Skip to content

Skills

There is no simply defined or static definition of how a Net Zero economy will drive skills demands or job requirements.

With the exception of specific technical roles and some growth in new industries, the transition to net zero will have implications for jobs at all skill levels and across all occupational groups as existing sectors change and decarbonise.

It is therefore likely that for the majority of roles, skills demand could be about change in existing skillsets rather than uniquely new skill areas.  

Skills system and provision able to respond to challenges of maintaining the productive performance of the region’s economy as it decarbonises, in anticipating and responding to change and disruption to labour markets and in responding and mitigating change through investment to support people to move into sustainable, resilient jobs in a progressively net zero region.

The role of the skills system in enabling the transition to net zero is likely to be focused on:

Shaping understanding and educating about the climate context, and supporting behavioural change

Understanding changing demands across markets and employers, and tailoring the supply of skills to meet demand and mitigate risks in the labour market as they arise

Supporting individuals to secure emerging opportunities as markets and roles change through ongoing careers development action

understanding how the education and skills system as generators of emissions can adapt delivery towards zero carbon models and make its contribution to net zero objectives