Recruitment giant Reed has addressed the ongoing net zero skills shortage by launching Reed Environment, a dedicated new brand which will focus on training in green skills such as retrofitting.
The move draws on research carried out by the company which highlighted the urgent need for the country to triple the number of retrofitters; the study’s modelling showed that without doing so the UK would not meet its net zero goal until 2105.
To conduct the training Reed Environment will partner with Oxford Energy Academy which will initially offer training for two retrofit assessment courses, the Domestic Energy Assessor and Retrofit Assessor.
The job site has said this will help add over 1,000 new retrofitters to the market each year when at full capacity and will connect the workers with opportunities at places like Local Authorities, Housing Associations and private landlords.
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The jobs brand also hopes to expand its reach by opening new academies across the UK to broaden the net zero skills training it offers – including retrofit courses like solar, electric vehicles and heat pump training.
The company is aiming to launch the training in areas most in need – in a move that follows concern over a lack of green skills, with the government’s advisors the CCC describing the UK as falling behind in their most recent update, and with employers across a range of industries raising concerns about a skills gap.
“The UK is in a race to reach net zero by 2050. Meeting this target quickly is not only key to protecting the environment, but is also a huge economic opportunity to create highly skilled jobs. A lack of skilled workers means we are currently falling behind,” said Reed chairman James Reed.
“Nowhere is the UK’s green skills gap more apparent than in the retrofitting of our aging housing stock. Currently there is a serious shortage of retrofit training and recruitment pathways, meaning we are unable to embark on the retrofitting revolution that needs to happen”.
He concluded: “We need urgent action if we are to meet our net zero targets and that’s why we’re launching Reed Environment to help address this problem.”
