Let’s work to build a brighter future for all
As Skills Planning for Construction at Skills Development Scotland, Elaine Ellis is ideally placed to explain why the skills profile of the sector is key part of Scotland’s ongoing journey to net zero
ONSTRUCTION and the built environment may not be a sector that first springs to mind when thinking about green jobs, but without it, there will be no net zero in Scotland.
Put simply, we will not reach net zero without heat decarbonisation. And we can’t decarbonise heat without recruiting thousands of people to make up this skilled workforce.
Two major publications have come into play in recent weeks underlining the importance of green jobs and of the construction industry in the journey to net zero.
The first is the Green Jobs in Scotland report, published last month by the steering group behind Scotland’s Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan with the support of Skills Development Scotland (SDS), recommending a definition of a green job in Scotland.
It has much to be positive about, showing that demand for green jobs in Scotland is growing and they’re on average better-paid than non-green roles.
Two of the main categories of green jobs are jobs where enhanced skills and knowledge are becoming necessary, and jobs where greater numbers of entrants are required.
Jobs in construction and the built environment are plain to see across these two main categories.
It’s further confirmation of what those of us who work with industry have known for some time – that the labour demands on construction are acute. SDS’S own figures show we need 48,400 new people into the industry by 2032.
That’s a football stadium full of people into the industry in 10 years.
As high as that number already is, what is put forward in the Scottish Government’s latest Heat in Buildings strategy – published less than two weeks ago – signals this may already be an under-estimate of the army of people we’ll need to pull together what is directed in policy into what’s happening in practice.
It shows that recent years have seen around 3,000 renewable heating systems installed in Scotland’s homes annually and estimates that this will need to increase to around 124,000 systems installed between 2021 and 2026 and peak at over 200,000 new systems per year in the late-2020s.
So where the recession may be bringing uncertainty, heat decarbonisation of our built environment offers a pipeline of work well into the future.
The Scottish Government has previously estimated the total investment required to transform our homes and buildings is likely to be in excess of £33 billion as part of the transition. It is essential that the supply chain is capable of delivering at the pace and scale required in all areas across Scotland.
Work across a range of partnerships including Developing the Young Workforce, in line with SDS careers advisers in schools across the country, is feeding that intelligence down to those making decisions on their careers, and showing them the variety that a career in construction can offer.
Letting our climate-conscious younger generation know they can fight climate change by working in construction and the built environment can and will bring further diversity to the sector.
Recruitment is one thing, there is also the gap in a number of specific green heat skillsets that will mean shifts for many core trades and professions.
There is much happening in this area, including SDS’S work with the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory
Board to revise and update Modern Apprenticeships in line with green targets and technologies, embedding at a training level the skills needed for the drive to net zero.
The Energy Skills Partnership is leading on developments in colleges across Scotland, supporting the expansion of training infrastructure.
Their own figures show that since 2020, there has been more than a threefold increase in green skills courses in colleges to support construction and the energy supply chain sector.
The reality is though that the success or failure of this depends on getting more people into construction and built environment jobs including critical plumbing and heating engineer roles.
The scale of the challenge is central to Scotland’s Heat Decarbonisation Group, a part of the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan, that brings together employers and stakeholders such as
SDS to coordinate action on the skills issues the construction and the built environment faces.
We recognise the skills and workforce challenges and opportunities. Now is the time for the construction and built environment industry to double down on its commitments, spurred on by these latest reports.
Labour demands on construction are acute