UK Government’s Green Jobs Delivery Group holds first meeting

Energy Minister Greg Hands has co-chaired the first meeting of the UK Government’s Green Jobs Delivery Group this week, which has been established to support the delivery of up to 480,000 skilled green jobs by the end of the decade. 

The association is tasked with ensuring Britain has a well-trained workforce capable of filling public and private positions, including those created through Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Energy Security Strategy, a key part of the country’s proposed route to carbon neutrality by 2050. 

Co-chaired by E.ON UK Chief Executive Michael Lewis, the group comprises representatives from business, industry, trade unions and education. It is hoped this will help unlock around £100bn of corporate investment by 2030, through sectors such as electric vehicles (EV) and batteries, manufacturing and installation of heat pumps, hydrogen boilers, wind turbines, and solar panels. Rapidly growing demand to insulate homes is also expected to create jobs. 

Since Downing Street unveiled its Ten Point Plan in November 2020 some 68,000 green jobs have been created or are set to start recruiting soon. This includes EV manufacturing in Sunderland, the development of hydrogen facilities in Teesside, and offshore wind in the Northumberland, Yorkshire and Humber regions.

Across the country, there are now more than 430,000 jobs linked to low-carbon businesses and their supply chains. The Green Jobs Delivery Group is expected to recommend and support the creation of more jobs across the country linked to net zero transition.

‘Our economy is on an historic journey towards becoming more environmentally friendly than ever. Our green transition is affecting every single sector and we need to ensure green jobs are open to everyone,’ said Michael Lewis, Green Jobs Delivery Group Co-Chair and CEO of E.ON UK.

‘The UK needs a future pipeline of talent to power it towards net zero and this Delivery Group will ensure industry and government work together, so we have the diverse, skilled and resilient workforces needed for the future,’ he continued.

In related news, the UK government’s Energy Security Bill announced in the Queen’s Speech has already received criticism for ‘not going far enough‘, with the Energy Security Strategy ‘undermined’ by a lack of funding for vital energy efficiency measures.