Not just Graduates
Thousands of jobs in the UK and around the world will be created by the Green Transitions and the switch to a low carbon energy system.
Renewable energy has been rolled out across the country including solar power, massive offshore wind investment, tidal and wave power, and potentially in the future geothermal energy, biofuels and hydropower will also be needed to meet demand.
The biggest skills shortages in the UK are currently technical rather than at degree-level. A case in point is in fitting heat pumps: there are only around 3,000 people qualified for that, whereas it’s estimated that 30,000 will be needed.
Renewables and Jobs
Renewable energy is widely seen as a panacea for climate change. Breakneck growth has proved their viability, but scaling up to replace the approximately 80% of energy that derives from fossil fuels will be an enormous challenge.
The problem of intermittency requires that backup energy sources — from energy storage or low carbon gases such as hydrogen — are available to meet demand.