How the Green Skills Action Plan meets the challenges of the future
In May 2025, the Green Skills Action Plan,developed by the Green Skills Delivery Group, was lanuched by Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald MLA. Research related to the Action Plan indicates that the green economy will create 58,000 new jobs in Northern Ireland by 2035.
The Green Skills Delivery Group was established by the Department for Economy and is part of the Northern Ireland Skills Council (NISC). It was set up in recognition of the transition to net zero emissions and the subsequent need to shape the green sector workforce and provide skills insights. The delivery of a workforce capable of delivering the energy transition will contribute significantly to one of the Minister’s key objectives of her economic mission on decarbonisation.
NIE Networks’ Gordon Parkes, who is also Chair of the Green Skills Delivery Group, says: “In a fast paced and constantly evolving skills landscape there is a clear need for an actionable strategy to outline priorities and steps required to achieve our goals. To achieve net zero by 2050 requires a radical review of how we equip our workforce of the future to meet these unprecedented challenges. It will take a combined and concerted effort from government, industry, and academia. Crucial to the implementation will be a commitment from all stakeholders to engage, collaborate, lead by example, and champion the cause of green skills for a sustainable future.”
The Action Plan provides a comprehensive framework to guide stakeholders as to what is needed to deliver the skills and the jobs for the future. It identifies 28 actions across four priority areas as follows:
- the skills eco system;
- a partnership approach to ensure a skills system that is responsive to changing needs;
- promoting awareness of careers; and
- opportunities in green jobs and green skills and developing a skilled workforce.
Parkes explains it as presenting “a once in a generation opportunity to create an integrated green skills system that works effectively for individuals, business and the economy”.
To begin with its important to define what is meant by “green skills”.
The UK’s Green Jobs Taskforce defines it as “employment in an activity that directly contributes to – or indirectly supports – the achievement of the UK’s new zero emissions target and other environmental goals”.
While achieving net zero targets will require all of us to learn and adopt certain behaviours in our roles, there are others where the core function will be entirely focused on the achievement of those targets.
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education produced a useful Green Toolkit which captures the differing levels of green jobs and incorporates circular jobs.
Light green jobs refer to those where the core nature of the occupation will not change but some knowledge, skills and behaviours will need tweaked to support sustainable working such as a Care Assistant who will need to learn to sustainably dispose of equipment. Mid green jobs encapsulate those where the core nature of the occupation will not change but how it is applied could do completely. This would involve adding or amending knowledge, skills and behaviours to support competence in new green technologies and approaches. An example of this would be an engineer who may need to learn new skills to move from carbon-based technologies to renewable but they will use the same core engineering principles and their job title will not change. Dark green jobs are entirely immersed in delivering nature and net zero ambitions and cannot do otherwise such as an energy manager, sustainability specialist, or ecologist, for example.
As industries seek to make their operations more sustainable and meet environmental regulations and consumer demand for greener products and services increases, green skills are becoming increasingly important.
The first priority in the Green Skills Action Plan refers to the interconnected network of educational institutions, training providers, employers, and individuals involved in skills development and workforce readiness – the skills eco system. Educating pupils at an early stage about green practices and building it into the curriculum at all educational levels will lay a foundation for future employment in green technologies, renewable energy and sustainable practices. It is a vital pillar given that the Employer Skills Survey 2022 found 13,700 vacancies difficult to fill due to a lack of applicants with the required skills, qualifications and/or experience. One of the key recommendations in the Action Plan is an urgent review of all the components of the skills eco-system to identify what is working well currently and the areas that require improvement and development.
The second priority focuses on a partnership approach that is responsive to changing needs – it reflects how varied and extensive the stakeholders are and how rapidly the green sector is evolving. A particular challenge is the age profile of the green sector which is higher than for some other sectors. Traditionally, those over 50 years of age are more reluctant to upskill and reskill something which will be necessary to support the transition to net zero. In common with the majority of sectors, the green sector is also facing a recruitment and retention challenge. One area of opportunity lies in the consistently high number of economically inactive individuals in Northern Ireland, a proportion of which wish to return to work but face barriers such as care commitments and disabilities. The contribution from government and employers in providing solutions to these hurdles will be a key consideration.
“The Green Skills sector has a hugely exciting future but we need the best skilled talent and enthusiastic re-skilled experts to ensure the sector and the wider economy in Northern Ireland reaches its full potential.”
Creating an awareness of the opportunities that exist and making it easy for applicants to access the key information is the third priority. Young people, their parents and careers teachers will be key target audiences and their engagement will be essential to achieving the levels of employment predicted for the sector. A new careers portal will be an important aspect of this and will support ongoing existing programmes.
The final priority is the development of a skilled workforce which will help Northern Ireland to adapt to and achieve the transition to net zero and to build high value jobs thereby growing the economy. Building on research to date and responding to the changing skills, this group will ensure relevant training is provided at the appropriate time. Historical labour market transitions such as manufacturing to services, have taken place over decades however, the reskilling and transition of the workforce in construction, energy efficiency and renewables will need to be at pace.
The CITB NI’s Barry Neilson, Vice-Chair of the Delivery Group, is optimistic that the skills are there to be re-targeted: “As we focus on the need for a built environment that generates, transmits, and uses energy in a more sustainable way, the need for green skills will become more critical. These are the skills needed to create, power, and maintain our built environment. However, a great deal of the skills we have now within the construction sector now will remain relevant. What will need to change is how they are used. The underpinning knowledge that makes all the stages of design, delivery and maintaining our infrastructure and built environment will need to be “bolted on” to the existing craft and professional skills that are already well developed.
“Of course, there will be new roles and skills required to derive a more sustainable future, but these, in the main, will be a progression of the skills that the sector has already developed. That they are not entirely new does not belittle their importance and the need for continuous improvement both in skills and the way they are used. Rather it emphasises the journey of review and improvement that is second nature to the built environment and energy sectors. It is an area of strength for the construction sector that continuously develops and improves its people to deliver the needs of its clients.”
Initially the plan focuses on three of the green economic sectors: large-scale energy production, infrastructure, and domestic low carbon technologies and energy efficiency. A lot of the skills required for these sectors will be transferable to the other sectors, including specific skills in engineering and electrical as well as transversal skills such as leadership and management and project management.
Indeed, integrating green skills into all job sectors and not just those directly linked with the traditional green industries is crucial for fostering a sustainable economy. Delivering the relevant knowledge to each sector including the use of sustainable materials, waste reduction techniques, energy conservation, sustainable farming techniques and optimising supply chains to reduce emissions will help minimise the environmental impact and meet the net zero targets. Some work has already begun on the development of new modules in green skills and sustainability. By embedding green skills modules into training programmes and the curriculum from primary school level, individuals and organisations can gain the knowledge and competencies to contribute to a sustainable future and reduce carbon emissions benefitting the economy and the environment.
The Green Skills Delivery Group have established four Lead Groups to progress on the recommendations in the Action Plan. This includes over 50 individuals involving representatives from employers, education, government, trade unions, and employers representatives.
“Skills are a fundamental enabler for the net zero target”, says Parkes, adding: “If we do not have enough people with the right skills it will not happen. The Green Skills sector has a hugely exciting future but we need the best skilled talent and enthusiastic re-skilled experts to ensure the sector and the wider economy in Northern Ireland reaches its full potential. It is important that all employers within the sector, government and the education sector collaborate effectively and take ownership of developing the talent pipelines. It is the right thing to do for our people and for the planet.”
W: www.nienetworks.co.uk
W: www.citbni.org.uk
