Green Skills Reports Roundup, July-22
Continuing with our selection of reports and other publications from this month’s reading list.
The Green Edge has done a tonne of reading this month. Let’s start with what we consider to be the major ones…
Progress in Reducing Emissions 2022: Report to Parliament.
Climate Change Committee, June 2022
This annual report by the CCC is a major contribution to all those seeking to reduce emissions. Describing progress across sectors in both summary form and in detail for all of the major high emission sectors, it also includes assessments of potential risks, such as highlighting skilled worker shortages being a major constraint for Construction.
A key point made by the report is the UK Skills Action Plan has not yet been published, and actions to date may not meet the scale and pace required. Digging deeper into the report, we find a section on workers and skills, and it is here we see some very clear and important statements:
‘there are some important policy gaps’;
‘stronger evidence base is needed to inform policy, notably potential changes to the Standard Occupational Classification’;
‘more data collection will be needed to monitor progress towards building a low-carbon workforce’.
While the CCC tasks the Department for Education and the Office for National Statistics in its exhaustive lists of recommendations, it chooses not to include the Unit for Future Skills (at the DfE) which is a shame. The point on data and standardised classification of green tasks, skills and occupations is well made and is one we noted after reviewing the most recent 36 Skills Advisory Panel reports.
We talk further about this report in this recent Green Edge post.
The Role of Transition Plans in the UK’s Pathway to Net Zero
Report for the Climate Change Committee by Ricardo Energy and Environment, June 2022
With the mandatory requirement for FTSE250 businesses to produce transition plans for their progress to net zero, skills and training will become a key feature and we expect to see important additions to the climate change commitments and targets. As we have previously noted in our posts on B Corps, when a group of businesses pursue net zero, the ripple effect up and down their supply chains draw in many other companies. The overall result of this should be to raise green skills much higher up the agenda and secure investment. It would be useful to see corporate transition plans drawn together by sector to help identify potential gaps, and where additional effort and resources are required.
How to scale a highly skilled heat pump industry
Nesta, July 2022
The UK’s low carbon heating industry will have to grow its capacity rapidly in the coming years. The bottom line is we need 4,000-6,000 engineers per year coming into the heat pump engineering workforce between now and 2028.
The Green Edge commends Nesta, this is the type of report we need for all key green enabling technologies which are known, proven and available for application. Without the skills, the technology will just be talked about.
Skills for Green Jobs Position Paper.
Maritime Skills Commission, June 2022
Included in the Ten Point Plan, the maritime sector has a major challenge on its hands to decarbonise shipping, together with the onshore impact of equipping ports with plug-in and alternative fuel facilities. There’s also the need to greatly improve air quality, particularly from ships during loading and unloading, and also from the onward movement of goods, mainly by road. Having strong local presences as well as being part of a national strategy and plan (strongly linked to Innovate UK, UKRI, BEIS and MoD), few sectors seem to bridge the local-national divide as well as maritime.
This document therefore is worth a look by all those operating in so-called ‘traditional sectors’, which may have great futures but will need to attract significant numbers of new entrants that might otherwise be seeking careers elsewhere.
In order to make the net zero transition, the maritime sector argues the case for green skills tax credits and also the need for even greater co-operation to lead and co-ordinate the attraction, development and deployment of a workforce competent in green skills. Here, we think the North Sea Transition Authority offers a model that the various regional maritime clusters could learn from.
Net Zero Steel: A Vision for the Future of UK Steel Production
UK Steel/Make UK, July 2022
While this report – making the case for support from the UK Government in the main – is focused on the broader strategic issues being faced by an energy intensive industry, it does raise a few points around skills and employment. It notes: “the steel industry offers the opportunity to save and transform carbon-intensive jobs into green, low-carbon jobs. In addition, new opportunities may also appear as the sector invests in CCUS, hydrogen-based DRI, and electrification. Green jobs will not be confined the renewable energy industry, but also at the heart of steel production in the UK.” It goes on: “Indeed, new skills will be needed when transitioning to Net Zero steel production, but this is less well researched.”
