With a skills shortage currently plaguing the utilities sector, fostering new talent is more important than it’s ever been.
After recruiting from shrinking talent pools, SERT has acknowledged the desperate need to bolster the workforce, and an offering of gas, metering and electric new entrant schemes is our answer.
Inspiring the next generation
We aim to bridge the gap between young people leaving education and entering the working world.
Students will be taking part in taster sessions and learning more about the different ways homes are heated, while getting an overview of the skills needed to retrofit a home to make it more carbon-neutral.
As we move into a greener working economy, we must revise how the next wave of engineers and installers operate.
That means we, as educators, need to keep a finger on the pulse of modern renewables and green practices, to guarantee our offer to new entrants will stay relevant as the economy continues to change.
Green Skills
In 2023, the number of job roles in the UK requiring green skills far outweighs the number of workers qualified to fill them, with only 1 in 8 workers possessing green skills. There are currently fewer than 3,000 low-carbon roles filled.
This is fairly damning news when we consider that the government’s goal of 600,000 annual heat pump installations is off target by a margin of 200%, and that an additional 150,000 air source heat pump installers are necessary to counter this.
50% of gas engineers are reportedly over the age of 55, so it’s not surprising that the phasing-out of conventional gas utilities is taking longer than it ought to.Many seasoned gas engineers may view sustainable installation solely as a problem for the next generation of engineers, feeling a reluctance to spend money on upskills.
While we can give our seasoned engineers incentive to upskill, we need to funnel new workers through the pipeline, helping them keep pace with the evolving expectations of the industry.