ECA welcomes DESNZ clean workforce report
The Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) has warmly welcomed the report from the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, Workforce planning to deliver clean secure energy.
The report clearly reflects the case ECA has been making on the need for a stronger, more coherent approach to clean energy skills – the Government cannot achieve a safe energy transition without enough competent electricians.
The Committee delivered a clear and timely message – the UK cannot deliver its clean energy and retrofit ambitions without targeted support for the SMEs who train most new entrants and deliver most of the work on the ground.
Andrew Eldred, Deputy CEO of ECA, said:
“Today’s report rightly highlights the essential role played by SMEs in delivering clean energy and retrofit work, and the need for Government to support them to take on and train new entrants. Employers cannot bridge the workforce gap alone. Without targeted measures to help SMEs invest in apprenticeships and structured on-the-job training it will be extremely difficult to scale up the workforce at the pace and quality required.
“What seems missing from the report, however, is recognition of the way in which recent Government-imposed increases to employment costs are now having a depressing effect on the appetite of businesses – and especially SMEs – to take on apprentices and trainees. The Apprentice Minimum Wage has doubled since COVID – massively ahead of any growth in the return businesses can expect to earn from the work apprentices do, especially in the first two years.
“Consequently, electrical apprentice recruitment dropped in 2024/25, and is expected to fall even further next year – just at the very time achievement of Government housing and clean energy targets depend on apprentice starts rising sharply. For businesses to afford to recruit and train again, the benefits and costs of doing so must be brought back into balance. For many SMEs, it now takes a year longer to see any return on their investment.
“We are pleased to see several of the ‘smart policy’ recommendations which we ourselves put forward to the Committee. These included the need for training to align with robust, industry-recognised competence standards and meet the real needs of employers; a stronger role for regional and local authorities; a greater focus on maximising conversion rates from classroom-based courses into industry employment; and better use of procurement to incentivise skills development.
“As the Committee notes, a national construction and retrofit skills programme will be required. But for our part of the industry, this must be sector-led rather than Construction Industry Training Board-led, building on the robust competence frameworks that already exist. A one-size-fits-all approach will not deliver the workforce needed for clean energy and retrofit. What will deliver is genuine partnership with the employers and industry bodies who train and employ people on the ground every day.”
ECA applauds the recognition set out in the central conclusions of the report that ‘supply of skilled labour does not currently match the levels of demand expected to be required’ and that ‘there is a lot of scope for smart policy and expenditure to be used… to meet demand.’ ECA stands ready to work with DESNZ, DfE, DWP and Skills England to deliver a coherent, employer-focused approach.
