UK's new PM has a plan to rebuild Britain. But he's short on one crucial thing - skilled workers

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s promise to “get Britain building again” will quickly face a shortage of skilled workers in the very industries he’s hoping will power the turnaround.

The UK is facing a supply crunch of builders, solar-panel installers and engineers, raising questions about who will carry out Starmer’s mission to radically expand clean power and build 1.5 million homes over the next five years.

While the Labour Party has pledged to expand training in key sectors, the scale of the shortages suggest they will slow early efforts to ramp up activity in those sectors.

The UK needs about 400,000 workers to meet its net zero targets, 30% more than the oil-and-gas sector staff available to fill those roles, according to a PwC analysis.

Meanwhile, the UK’s construction workforce has declined about 14% in the past five years.

Green jobs cover a wide range of sectors associated with industries that will help shift the economy away from fossil fuels.

Those include wind and solar installations, heat pumps, carbon capture and storage, battery technologies.

More broadly defined it can also include project developers and people who manage planning permission.

UK businesses in these sectors warn they’re already struggling to find staff as they were particularly badly hit by a mix of Brexit, higher inactivity rates, and a lack of training opportunities.

Vacancies per job are still above pre-Covid levels in key policy areas like construction, electricity, gas and education.

The fear is that Labour’s plans will supercharge demand and stoke up talent wars, pushing up wages without a matching boost in output.

“We welcome the government’s focus on making the UK a clean energy superpower, but the lack of green skills in the UK’s workforce will put this mission at risk,” said Charlotte Eaton, chief people officer at Ovo Energy which employs some 5,000 people across the UK.

“The government must urgently map out the regional workforce and identify skills shortages so it can invest where the need is greatest.”

In the run-up to Labour’s landslide election victory, the party had frequently cited skills shortages as evidence of what they said was economic mismanagement by the Conservatives’ during their 14 years in power.

Starmer has appointed Jacqui Smith, a former home secretary, as minister for skills, further and higher education.

Labour plans to link immigration with training policies and also roll out training programs in sectors like health and social care and construction.

Source : https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/latest-updates/uks-new-pm-has-a-plan-to-rebuild-britain-but-hes-short-on-one-crucial-thing-workers/articleshow/111725577.cms