Government and the Green Jobs Delivery Group should explore a range of targeted options, including: • Increasing the flexibility of the Apprenticeship Levy, and assessing whether the Levy aligns with Government net zero and growth priorities, and whether shorter, more intensive courses should be available alongside exploring the role of T levels. • Options for retaining talent within businesses and access to international labour. |
503. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI), speaking on behalf of some 190,000 businesses, said that in the transition to net zero:
"What is often lost in the projected numbers of green jobs is there will be very few direct skills transfers, and not all of these will be permanent. We (the UK) need(s) a more flexible and agile approach to addressing skills training throughout the economy, that facilitates re-training"360
504. The Review heard that without a significant supportive decarbonisation policy mix in partnership with industry the UK will not have an appropriately skilled workforce at the scale and pace required to deliver the transition. For example, pre-pandemic Engineering UK analysis projected shortfalls of between 37,000 to 59,000 in meeting an annual demand for 124,000 core engineering roles requiring Level 3+ skills, including an expected graduate-level shortfall of at least 22,000 per year.361
505. The Review heard that to bolster the workforce, the Government and the Green Jobs Delivery Group should explore a variety of targeted options:
• Increasing the flexibility of the Apprenticeship Levy in partnership with industry. The Review heard from many in industry that the Levy could be improved, including from Kingfisher, who advised that "each year, over £1 billion is returned to the exchequer in unspent Apprenticeship Levy funds." In monitoring the effectiveness of the Apprenticeship Levy programme, the Government should assess whether the Levy aligns with Government net zero and growth priorities.
• The Review has also heard from industry that some skills, for example installing heat pumps, could benefit from a shorter training programme than standard apprenticeships. The Government should also consider how the Levy could be applied to shorter, more intensive courses to rapidly upskill and retrain the existing workforce, alongside the extensive apprenticeship training programme.
• On retaining talent, we heard in our Call for Evidence that making it easier for companies to move their people around the business will ensure the best talent is available in the UK. Industry should consider a net zero skills passport to simplify and streamline retraining needed to move into new green jobs.
• Industry raised that easier access to high-skilled international labour may help reduce the skills gap, in particular in coming years when it will become more pronounced given the rapid increase in net zero skills demand and loss of existing talent - one in five energy and utilities workers are due to retire before 2030.