Skills shortage dents UK's green credentials

• Shortage threatens low-carbon targets, argues business group• Gap comes as demand for scientists and engineers increasing
Ashley Seager
guardian.co.uk, Friday 20 November 2009 14.03 GMT
Britain lacks the skills or training facilities to make the successful transition to a low-carbon economy that its international commitments require, an influential group of businesses and non-governmental organisations warns today.
In a report that will dent Britain's image ahead of the Copenhagen climate conference, the Aldersgate Group says that in spite of the UK's pledge to meet a European Union 2020 target for carbon emissions, the government's skills strategy is inadequate to meet those needs.
The report, Mind the Gap – skills for the transition to a low carbon economy, says it is now imperative that ambition and delivery are accelerated.
John Edmonds, former TUC chief and Aldersgate Group Project chair for the report said: "The skills gap in the UK economy is well documented, with one in three firms already hampered by a shortage of skilled staff, from those needed to install new technology to scientists and engineers.
"Investment in low-carbon skills is vital if the UK is to build a more resilient and sustainable economy. In the next two years a commitment to green training will accelerate the growth of new jobs and help us out of recession."
The skills shortage comes at a time when demand for engineers for major infrastructure projects is increasing, as Britain attempts to address expansion in offshore and onshore wind, carbon capture and storage, nuclear power, flood defences, high-speed rail and upgrading the water infrastructure, the report says. "Many of the required skills identified in the report are not unique to a low-carbon economy – it is a shortage of precisely these skills that has held back the UK economy for decades. In this respect, reskilling for a low-carbon economy involves a policy of no regrets. The UK needs to fix these skill shortage problems in order to prosper in the modern world," Edmonds added.
The report says that the most significant driver for low-carbon skills is a robust industrial policy that encourages investment in low-carbon technology and resource efficiency.
Germany has shown how an active industrial and skills policy can help stimulate widespread economic growth and job creation. Responsibility for progress must be shared between government, businesses, trade unions, professional bodies and the workforce, it adds.
Germany, in the decade since it launched its "feed-in tariff" policy for boosting the take-up of renewable energy technology – has created at least 250,000 jobs in the sector – more than 10 times as many as exist in Britain.
Peter Young, chairman of the Aldersgate Group, said: "This report shows that our training institutions must be able to look beyond our current industrial and business structures and plan for the skill requirements of the future. Most of our recommendations are aimed at government because business members said they needed certainty from government if they are to invest."