Regional skills investments to help workers access thousands of jobs and ‘skills passport’ goes live.

Workers across the UK will be supported with government-backed training programmes to benefit from thousands of job opportunities in the clean energy sector, as part of the government’s Plan for Change.

Aberdeen, Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire have been identified as key growth regions for clean energy.

Local partners will receive funding to identify the skills support that is needed in their area to deliver clean power by 2030.

Funding could go towards new training centres, courses or career advisers.  

The government say they have delivered on a longstanding campaign to help oil and gas workers access opportunities in clean energy jobs by launching a ‘skills passport’, in collaboration with industry and Scottish Government.

Oil and gas workers will be able to access the skills passport online, which will initially help them identify routes into several roles in offshore wind.   

It is hoped these initiatives will help build the pipeline of skilled workers needed to deliver clean power by 2030.

The Scottish Government has provided £3.7mln of funding to support oil and gas and renewables industries to jointly develop the Energy Skills Passport.

From 22 January 2025, workers will be able to create an account to access the four career pathways currently available, helping them identify where their existing qualifications are recognised.

Led by Renewable UK and Offshore Energies UK and supported by the UK and funding from Scottish Government, the tool will be expanded over the coming year to recognise other pathways from oil and gas into the renewable sector.

Funding will initially be given to Cheshire West and Chester, North and North East Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire, as the government say significant work identifying skills has already been done for Aberdeen.

This could support the offshore wind sector in South Wales, or nuclear fuel cluster in Cheshire. Around £1 million will be available for each area, with local and devolved partners empowered to develop their own plans.

Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband MP, says, ‘Our Plan for Change to deliver clean power is not just about protecting households and businesses from the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets, it is also about reindustrialising Britain with thousands of well-paid, good union jobs in industrial communities.’

The government recently confirmed contracts have been signed for the UK’s first carbon capture project in Teesside.   

The Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is convening a roundtable on 22 January 2025 with key representatives from government, industry, education, and trade unions to discuss how to ensure the UK’s workforce is well-prepared to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the clean energy transition.