MPs have urged ministers to import “specific” skilled people from overseas to meet the UK’s clean energy targets – amid the government’s push to curb reliance on migrant workers.
Parliament’s energy security and net-zero committee (ESNZ) warned the government would only meet clean energy and decarbonised building targets with significant new intervention in the UK workforce.
Following a year-long inquiry into green workforce planning, the committee found current skilled labour levels would not fill the estimated 135,000 to 725,000 green jobs needed by the end of this decade.
Its report said the government should also expand “try-before-you-buy” training opportunities after discovering up to 70 per cent of those embarking on construction-related FE qualifications did not finish their course or enter the sector.
Ministers are attempting to cut net migration by slashing the number of jobs that can be offered to people via the skilled worker visa route.
The immigration skills charge, the tax employers pay to bring in workers from abroad, was raised by nearly a third this year to disincentivise labour migration.
The ESNZ committee inquiry heard calls to “ringfence” money raised from the charge levied on firms hiring in the green energy sector to pay for “relevant” domestic training.
Committee members said there “may be a need for the import of some specific skills from overseas, at least in the short term, to deliver on targets for clean energy and decarbonisation of buildings”.
They added the government should, by the end of 2026, set out a “range of further options for conditionality to leverage the short-term need for skilled immigration to boost the longer-term need for home-grown talent”.
ESNZ committee chair Bill Esterson said: “It is essential that we build the workforce for the energy transition so that the government can hit its clean energy targets and, importantly, ensure the UK makes the most of the growth opportunity of the century.
“The committee has found that market forces alone cannot overcome the skills gap. We need policy certainty for the long-term, locally directed investment in training, and policies that make clean energy careers attractive and accessible.
“For British workers, this isn’t about hitting deadlines; it’s about securing good jobs, driving innovation, and ensuring Britain leads in the global race for clean energy.”
The Association of Colleges CEO David Hughes agreed with the recommendations.
He said: “For all ages and skill levels, it is currently not clear enough what learning and training they need to enter a career in clean energy or retrofit.
“There are great examples of colleges who are working with employers on fantastic provision, feeding directly into the green economy. However, we need more money at a local level in FE, as well as more partnerships with employers on curriculum development, to ensure career pathways and continuing training are fit for purpose right across the country, rather than in pockets.
“While we need to focus on growing and nurturing home-grown talent, getting appropriate provision at scale across the country is not a quick fix, and we need to look abroad to the skill that lies there.”
Try before you buy
The ESNZ committee also suggested that ministers “expand and formalise” so-called try-before-you-buy training opportunities after hearing examples of “effective” early-exposure models, such as on-site skills hubs and employer-supported placements.
“SMEs, which form the backbone of the construction and retrofit supply chain, frequently operate on short-term contracts and cannot absorb the risk of taking on inexperienced trainees without support,” the report said.
“The government should therefore expand these practical entry pathways across clean heat, low-carbon construction and retrofit, ensuring funded, flexible, short-duration placements are available nationwide.”
Reassemble a retrofit skills programme
The report estimated 250,000 workers would be needed to meet the target of building 1.5 million homes in the next five years.
“Relying solely on headcount growth will be challenging,” the committee said, adding that more workers will also be needed to retrofit five million existing homes to boost their energy efficiency by 2035.
It recommended the government join forces with the Construction Industry Training Board, Skills England, the Office for Clean Energy Jobs and industry to create a “nationally recognised” retrofit skills programme that “inspires” new entrants and encourages industry workers into teaching roles.
The government has already pumped £625 million into construction skills to create 60,000 new workers over four years. The package included £100 million to award 10 FE colleges with technical excellence college status (TEC), which is set be expanded to also create five clean energy TECs.
Ministers have been urged to demonstrate how they are working with employers and education providers to deliver clear career pathways, “particularly” for learners that are enrolled in colleges without TEC status.
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