This is an important point: traditional industries going from brown to green tend not to get the skills and employment research coverage given to the new sectors, especially renewable energy but also other energy intensive sectors like shipping and aerospace . Given the employment in traditional sectors like steel, chemicals, paper, mineral products, glass, ceramics, and industrial gases this needs to be rectified (although we do note here that Cardiff University has done some useful work on skills in steel).
Green job creation, quality and skills: a review of the evidence on low carbon energy
UKERC Technology and Policy Assessment, April 2022
Another very useful addition to the study of green employment across the major energy sectors, in this case split down to regional levels.
We think it would have been helpful if the regional green employment levels studied in this report had been compared to those appearing from the work of the Skills Advisory Panels, specific regional studies, the National Government Association’s data sets, ONS and so on. Going forward, policy makers need to reconcile the differences between the various studies, as planning green skills demand needs as much accuracy as possible.
Data and AI
We also found a couple of useful resources on data and AI this month…
Future proofing skills with open data and semantic AI
Considers taking the ESCO (European Skills Competences, Qualifications and Occupations) dataset to a new level. While ESCO contains around 15,000 words, of which around 8,000 are competence words, Headai has developed a dynamic ontology consisting of millions of words, using AI to build a vocabulary by reading across sources like internet news, job postings, scientific articles, and even Wikipedia. The majority of the words are nouns: there are about 90,000 to 120,000 meaningful words and about 40,000 of them relate to the labour market.
This library of words allows matching and analysis of both curriculum content and emerging skills demand using job postings. Perhaps the application of Headai’s techology to green skills and jobs would greatly boost our understanding of emerging demand and skills needs. This would help us align local and national skills supply and make a very connected, dynamic green skills system.
DeepMind – AI, Super-intelligence, and the Future of Humanity
Lex Fridman podcast interview of Demis Hassabis, Founder and CEO of DeepMind
We don’t usually list podcasts and links to websites, but on this occasion, we thought we should break that pattern. This is an in-depth, very enjoyable, and extensive interview (over 2 hours) but is well worth the listen by anyone interested in AI and all that it might entail into the future. Thanks to Carl Gombrich of LIS for bringing this to our attention.
Education
Alongside that, we made a brief foray into some green education out there in cyberspace and note a couple here:
E-learning course on green jobs for sustainable development: concepts and practices
ITCILO 5th September to October 14th, 2022 (sign-up by August 26th)
This course provides an interactive e-learning opportunity to explore green jobs concepts and emerging practices. Through a review of tools, selected literature and best practices, participants are introduced to the labour market implications of the transition to greener and more sustainable economies. The action-oriented curriculum is structured to promote the design and implementation of green jobs policies, programmes, and projects.
Circular economy teaching materials
A useful set of exercises and materials for Y6-Y7 students
Other reports in brief
Great Jobs. Levelling up the UK. Shining a spotlight on the essential roles that are vital to levelling up skills in the UK
City and Guilds with EMSI & Burning Glass, June 2022 - link
A short report highlighting the huge challenges not only in skills levels but also in the dynamics of the labour market and the imbalances between supply and demand, and the actions that need to be taken. The report is also linked to a podcast that focuses on green skills.
Local Net Zero Delivery Progress Overview
UK100, July 2022 - link
A report with a simple, powerful message: to deliver net zero, there needs to be a new settlement between local and national government and a re-shaping of the scheme of delegation.
There are separate reports for the key sectors and issues, but we found a great progress report and gaps analysis. We would have liked to see another line on people and skills but this would be quibbling with an excellent report launched by a set of recognised local leaders.
AlixPartners Global Automotive Outlook
AlixPartners, part of Reuters, May 2022 - press release
A current view of the short-term developments in the auto industry and its transition to EV production. Amongst many good points, it says, “Suppliers are particularly vulnerable …because the available content per vehicle drops as new entrants, including battery and technology suppliers, become competitors, and as automakers chose to make more of the new components themselves to transition plants and people to BEVs. Suppliers appear to have access to only 28% of new BEV powertrain production value as a result.”
