UK ‘missing boat’ on renewables jobs
The Prospect union, which represents workers in renewables and across the energy industry, has warned that the UK “risks missing the boat” on renewables jobs unless government draws up a strategy for employment in the sector.
Office for National Statistics figures show that 33,800 direct jobs and 41,000 indirect jobs were lost in the low carbon and renewable sectors between 2014 and 2019.
Prospect senior deputy general secretary Sue Ferns said: “The renewables sector continues to be plagued by policy uncertainty, off-shoring, and a drive for low costs, all of which mean we risk missing out on the huge strategic opportunity to convert clean energy into green jobs. Other countries like Denmark are getting this right, generating five jobs for every MW of renewable energy compared to just one job in the UK.
“With far more clean energy infrastructure needed in the coming years to achieve net zero, it is urgent that government grip this problem and put in place a strategy for developing UK renewables jobs, otherwise we will miss the huge economic opportunity presented by this green industrial revolution.”