Terra Firma Energy – 21 October 2025

Government outlines pro-worker clean energy strategy to double sector employment and boost skills across the UK.

The UK Government has launched a new Clean Energy Jobs Plan, forecasting that employment in the sector will more than double to 860,000 jobs by 2030. The initiative aims to meet growing demand for skilled workers—particularly plumbers, electricians, and welders—as investment surges in nuclear power, renewables, and carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Announcing the plan, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said it would ensure clean energy growth delivers “good union jobs” through new commitments to collective bargaining, pay standards, and fair employment practices. A proposed Fair Work Charter will apply to offshore wind developers receiving public funding, while skills and fair work clauses will be embedded in future grants and procurement through Great British Energy and the Clean Industry Bonus Scheme.

The plan also sets out major investment in retraining and inclusion programmes, offering new routes into clean energy roles for ex-military personnel, ex-offenders, school leavers, and the unemployed. A £20 million expansion of the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund, backed by both the UK and Scottish Governments, will help existing energy workers move into renewables.

Meanwhile, the long-awaited Energy Skills Passport—designed to streamline movement between oil, gas, wind, and nuclear sectors—will finally be rolled out nationally. In Scotland, nuclear training will focus solely on decommissioning, in line with the Scottish Government’s current policy on new nuclear development.

To build a pipeline of future talent, the Government has also committed to raising participation in higher-level learning (academic, technical, or apprenticeships) to two-thirds of young people by age 25, and to establishing five new Technical Excellence Colleges in regions including Cheshire, Lincolnshire, and Pembrokeshire.

“The clean energy jobs boom can deliver a new generation of good industrial jobs,” said Miliband. “Our plan will ensure young people can build secure, well-paid careers in their own communities — from plumbers to electricians and welders.”

Unions have welcomed the move. TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said the strategy “puts decent work at the heart of our energy system,” calling it a serious step toward rebuilding the UK’s industrial heartlands and delivering high-quality, union-backed jobs in clean energy and its supply chains.