20,000 potential new green jobs for Reading by 2050
29th March 2023
Reading needs to take action to maximise the potential of a green jobs revolution as we move towards Net Zero, says a new report launched by REDA on 28 March 2023. A key target of 20,000 new jobs by 2050 was endorsed by businesses and the education and training community at the launch of REDA's green skills road map, Towards a green jobs and skills roadmap for Reading, which was launched at Stantec’s HQ in Reading.
If the UK is to achieve Net Zero, we will, by necessity, require jobs in construction and installation, particularly for retrofit, energy efficiency and creating electric vehicle infrastructure. However, Reading also has a real opportunity to capitalise on projected future demand for services linked to a low carbon economy.
To achieve this 20,000 jobs target, the report advises that direct intervention in key sectors of the economy is required. It will also help minimise the employment fall out of automation. Towards a green jobs and skills roadmap for Reading identifies the interventions in the economy locally that could generate a potential 20,000 green jobs in Reading by 2050. The report was carried out by Shared Intelligence for Reading’s Economy and Destination Agency (REDA).
The initial analysis looks at the Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE). The report identified the creation of 5,600 jobs in LCREE by the year 2050 which is double the ‘do nothing’ projections and ten times the number of LCREE jobs in Reading today. However, the ‘green economy’ is a much broader definition, states the report which identifies an alternative set of sectoral employment data which puts the current scale of ‘Net Zero’ activity in Reading today at 4,200 jobs (much higher than LCREE data). Applying the same multiple of growth in demand for jobs would indicate 20,000 potential Net Zero jobs by 2050.
In order to achieve maximum economic advantage from adaptation to climate change, the report focuses on Reading’s most dominant sectors where it has locational advantage, along with sectors with the greatest low carbon ‘job density’ and recommends four priority sectors as providing room for green job growth locally: electricity and gas, construction, information and communications and professional and scientific.
To unlock this green job growth will require upskilling, training and education at every level. Specifically, it identifies four key sectors for intervention:-
Electricity and gas - reactive and short-term approach. This sector has high LCREE job density and strong demand from employers for skilled trades for retrofit, driven by national policy, regulation and investment. These jobs are well-suited to mid and late-career workers who are attracted to re-training to exploit the spike in demand.
Construction - a longer term strategy which ‘leapfrogs’ short-term skills needs and focuses on ‘succession planning’ with trade organisations, schools and education partners to respond to future needs to create the next generation of construction skills via schools and the STEM curriculum.
Information and communications: an area where longer-term initiatives could be formed with schools, inspiring and educating them about new occupations and careers and what they can do to get there.
Professional, scientific and technical – the second-largest sector with huge projected growth in demand for workers in low carbon services starting now. Action will require better intelligence about the activities and future plans of local employers to understand where in this sector LCREE and other green jobs are located. The scale of this sector within Reading’s economy and the presence of global market leaders provides a major opportunity for impact.
The report is a first step to creating a roadmap towards green jobs and skills. While there are specific projects that REDA can begin to implement now with industry and education providers, there remains a lack of clarity about the skills required to be delivered by schools and colleges and the requirements of business locally for these skills into the future. So, while this analysis makes a start, the roadmap will also require more intelligence gathering in specific sectors combining data with discussions with key players. These will be needed to understand the detail of what skills are needed, which are easy or hard to attract, what roles education and skills providers are playing or could play, what plans are afoot, what is the experience of local people (current workers and the next generation), and what can be gained through co-operation and partnership.
Nigel Horton-Baker, Executive Director, REDA, said: “The race to Net Zero by 2030 means a race to create 20,000 low carbon and renewable energy jobs in Reading by 2050. With the UK’s Net Zero Strategy to become carbon neutral by 2050, the need to transition to low carbon industries, invest in green technologies, and adapt the labour market is clear; however, the implications in terms of local economic policy and the most effective local actions are not as well understood.
“Beyond the need to reduce carbon emissions to avert the worst impacts of climate change, growing the green economy is an important employment and social mobility issue for Reading. This report is the starting point for understanding this local picture; the potential for green jobs given the economic makeup of Reading; the threats of automation to existing low skilled jobs and how new green jobs could reduce that threat; and how active targeting of Reading’s key economic sectors could bring the maximum benefit to the economy as we seek to create benefit from the need to adapt to climate change.”
“I am delighted that Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce has confirmed that they will be submitting our research as evidence to Government as part of the region’s Local Skills Investment Plan (LSIP) report to secure devolved local training budgets to meet the future needs of the economy in Reading.”
The LCREE definition of green jobs, as identified in this report, is a narrow one of ‘low carbon and renewable energy’ rather than a wider ‘green economy’ definition. This is due to the availability of the most complete data on the green economy. Green jobs, the report highlights, will be generally better jobs, in terms of quality and pay, particularly for lower skilled workers. Green jobs may also be less at risk of automation as it is likely that automated processes could potentially replace 30,000 low skilled jobs in Reading. The data is based on the LGA/Ecuity LCREE model. Other data sources put the current scale of ‘Net Zero’ activity in Reading much higher and the potential growth in demand for green jobs as high as 42,000 Net Zero jobs by 2050, more than one-third the total number of local jobs in Reading today.
The report will be presented as evidence by Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce which is preparing the Local Skills Investment Plan (LSIP) being submitted to Government to agree priorities and devolution of training budgets to local areas.
