The strong similarity between the skills needed for hydrogen and carbon capture and utilisation and storage (CCUS) sectors means UK workers can move easily between the two sectors, according to the UK government’s Clean Power 2030 action plan.
Next to this, workers in carbon-intensive sectors are likely to have many of the necessary skills to work in clean energy project management, engineering and construction roles.
The two regions most likely to draw clean energy workers are Scotland (accounting for 16% of adverts) and the South West of the UK (14%), the plan notes.
However it finds “acute” skills challenges are anticipated across clean energy sectors, and an education drive is essential as 63% of 16- to 24-year-olds “had never heard of green skills and didn’t know what they are.”
The skills gap is likely to be exacerbated by the UK’s ageing workforce, with one in three in the sector being over 50. UK engineering needs to attract more women, with just 15.7% of the STEM workforce female.
The hydrogen and CCUS workforce is expected to grow quickly from here, with a rapid scale-up required over the 2020s, although the high skills overlaps with infrastructure developments in other sectors, including Net Zero projects, happening concurrently may exacerbate shortages. The CCUS sector – which could support up to 50,000 jobs – is expected to enable broader job creation in other industries as they decarbonise.
Roles in the biomethane anaerobic digestion sector are expected to increase steadily from this year, thereafter peaking in 2035.
