Journal article
Jobs, Skills and Regional Implications of the Low Carbon Residential Heat Transition in the UK
Mar 2025
Earlier this month, UKERC researchers Dr. Richard Hanna (Imperial College London) and Dr. Christian Calvillo (University of Strathclyde) gave oral evidence to a House of Commons Select Committee. It was the opening session of an inquiry launched by the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee on how to develop the workforce needed for the UK’s clean energy mission. The Committee sought to understand how to overcome challenges in recruiting and retraining clean energy workers, including in North Sea renewables and building renovation, with the aim to inform the role of the newly created Office for Clean Energy Jobs in workforce planning.
Richard and Christian’s contribution drew on recent UKERC research, including a briefing paper on net zero skills and training requirements, and a journal paper on the regional employment impacts of a UK heat pump rollout. Joining Professor James Robson (University of Oxford) on an expert witness panel, and responding to questions from MPs on the Committee chaired by Bill Esterson, they shared insights on key challenges and opportunities in scaling up the low carbon energy workforce.
You can watch the full session on Parliament Live.
A previous UKERC review highlighted inadequate measures to track the quantity and quality of green jobs, skills and occupations. Richard Hanna emphasised the need for clear metrics to assess how green job tasks and activities are contributing to net zero goals, monitor ongoing green skills gaps and the development of required, quality jobs. This could be assisted by different approaches to automatic or employer coding and tracking of job adverts.
Christian Calvillo observed that the UK Government has made progress in understanding skill needs for the clean energy mission, but important gaps remain. Efforts so far have focused on sector-specific analyses, making it difficult to compare needs and plan effectively. Therefore, there should be a more holistic assessment of workforce demands across net zero projects that accounts for labour competition, shortages, job displacement, and rising costs.
Richard highlighted the importance of centrally coordinating the shift to a net zero workforce, which will require the Office for Clean Energy Jobs to establish regular working relationships with relevant organisations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This could be underpinned by the development of a UK-wide occupational framework to define core competencies for specific low carbon roles, with flexibility to be adapted to local circumstances.
As Christian pointed out, the new Office for Clean Energy Jobs should take a coordinating role, provide policy certainty, and implement a long-term workforce strategy, to manage labour demand peaks and coordinate job supply and demand across sectors. The decline of carbon-intensive industries, such as the oil and gas sector, is unlikely to align with the timing or scale of clean energy projects. Without strategic workforce planning, delays, cost inflation, and uneven job distribution across regions could hinder the net zero transition.
Richard’s evidence noted the high potential transferability of skills from the oil and gas workforce to sectors such as floating offshore wind, geothermal energy, carbon capture and storage and hydrogen storage. However, policymakers must do more to link at-risk sectors with emerging opportunities. International best practice examples, such as Sweden’s job security councils, provide structured reskilling and transition support.
Christian explained that the transition to clean energy and retrofitting of homes will require a substantial increase in skilled workers. Without adequate workforce development, labour shortages could negatively impact economic growth. Similarly, UKERC research shows that the demand for skilled labour is likely to increase labour costs, putting pressure on wages.