The Construction Leadership Council has endorsed the publication of Greening the UK’s Skills, a report by NOCN Group and BACH, which outlines the challenge faced by the UK in meeting its climate change commitments.
The report underlines that the transition to Net Zero will only be possible with a skilled ‘green’ workforce to build, operate and maintain the necessary assets for energy, retrofit and carbon capture as well as related infrastructure in the logistics, utilities and transportation industries.
Whilst the UK has great engineering, science and technology skills to support the drive to Net Zero, it lacks enough people with those skills, particularly the operational workforce, mainly at Level 2, that can build, operate and maintain ‘green’ physical environmental assets. There is still confusion about what is meant by ‘green gkills’ and what these mean at a practical level for technical and vocational education in the context of the UK’s skills eco-system.
This report aims to help to clarify this, and sets out the range of adapted and new skills the UK’s economy will urgently need to build and operate over the next 5 to 10 years if we are to be successful in addressing the major challenges created by climate change.
The report has been endorsed by Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) with Chief Operating Officer, Robert Nitsch commenting: “IfATE welcomes this report from NOCN and BACH. There can be no doubt that there is a need to re-orientate to Green across the economy and that skills are an essential part of this. IfATE is absolutely committed to ensuring that its apprenticeships and technical qualifications fully embrace sustainability priorities and is getting on with this work as a matter of urgency – the report helpfully lays out the size of the challenge which we all have a part in resolving.”
Mark Reynolds, Group Chairman and Chief Executive, Mace and Co-Chair, Construction Leadership Council said: “This is a very welcome and helpful report, particularly in identifying the new Green occupations envisaged and the training courses that will need to be developed. There is now an urgent need to develop training for Green Skills in the construction sector, especially at Levels 1- 3, to run throughout the FE training courses, as well as in Bootcamps and Apprenticeships. The CLC recognises that collaboration between CITB, Government and all key stakeholders is vital to achieve our Net Zero commitments.”
Download a copy of the Greening the UK’s Skills report here.