This has profound implications for employment in the auto sector.
Careers in Agriculture and Horticulture Report
Prepared by FK&Y for The Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture, May 2022 - link
Report from a recent survey of over a thousand 13- to 23-year-olds, over 500 parents, and more than 250 teachers. The survey finds there is low awareness of the sector and little understanding of modern farming. Once explained and understood, the sector is perceived to offer exciting and attractive opportunities with STEM-related careers and jobs that support the environment and sustainability.
We suspect these outcomes would probably be similar for many other ‘traditional’ sectors. It illustrates to us the vital role played by effective, up-to-date careers information and guidance.
Developing workforce skills for a strong economy
National Audit Office, July 2022 - link
A useful, up-to-date review of the UK’s skills system. We strongly agree with the NAO’s recommendations calling for greater integration of the national and local parts of the system. Our friends in the Green Jobs Delivery Group do a get a mention but it’s too early for them to make comment. It would be useful in the NAO’s next review of skills to take a look at the green part of the skills system, and perhaps do this work with the Climate Change Committee.
Growing Green: Enablers and Barriers for Africa
African Development Bank Group, March 2022 - link
This report seeks to quantify the African “green” and “brown” growth, and finds that technological progress rather than efficiency change is the primary source of Africa’s green economy transition. Studies like this are vital as countries want to make progress in-step and together. It also helps to pinpoint the skills actions and policies that are needed to support the transition, in particular around R&D.
Brown Industries: The Transition Tightrope
Natixis, April 2021 - link
A very useful context presentation for those interested in understanding the transition of the brown (carbon emitting) industries and what some of their options are to achieve net zero.
Comparing University-Centred Ecosystems in the UK and the rest of Europe
Segal Quince Wickstead (SQW) and Middlesex University, May 2022 - link
Very useful study for those LEPs, City Regions and Combined Authorities that are seeking to maximise the gains from their local university as a part of a general innovation strategy, but also for their green economy development given the significance of university in providing a key supply of technical skills for R&D, and future members of the workforce.
The Economic and Social Impact of UCL
London Economics, June 2022 - link
Extension of the ecosystems study to some extent. Having contacted the authors they tell us that it is not possible to easily devise a way of measuring the impact of a major university on either the digital or green economies – this would be very useful for those responsible for local industrial and skills strategies.
Out of pocket. The places at the sharp end of the cost-of-living crisis
Centre for Cities, July 2022 - link
Yes, there is a link to the green agenda, many of the higher costs are driven by poor housing stock, poor public transport, etc. So, the shift to the green economy could really help in many places across many parts of the UK. At the same time, the transition to net zero can create many jobs where the levelling-up is attempting to create new employment opportunities.
Other reports worth a mention
Circular Business. What companies need to make the switch
Green Alliance, July 2022 - link
Exploring External Finance links to Build Back Better a Green UK SME Economy
Small Grant Longitudinal Small Business Survey (LSBS) Report to Enterprise Research Centre (ESRC), ERC Research Paper No 99, June 2022 - link
Are ‘green’ jobs good jobs? How lessons from the experience to-date can inform labour market transitions of the future.
Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, Centre for Economic Performance, Programme on Innovation and Diffusion, and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, LSE, October 2021 - link
Achieving Net Zero Heavy Industry Sectors in G7 Members
International Energy Agency, May 2022 - link
The Next Phase of Wind Power Growth in Five Charts
Bloomberg New Energy Finance, July 2022 - link
Challenges and Opportunities in Canada LMI Landscape
LMIC-CIMT, February 2022 - link
And finally, from the IMF:
A Greener Labor Market: Employment, Policies, and Economic Transformation
Chaper 3 of IMF World Economic Outlook, April 2022 - link
From Polluting to Green Jobs: A Seamless Transition in the US?
IMF Working Paper, July 2022 - link
Transitioning to a Greener Labor Market: Cross-country Evidence from Microdata
IMF Working Paper, July 2022 - link
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