Exclusive:
DWP Secretary Liz Kendall and Energy Secretary write for The Mirror about clean energy being ‘the jobs opportunity of the 21st century’ as they push to get young people trained up
Clean energy is the jobs opportunity of the 21st century. And the government is determined to ensure our young people have the skills to seize it.
For too long, our economy has failed to create enough of the good jobs with decent wages and strong trade unions supporting their rights that the British people rightly expect.
Decades of decline have left nearly a million young people neither earning nor learning, trapped in a life without work with no opportunities to improve their lot . That must change.
The government will use every opportunity to put more money in people’s pockets through high skilled, high paid work. The move to clean energy promises thousands of jobs just like this – giving young people the promise of a bright future based on good jobs.
The energy sector has always been a source of good, secure jobs that people can get straight out of school and stay in for life. And as Britain drives towards clean energy, we can create many more of these opportunities around the country
Our plan for clean power by 2030 will unleash £40 billion of mostly private investment a year for the rest of the decade – a jobs and growth engine for Britain.
National Grid alone plans to support around 55,000 more jobs by the end of the decade, with SSE Transmission supporting another 37,000, nearly half of them in Scotland, and Scottish Power’s SP Energy Networks a further 11,000.
These are well-paid jobs, with wages in net zero sectors £5,600 higher than the national average according to the CBI.
And to match this huge demand, we need to mobilise a clean power army of engineers, welders and technicians – giving thousands of young people the opportunity to play a vital role in tackling the climate crisis, increasing our energy security and boosting the economy.
That’s why today we’re meeting with energy bosses to understand how we can build and train the workforce of the future who will deliver our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.
We are already providing funding and employment support to areas like Cheshire West and Chester, North and North East Lincolnshire to help people access opportunities in clean energy sectors.
In the last nine months our government has launched Skills England and the Office for Clean Energy Jobs.
And we’ll go further as we shortly announce plans to upskill people so we can make the UK a clean energy superpower, opening up investment and opportunities on these shores and around the world.
We will make sure that these jobs are good jobs – and that is why trade unions will be at the heart of our plans. From nuclear power stations to offshore industries, unions have driven
good pay, terms and conditions in the energy sector – and we want this to be driven through new clean energy industries.
This is underpinned by our plans to Get Britain Working, which will overhaul our employment support system, drive up household incomes and give workers the skills and support they need to succeed in exciting new careers while guaranteeing every young person the opportunity to earn or learn.
This is our Plan for Change in action. We will reform employment support, deliver good jobs and new opportunities as we take back control of our energy system – building a stronger and fairer economy one apprenticeship at a time.