In the King’s speech to open parliament on 13 May, the UK’s focus on skills and apprenticeships was mentioned: “My ministers will continue to invest in apprenticeships and measures that tackle youth unemployment.”
Reacting to the comment, Phillip Dingle, Future Networks Director at British electrical equipment manufacturer Lucy Electric, commented: “The UK’s skills gap is becoming a critical fault line that could undermine the push for greater energy independence. While significant challenges remain around the future of electricity networks and infrastructure delivery, it is encouraging to see continued commitment to apprenticeships and long-term workforce development.
“The people and careers challenge is felt across the industry. It is why the topic has soaked up so much discussion at today’s All Energy Show. But to get real change we need to take this energy network opportunity into the education system to inspire future talent.
“The devil will be in the detail when it comes to skills. When you look across networks and the wider supply chain, there is demand for skills across multiple disciplines – particularly in engineering and technical roles, which are highly resilient, long-term careers. So, it is important that we have the flexibility to upskill both those who want to transition into the sector, and those who want to start their careers.
“The scale of the skill transformation is enormous. If we are to succeed with building a future that is electric, we need an additional 130,000 jobs by 2050. It is why we continue to place a high emphasis on investing to upskill our existing workforce and the Lucy Electric apprenticeship programme.”
Meanwhile, Yselkla Farmer, CEO of BEAMA, the trade body for manufacturers of electrical equipment, said:
“It is positive to see the Government’s commitment from the King’s Speech to implementing the policy measures announced in the past year that could benefit BEAMA members. These include acceleration of grid deployment, improving domestic energy efficiency, launching a Warm Homes Agency, facilitating energy flexibility and improving cybersecurity.
“We hope that despite the current political turbulence the Government and its officials can retain focus on delivering policy changes that can accelerate electrification to benefit industry, improve our energy system and boost energy security.
“BEAMA’s Market Pulse shows that political and policy uncertainty hurts investment and market growth, so we hope that the Government is able to reassure us as soon as possible on the details and timings for implementation of policies – many of which are already running on challenging timelines.”
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