This month, at the fourth Ministerial on Climate Action, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said “our aim is to increase ambitions towards a climate-resilient, zero-carbon economy.” Arguing that the commitments made under the Paris Agreement fall short of what is required to tackle climate change, he announced that the UK will soon be publishing its own plans.

At the centre of this should be investment in skills within construction and manufacturing, sectors which will be key to ensure a successful transition into the green economy and are currently facing unparalleled challenges.

Local government leaders have warned that manufacturing heartlands in the Midlands, North West, and Yorkshire are likely to be impacted most heavily by the net zero transition. In these areas, a high number of jobs will likely be displaced through decline in carbon intensive industries. These manufacturing hubs have seen high levels of economic deprivation over recent years and have faced acute challenges through the COVID-19 crisis.

The construction industry has also struggled as a result of the pandemic. According to ONS data, construction output decreased by 40% in April 2020 compared with March 2020 - the largest month-on-month fall in growth since records began in January 2010. While output in construction grew by a record 8% in May 2020, as building sites were allowed to restart work, the level of construction output was still 39% lower than that of February 2020, before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

Combined with the latest ONS labour market figures showing that wage growth is particularly slow in manufacturing and construction, and actually became negative in both sectors for the first time in this quarter, the necessity for further support within these sectors is clear.

Manufacturing and construction are also particularly dependent on exports to the EU, and some manufacturing leaders have warned areas are at risk of a “triple whammy” hit to their economies in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Against this backdrop, the longstanding skills issues facing the sectors. Our Constructing the Future research found that 1 in 20 construction companies reported their tradespeople didn’t have the range and level of skills they needed. Just over half of employers in the sector provided training to workers, but this was often limited to regulatory compliance with the majority of training centred on health & safety and basic induction rather than ongoing professional development.

The construction sector was given a welcome boost from the Government’s £3bn plan to retrofit public buildings and homes to be more energy efficient, and it’s positive that this is leading to the creation of new jobs. However, this programme of retrofits also needs to be underpinned by investment in construction skills. Brian Berry of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) said that we need to “ensure that all the new entrants to the industry receive proper training or apprenticeships, to guarantee that energy efficiency home improvements are delivered by quality tradespeople.”

The sector is critical to aspirations for sustainability and supporting greener, “cleaner” practices and in turn growth, but for this to be a success supporting effective upskilling and lifelong learning over time needs to be a fundamental priority. While the recent commitments from the Government are a welcome first step, they pale in comparison with the investment seen in Germany, and more investment will likely be needed to reach the net zero target.

It is therefore vital that the Department for Work and Pensions actively work with manufacturing and construction employers to ensure that the new interventions targeted at supporting young people in to work including apprenticeships, traineeships and the Kickstart Programme are focused on the skills needed to catalyse a transition towards a greener economy.

There needs to be a co-ordinated push to help those already working in these sectors to upskill too, potentially through tailoring existing Government support mechanisms. For example the Made Smarter programme within manufacturing could be adapted to include a greater focus on sustainable methods and technologies would also help target reskilling support at workers in the sector.

Similarly, adaptations could be made to the new Construction Talent Retention Scheme, a partnership between government and employers within the industry that supports redeployment of staff at risk of redundancy across the sector, while also enabling temporary secondments between businesses. As the scheme develops, it could become a source of training, guidance and support on building green skills within the sector. Alongside this further interventions targeted at individuals may be needed due to high levels of self-employment in construction.

Overall, investing in the workforce now will be key to help mitigate against the challenges the sector will face over the years ahead.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed by our bloggers and those providing comments are personal, and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of Lancaster University. Responsibility for the accuracy of any of the information contained within blog posts belongs to the blogger.