The UK government has set an ambition to support 2 million green jobs by 2030, launching a Green Jobs taskforce to set the direction for the job market as we transition to a high-skill, low carbon economy.
The Green Jobs Taskforce, to be chaired by Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng and Skills Minister Gillian Keegan, forms part of the government’s ambitious plan to build back greener and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Its aim will be to focus on the immediate and longer-term challenges of delivering skilled workers for the UK’s transition to net zero including:
Ensuring we have the immediate skills needed for building back greener, such as in offshore wind and home retrofitting.
Developing a long-term plan that charts out the skills needed to help deliver a net zero economy.
Ensuring good quality green jobs and a diverse workforce.
Supporting workers in high carbon transitioning sectors, like oil and gas, to retrain in new green technologies.
Business and Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng explains; “This government has promised to do all it can to provide good quality work as we build back better and greener from coronavirus. The Green Jobs taskforce will oversee the UK taking strides towards long-term economic prosperity, transitioning to the low-carbon green industries of the future”.
Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Gillian Keegan says; “It is now more critical than ever to make sure that people get the skills they need to progress and that will help our economy recover”
The Green Jobs Taskforce represents the views of businesses, employees and the skills sectors and includes representatives from the Construction Industry Training Board, Engineering Construction Industry Training Board, East London Institute for Technology, Retrofit Works, Edinburgh University and National Grid.
It will assess how the UK jobs market and the skills sector will adapt to net zero, developing solutions for how the UK can deliver green jobs of the future. The taskforce will create an action plan on what support is needed for people in transitioning industries.
Today’s announcements demonstrates efforts to ensure the UK meets its target to reach net zero emissions by 2050, whilst creating jobs as we build back greener.
The government has put £3 billion of investment into renovating homes and public buildings to make them more energy efficient, which has the potential to support 140,000 jobs, helping the transition to net zero.
The launch of today’s Taskforce builds on the £200 billion support package that has been provided to safeguard jobs, with support extended until March 2021.