We can’t afford to stall on the green jobs agenda

For National Careers Week, Roisin Quinn, director of customer connections at National Grid Electricity Transmission, talks about how the energy industry can attract the hundreds of thousands of new recruits that will be needed to decarbonise the sector over the coming years and decades.

The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) latest annual survey of the green economy revealed that there were still fewer people working in green sectors in 2020 than there were in 2014. With National Grid research showing that the energy sector alone will need 400,000 green jobs and the government calling for 2 million skilled jobs to reach net zero emissions by 2050, it’s clear more needs to be done to ramp up efforts to encourage people to consider green jobs and provide the training and skills development they need, if we’re to achieve the UK’s climate goals.

Achieving a greener future requires the right people in the right jobs who can deliver on the huge amount of work ahead. For the energy sector that could mean civil, mechanical and electrical engineers and data analysts, to new roles linked to electric vehicles, hydrogen, offshore wind and carbon capture technology that will emerge as the journey to net zero evolves.

Businesses need to accelerate efforts to attract, retain and progress top diverse talent

Businesses must keep talking about equality and take action to build a diverse workforce. There’s always more that can be done, and it’s crucial we continue to create an environment where people feel welcome and able to do things differently to how they’ve been done before if we’re to innovate and find new solutions on the way to net zero.

From setting diversity targets for new hires at different levels of the business, implementing mentoring and sponsorship schemes, to running targeted talent development programmes, there are a number of ways to increase progress so your workforce better reflects the communities the business serves. Where appropriate, you can also look at how you influence and engage with external organisations. For example, through Renewables UK and the Energy Futures Lab, I try to help raise awareness of diversity and inclusion issues in the energy industry, promote professional development amongst female engineers and encourage the next generation of young talent to help shape the future of electricity in Great Britain. It’s important to make sure these topics continue to be part of the conversation on these boards.

Offer a mix of accessible routes into the sector

Since starting on the National Grid graduate programme in 2004, I’ve been involved in working with government and the regulator on policy and what would drive the investment needed to develop the network I’ve also experienced the start of the transition to low-carbon generation during my time at the Electricity System Operator, and I’ve loved seeing how this has evolved in recent years. Graduate programmes are a great route into the sector, providing hands on training and learning, and an opportunity to explore different part of a business. For me it was great to use my electrical engineering degree in practice in real world situations.

Apprenticeships are another great way to attract bright talent and give people the chance to begin a long-term career in the energy industry. For businesses they’re an opportunity to shape the skills they want to grow within their workforce. For young people or people who want to change career, they’re a great way to kick start a career, allowing you to earn and learn at the same time.

At National Grid, we’ve also been running the Grid for Good programme for over a year now, which aims to help those from disadvantaged backgrounds access training and employment in the energy sector.

The career opportunities are vast

I always wanted to do something that matters, and which impacted people’s lives in a positive way. Since the start of my career I’ve seen the grass roots of the energy transition take shape – it’s become much more real and to scale. The climate crisis is the biggest challenge of our generation and in the years ahead existing teams will grow and evolve, and new teams will form to address new areas of innovation. There’s such an opportunity to be really creative, become an expert in a new field and see how things connect. People in the energy sector are truly passionate about successfully achieving net zero, and it’s really exciting to be part of a sector that wants to crack this challenge and do it together.