Vice-president – Europe & Africa, Airswift

“The net-zero plan will create around 30,000 new jobs in the UK energy sector. This is an exciting prospect, but doesn’t come without its challenges. We expect to see significant demand for specific, highly skilled roles in mechanical and electrical engineering, but also at executive level with more competition for seasoned and innovative C-suite talent. Firms will need to be quick to adapt – reskilling employees for emerging areas such as carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen. With new opportunities across the energy sector, we’d anticipate sector mobility to increase drastically. Our 2021 Global Energy Talent Index, for example, stated 50% of oil & gas professionals would be open to moving into the renewables sector.”

Director of Solutions, ersg

“The net-zero plan will have a big impact on resourcing within renewable energy, particularly offshore wind, which is booming in the UK. The increased target of 40GW installed capacity by 2030 represents a quadrupling of the current position. Whilst great news, this represents challenges to meet talent demand. The UK – market leaders within offshore wind – has witnessed significant career opportunities for talent globally, with countries citing ambitious targets, resulting in UK talent being targeted with competitive rates. Sourcing/deploying talent in high demand will become increasingly challenging, so employers need to consider innovative sourcing, including apprenticeships, upskilling and careers-shifters.”

Global sector director – Renewables, NES Fircroft

“The net-zero plan will undoubtedly open new opportunities across the energy sector. Such a challenging goal will drive innovation and will require new and more efficient technology to achieve targets. Digital skills will be in demand and with exciting developments such as floating wind turbines, carbon capture storage and hydrogen projects gaining ground, brand new skills and an increased range of skills will be required. Training the existing workforce will also be important; our recent ‘Energy Transition’ survey showed that over 70% of engineers in the sector felt they required further training to effectively transition their skills. Recruitment firms will be vital to ensure the talent can be found to drive the transition forward.”

Image credit | Shutterstock