Powering Up Britain: Gov’t listens to some industry concerns, but continues to overlook skills

ECAtoday

Powering Up Britain: Gov’t listens to some industry concerns, but continues to overlook skills

Leading electrotechnical and engineering services body ECA is calling for a detailed plan to fund the upskilling of Britain’s electrotechnical workforce, following today’s launch of the report, Powering Up Britain: Energy Security Plan.

This report sets out the steps the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is taking to ensure the UK’s energy system is secure, low-cost, and low carbon. However, it contains little to no detail about how the country’s labour force will be trained to deliver low carbon installations and green infrastructure.

Meanwhile, ECA has praised the Government’s renewed commitment to electric vehicle charging, with a more than £380 million investment announced for public EV charging points and infrastructure across the country.

ECA has also welcomed plans to rebalance electricity bills using levies as an incentive to move away from gas. The association has long advocated for rebalanced levies to encourage long-term use of renewable energy and move away from fossil fuels.

ECA Energy & Emerging Technologies Advisor Luke Osborne said:

“The rebalancing of the electricity market is something we have been calling for, for years. So, we are pleased to see that our voice has been heard in this new report.

“We also support the commitment to EV charging, but without any funding for upskilling our workforce, this is a hollow pledge for now.

“We are falling behind on EV charging targets, despite the growing number of EVs on the road, and this trend is likely to continue unless we invest heavily in skilled, competent workers who can connect the dots and solve the net zero puzzle.

“I fear this report will do little to address the low public awareness of heat pumps and shortage of skilled installers. In many ways, we are still too far back in our Net Zero journey.”

The report includes a range of other measures to boost the UK’s clean energy security, including a three-year extension of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and overhaul of planning rules to speed up the construction of new wind turbines and solar panels, and support for carbon capture, home insulation and hydrogen projects.