A government-funded project has set out the retrofit skills needs of the North East and Yorkshire and piloted new approaches for meeting it.
The Regional Skills Pilot was launched by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in 2023 and delivered through England’s five Local Net Zero Hubs.
A study commissioned by the North East and Yorkshire Net Zero Hub found that 2.2 million homes in the region require energy efficiency improvements to meet the national target of all homes having an EPC rating of C by 2035 – this equates to 66.1% of homes in Yorkshire and 60.2% in the North East.
Analysts estimated the current retrofit workforce in the region is the equivalent of 10,970 employees – more than half of whom work installing home insulation, solar panels and heat pumps.
The analysis highlights that that according to figures from the Local Government Association the size of the regional retrofit workforce will have to increase by 6.2% a year to meet demand.
Extensive engagement with stakeholders has identified the following obstacles to achieving this growth:
- Training providers experiencing difficulties in recruiting suitably qualified staff (including due to higher pay opportunities in industry)
- Limited supplier awareness of retrofit as a concept and of the local training offer.
- A lack of Retrofit Assessors in the region.
Following the completion of the analysis, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero allocated the Hub a small amount of funding to deliver two pilots aimed at testing local approaches to addressing these issues.
- Delivery Innovation Pilots: Delivered by Hull and Bishop Burton Colleges and Gateshead College these pilots aimed to build institutional capacity in Further Education Providers through new resources and training.
- Retrofit Skills Partnerships: Delivered by SY Ecofit, Rethink Retrofit and Efficicency North, a series of event and workshop activities designed to build strategic connections, partnerships ,collaboration and engagement between suppliers and training providers.
Independent evaluation of the pilots was commissioned on their completion, which found:
- The Delivery Innovation Pilots had delivered effective collaboration and sharing of resources and facilities; high staff engagement; greater awareness of retrofit and associated career opportunities and increased qualifications for 19 staff members.
- The Retrofit Skills Partnerships had led to new collaborations and increased supply chain knowledge, and generated momentum for longer term engagement.
The studies will be used inform future government policy and interventions. The research has also inspired a new project in Hull and East Yorkshire which will assess careers activity in the region, it’s alignment with career opportunities in energy effeiciency and generation, and how existing activity can be improved, replicated or expanded. The project is currently out to tender.
