Plumbers are expected to play a key role in a government drive to recruit 400,000 extra workers for Britain’s growing clean energy industry by 2030, under plans aimed at doubling employment in the sector.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has published its first national plan to build the workforce for a low‑carbon future. It names 31 priority trades, including plumbers, electricians and welders, to help deliver renewable power, low‑carbon heating and energy efficiency upgrades across the UK.

Under the Clean Energy Jobs Plan, employment in the sector is expected to double to 860,000 by the end of the decade. Five new Technical Excellence Colleges will train young people for jobs in green industries, with pilot schemes starting in Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire.

The government says more than £50bn in private investment has been secured since last year. It is also funding retraining for oil and gas workers, and launching a scheme with Mission Renewable to match military veterans with careers in solar, wind and nuclear energy.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the plan would give young people good jobs close to home while helping meet the UK’s net zero goals. Union leaders welcomed the focus on fair pay and conditions, calling the plan a step towards rebuilding industrial communities. He said:

“Communities have long been calling out for a new generation of good industrial jobs. The clean energy jobs boom can answer that cal. Our plans will help create an economy in which there is no need to leave your hometown just to find a decent job. Thanks to this government’s commitment to clean energy, a generation of young people in our industrial heartlands can have well-paid secure jobs, from plumbers to electricians and welders. This is a pro-worker, pro-jobs, pro-union, agenda that will deliver the national renewal our country needs.”

Average salaries in clean energy already exceed £50,000, compared with a national average of about £37,000. The government says plumbers and other skilled workers will be essential to expanding wind, nuclear and grid projects in the years ahead.

New initiatives include:

  • Training up the next generation of clean energy workers – 5 new Technical Excellence Colleges will help train young people into essential roles. Skills pilots in Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire will be backed by a total of £2.5 million – which could go towards new training centres, courses or career advisers
  • Harnessing the valuable expertise and transferrable skills of veterans – Working with Mission Renewable, the government is launching a new programme to match veterans up with careers in solar panel installation, wind turbine factories, and nuclear power stations
  • Tailored schemes for ex-offenders, school leavers, and the unemployed – Last year alone, 13,700 people who were out of work possessed many of the skills required for key roles in the clean energy sector, such as engineering and skilled trades
  • Upskill existing workers – Oil and gas workers will benefit from up to £20 million in total from the UK and Scottish governments to provide bespoke careers training for thousands of new roles in clean energy. This follows high demand for the Aberdeen skills pilot, which is already supporting workers into new careers. Government is also extending the ‘energy skills passport’, which identifies routes for oil and gas workers to easily transition into roles in offshore wind, to new sectors including nuclear and the electricity grid