Two leading figures in ‘clean growth’ are calling for a more co-ordinated approach to net zero future skills to enable the UK to reach its target of 480,000 ‘green’ jobs by 2030.
Coventry University’s associate pro vice chancellor, Carl Perrin (pictured above, at right), and Deepak Farmah (pictured above, at left), the director of the Centre for Advanced Low Carbon Propulsion Systems, have made the rallying call as part of new research that Coventry University is completing to understand the commercial and sector-specific barriers to training and reskilling workforces for the decarbonisation challenge.
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The project, which is being supported by the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Clean Futures Programme, is looking to explore the current landscape by engaging with more than 100 employers, including E.ON and Unipart Manufacturing, through a series of workshops, deep dive interviews and surveys.
Due to be released mid-September, the report will detail several key recommendations that will need to be addressed to ensure that there’s a more collective and aligned approach to creating the right skills ecosystem for net zero future skills. This will potentially include standardised training programmes and qualifications, clear routes to employment for people entering the sector and a flexible approach to delivery.
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There have also been strong discussions about creating a green skills hub that will support growth in energy production and storage, advanced manufacturing, automotive, future mobility and low-carbon industries.
‘This level of research, in this particular space, has never been done and we are already seeing some interesting features that have to be addressed if the UK is going to lead the world in net zero,’ said Farmah, who also leads the Electric Revolution Skills Hub. ‘A skills for a new economy report revealed that it would take each person in the West Midlands 13.2 weeks of dedicated training to be fit for a green job. This puts our region as the one with the most challenges ahead of it and this is exacerbated when you consider that many sectors are dominated by micro businesses and small to medium employers.
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‘How can they give staff that amount of time off to reskill and retrain? It’s just not going to happen on its own, and we must address this,’ he continued. ‘That is just one of our early findings and there will be lots more to come in September. The intelligence we are gathering is going to be crucial to shaping the UK’s move to net zero future skills.’
Coventry University has one of the largest clean-mobility project portfolios in the country and can call upon experts in e-mobility and clean growth, manufacturing and materials, and future transport and cities. It continues to be at the forefront of mobility innovation in a rapidly changing, technology-enabled world and has developed pioneering business/academic collaborations in the shape of C-ALPS, the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering, Hyberbat and the Centre for Connected Autonomous Automotive Research.
This latest project is being cultivated by Edale Consulting and has brought together the views of employers, training providers, academics and accrediting bodies involved in the transition to net zero.
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Interactive workshops and deep dive interviews have formed the first part of the research, with a survey now underway to gain the biggest possible response. The final report is intended to be published during September.
‘The analysis should map out the challenges we face and provide the intelligence required to guide the co-design of programmes and government interventions – all with the overarching aim of helping the UK achieve its net zero ambitions,’ said Perrin. ‘We have a fantastic opportunity to be world leaders in this space, but we will only achieve this if we have the future skills that are going to be needed by our employers and our academic specialists.’
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