The United Kingdom’s clean energy transition is set to create more than 400,000 new jobs by 2030, according to a government report released on Sunday by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The report, first cited by Bloomberg, projects that the decarbonisation plan will generate employment across multiple sectors — including nuclear energy, renewables, carbon capture, and energy efficiency — with trades such as plumbing, carpentry, electrical work, and welding expected to see the highest demand.
The East of England is expected to benefit significantly from the construction of the Sizewell C nuclear facility on the Suffolk coast, which is projected to create around 10,000 jobs at peak construction.
In Scotland and the North East, carbon capture and storage projects could support an estimated 35,000 jobs, while London’s clean energy workforce is forecast to more than double by the end of the decade, employing up to 25,000 people directly in the sector.
The report notes that meeting the labour demand of the clean energy transition will require a substantial skills upgrade. By 2030, the number of plumbers and carpenters will need to double, while the number of welders must triple compared to 2023 levels.
To close the skills gap, the government has pledged increased funding for vocational training and technical education, as part of a national strategy to ensure British workers benefit from the green jobs boom.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the government’s focus is to equip British citizens for these opportunities. Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, he stated:
“We will do everything we can to make sure these jobs go to workers from Britain. The question people ask is, ‘Where will the good jobs of the future come from?’ This is the answer: clean energy jobs — in nuclear, offshore wind, and carbon capture.”
According to Miliband, about 20,000 workers will be trained under the new initiative to prepare for employment in clean energy industries.
Despite the optimism, some analysts have warned that the government’s projections may be overly ambitious, pointing to potential labour shortages and the risk of increased reliance on foreign workers with specialised skills. Such dependence, experts caution, could raise project costs and delay implementation timelines.
Nevertheless, the Labour government insists that the green transition remains central to its economic renewal strategy, positioning clean energy as both an environmental imperative and a key source of employment.
Earlier, Nairametrics reported that the UK government had committed a record £3 billion to skills development — an initiative aimed at reducing dependence on foreign labour while creating 120,000 training opportunities in high-demand sectors such as construction, engineering, digital technology, and health care.
The government’s broader objective is to achieve a net-zero energy system by 2050, with substantial progress expected by 2030 through investments in nuclear power, offshore wind, and carbon capture technologies.
