Inquiry into Green Jobs (2021)

The IET has responded to The Environmental Audit Committee’s Call For Evidence on Green Jobs. The consultation focused on a range of issues, such as:

• what jobs are required to meet Net Zero emissions;
• whether the UK workforce has the skills to deliver the green jobs to meet our Net Zero target; and
• the contribution green jobs can make to the UK’s economic recovery from COVID-19.

Our responses to the consultation came from our policy panels and the IET’s skills survey, ‘IET Skills for Net Zero and a Green Recovery’, undertaken in 2020. The survey will be released in February 2021. This survey focuses on:

• the skills requirements for delivering the UK Government’s net-zero target by 2050;
• the impact of COVID-19 on engineering employers;
• the difficulties in recruiting engineers; and
• employer perceptions of the engineering skills gap.

According to our survey, a small majority of engineering employers (55%) have a sustainability strategy. Of those with a sustainability strategy, two thirds (67%) say it’s integrated into their overall business strategy.

The vast majority of engineering employers are aware of the UK Government’s target to reach net zero by 2050 (85%) and around half (53%) think it is achievable for their organisation to achieve this.

The IET recommends the following:

• Government must provide certainty around funding and policy for the engineering industry to enable increased investment in Net Zero technologies. This covers upskilling existing staff, developing future skillsets, and recruiting of staff to meet needs.
• Investment in a range of skills is needed, skills which should be taught in traditional academic settings, and vocational settings to enable employees to upskill whilst working.
• Industry should provide more hands-on work experience for students to learn skills related to Net Zero technologies
• Academia should improve children’s knowledge of the Net Zero challenge to encourage them to develop the necessary skills from a young age.