 2030, with the total number of people employed in the sector across the UK expected to double to 860,000.

The plan identifies 31 “priority occupations”, including in skilled trades such as plumbing, welding and electrician.

The Scottish Government has announced £9m extra for its existing oil and gas transition training fund over the next three years, to be matched by the UK Government, taking the total to nearly £20m.

UK ministers also plan to promote trade union membership in workplaces and create a new ‘fair work charter’ to ensure companies benefiting from public funding provide good wages and employment rights.

UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “Communities across Scotland have long been calling out for a new generation of good industrial jobs. The clean energy jobs boom can answer that call – and today we publish a landmark national plan to make it happen and places Scotland at the very heart of the clean energy revolution this government is delivering. 

“Our plans will help create an economy in which there is no need to leave your hometown just to find a decent job. Thanks to this government’s commitment to clean energy a generation of young people in Scotland can have well-paid secure jobs, from plumbers to electricians and welders.”

The plan includes initiatives to upskill existing oil and gas workers to help them move to new roles in the green economy, such as via the green skills passport, as well as targeted efforts to match veterans, ex-offenders, school leavers and the unemployed with jobs.

Scottish Energy Secretary Gillian Martin said: “Scotland’s innovation, expertise and vast renewable energy resources will not only benefit the planet – but deliver new economic opportunities and new jobs for households and communities across the country… We will continue to explore how best to support Scotland’s energy skills transition, working closely with the UK Government on options like guaranteed interview schemes, redeployment pools and skills passporting.”

Carbon capture and storage is expected to create 15,000 jobs in Scotland, while investment in transmission infrastructure if project to support 17,500 jobs.

Offshore wind, including supply chain firms, are also expected to create a significant number of new roles.

The move has been welcomed by several trade unions, with Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, saying: “This represents a serious plan to start to rebuild our industrial heartlands and deliver quality jobs in clean energy – as well as supporting even more in supply chains right across the country.   

"Crucially, it puts decent work at the heart of our energy system. And it shows that when government makes a plan with unions and workers, the whole country can benefit.”