Green skills training and jobs boost as Cheshire chosen by government as “key growth region”

Cheshire has been selected by the government as a “key growth region” for clean energy which will unlock green skills training and boost a collective ambition for it to be the healthiest, most sustainable, inclusive and growing economy in the UK.

Workers will be supported with government-backed training programmes so they can benefit from thousands of new job opportunities in the clean energy sector, as part of the government’s Plan for Change and clean energy superpower mission.

Cheshire West and Chester Council will receive £1m in the first round of funding after it was confirmed on Wednesday it was one of four regions selected by the government to launch the scheme. This will include an Energy Skills Passport portal - a tool which will enable workers to easily identify which qualifications, such as technical and safety standards, are needed for specific roles - to help workers in the oil and gas industry transition into the renewable energy sector in the region.

The government confirmed west Cheshire had been chosen as one of the UK’s “key growth regions for clean energy, with flourishing offshore wind, nuclear, and solar industries”.

Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington (formerly Cheshire and Warrington LEP) is going to be delivering the pilot locally, working with a partnership including North West Net Zero Hub, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Net Zero North West.

Funding could go towards new training centres, courses or career advisers - supporting local people into opportunities in industries such as welding, electrical engineering, and construction. 

Today regional leaders hailed the investment as an important step towards a collective bid by all three of Cheshire’s local authorities for the region to be the healthiest, most sustainable, inclusive and growing economy in the UK. 

The announcement comes amid a North West Net Zero Industrial Cluster plan, which centres around a £30bn pipeline of clean energy projects to unlock investment and remove over 40 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year, as well as creating and safeguarding thousands of jobs.

Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of Cheshire and Warrington sub regional Leaders Board and Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council said:

“We are thrilled that Cheshire West and Chester has been selected as a target area for the Regional Skills Pilot.

“This initiative, as part of the Clean Power Action Plan, will play a crucial role in transitioning our workforce from carbon-intensive industries to clean energy sectors. As one of the centres of the net zero re-industrialisation of the North, we are committed to encouraging green economic growth and the benefits that will bring to our area.”

Cllr Gittins added:

“By addressing skill gaps and challenges through targeted interventions, we are not only supporting our residents to upskill, and our local economy to fill crucial skill requirements, but also contributing to the UK’s broader goal of achieving clean power by 2030. We look forward to working closely with the department and the Office for Clean Energy Jobs to ensure the success of this pilot.”

Employers will also get a handbook which highlights where businesses can access support to grow and upskill their workforce. This will include, for example, sector-based work academy programmes which help jobseekers into the sector, ensuring they have the necessary skills to deliver clean power by 2030.

Funding could go towards new training centres, courses or career advisers - supporting local people into opportunities in industries such as welding, electrical engineering, and construction. 

Announcing the scheme, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:

“We are working with communities, businesses, and trade unions to train workers here in Britain, so we can seize the opportunities that clean power brings.”

What it means for Cheshire:

• The study area for the Regional Skills Pilot is centred on carbon intensive industry in the local authority area of Cheshire West and Chester. The study will consider the transition of jobs within the local authority area and the potential for a transition to existing and new clean energy jobs in Cheshire West and the surrounding areas
• Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington will lead this research, working with Cheshire West and Chester Council, the North West Net Zero Hub and Net Zero North West, amongst other partners.  
• This work will include: 
  • A training needs analysis centred on the industrial cluster in Cheshire West and Chester, to assess the current skills base in carbon-intensive industries 
  • An assessment of the skills and jobs requirements of clean energy and related industries that employees could transition into and the gap between these future needs and the skills of the existing workforce. 
  • A Skills Mapping Plan with recommendations for skills interventions helping to ensure that those working in carbon intensive industries have the skills required for the clean energy transition and ensuring that the workforce is in place to support the government’s mission for Clean Power 2030. 

Pictured - Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of Cheshire and Warrington sub regional Leaders Board and Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council.