Net Zero & Retrofit Jobs in 2024

Britain's Green Industry Keeps Growing

A report just got issued by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit at the CBI which points to green jobs bucking the UK recession.

With the US engaging with the single largest growth plan for climate, the Inflation Reduction Act, and making it work.

It's heartening to hear that the UK is able, to increase share of 'green jobs' to 765,000 or

"equal to nearly 3% of total UK employment."

Average wages amount to £44,600 in net zero jobs exceeding the UK average by 23%.

Further good news. As net zero businesses increase their work flow to meet demand it means they stimulate related industries;

"For every £1 million contributed by net zero businesses, nearly £2 million more is added through the supply chain and employee spending"

But why are the wages paid in the sector so much higher? And where are these opportunities?

The demand for employees in net zero jobs is spread evenly across the UK and if retrofit is any indicator of demand, roles cannot get employees fast enough.

With only London, the South East and the East of England having lower paid net zero jobs (relative to the average wage in those areas) it seems like a great time to transition to a new job.

Here's a quick breakdown of some highlights from the report;

SCOTLAND: The net zero economy is particularly important to Scotland’s economy, making up 5.7% of the country’s GVA (£8.0 billion) and supporting 85,500 jobs, 3.9% of the country’s total.

SOUTH WEST: Net zero businesses in the South West received nearly £1 million in investment funding, on average, in 2021 and 2022, by far the largest amount of all regions and 2.6 times more than businesses in London.

WEST MIDLANDS: The West Midlands saw the highest levels of net zero related FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) projects in 2022-23 with 34 FDI projects in the region over the course of the year.

WALES: In Wales, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and The Humber net zero businesses are twice as productive as the respective regions’ average industry

With 3,124 construction businesses included in the report. A significant number will be in the renewable energy sector, but also, heat pump manufacture, retrofit construction and building refurbishment too.

All of these industries are posting shortfalls in employee numbers, and in construction you can get free courses which are fully funded to upskill your workforce for net zero targets.

"There are hotspots of net zero activity across all UK regions, with Stockport, Aberdeen City, Hinckley and Bosworth, Havant and Warwick amongst the top 25 UK local hotspots."

Regional Hotspots

External investors are now looking at the UK economy in a different way:

"Inward investment into the UK has been struggling for years now and fostering new industries and sectors, such as the net zero economy, in the UK could be the key to unlocking UK investment."

Retrofit technology development, refurbishment and retrofit projects are only going to get bigger.

In fact there's now commercial frameworks just for refit and refurbishment, worth over £1Billion - all of which suggest the sector is set to boom even further.

With the sector able to grow by 9% as other parts of the economy limp through recession.

The question on many peoples lips might be. "Gizza Job?"