Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of local skills shortages on achieving the Government’s Net Zero targets.

The government is assessing local skills shortages that will have an impact on achieving the goals set out in the Net Zero Strategy. This is taking place through a number of skills reforms and programmes.

The government is rolling out Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs). 38 LSIPs are in development, led by employer representative bodies (ERBs) across England with plans to be submitted to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education for approval and publication in spring 2023. LSIPs may only be approved if the skills required for local green jobs have been considered. Following their publication, LSIPs will be reviewed regularly to remain relevant.

The department is underpinning these local labour market insights with investment. The Strategic Development Fund (SDF) provides capital and programme funding to enable further education (FE) providers to work together and support changes in local training facilities and provision, to better meet the needs of employers, as set out in LSIPs. Funding can be used to upgrade facilities, equipment, and curricula, build overall capacity to meet local skills priorities, stimulate employer demand for and investment in skills, and support ongoing FE quality improvement. The SDF was initially piloted in 2021/22 with £65 million across England. It was rolled out nationally in 2022, with £92 million funding. Following the designation of ERBs, funding for 2023/24 and 2024/25 will be aligned to emerging priorities and published LSIPs.

The department also plans to invest £290 million of capital funding to establish 21 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) across the country. IoTs are prestigious and high-quality employer-led institutions delivering provision tailored and responsive to the needs of local employers. They specialise in high-level technical skills, particularly in STEM sectors like advanced digital, advanced manufacturing, engineering and construction, and a range of training in green skills sectors.

In addition, the government established the Green Jobs Delivery Group in May 2022 to act as a vehicle for industry and government collaboration on net zero jobs and skills, and understanding workforce challenges including skills gaps. The delivery group was a key recommendation of the Green Jobs Taskforce, which was convened by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and departmental ministers to build evidence on UK skills needs for a transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and which published its independent recommendations in its July 2021. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-jobs-taskforce-report.

Skills Bootcamps are partly grant-funded and delivered by local areas based on the needs of local employers. They are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, that give learners the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, and an offer of an employer interview. Skills Bootcamps allow local areas to provide training in sectors specific to their needs. For example, training in the North East is currently available in wind turbine maintenance and construction, to support offshore wind farms in the North East.

The department is rolling out T Levels, a high-quality technical qualification alternative to A Levels which are underpinned by the same employer-led approach as apprenticeships, that support green careers. There are three engineering and manufacturing courses and three in construction. They contain skills that underpin key green sectors like retrofit and electricity networks.

The department has introduced Higher Technical Qualifications, existing and new level 4 and 5 qualifications which align with employers’ skills needs, including for green occupations like Building Energy Management Systems.