UK Unveils National Plan for 400,000 New Clean Energy Jobs by 2030
Work News | New Stardom
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, during a visit to a clean energy manufacturing facility in Derby. Photo by UK Government, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia
The UK government has unveiled a comprehensive national plan to create more than 400,000 new clean energy jobs by 2030, part of a broader international race to scale up green skills and industrial capacity. Announced in a press release from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 19 October 2025, the strategy outlines targeted investment in technical colleges, regional training pilots, and support for workers moving from fossil fuel industries into renewables and nuclear.
Under the plan, 31 priority occupations, including electricians, welders, engineers, and plumbers, are flagged as critical for the clean energy transition. According to official figures, entry-level roles in these fields now offer wages 23% higher than comparable positions in other sectors, and overall clean energy salaries in the UK average more than £50,000 per year.
Government officials say the new measures are designed to ensure that “a generation of young people in our industrial heartlands can have well-paid, secure jobs” as the country shifts away from oil and gas. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has emphasised that 400,000 new jobs is “not a target, it’s what we need” to deliver the clean energy transition. Five new Technical Excellence Colleges and expanded training for veterans, ex-offenders, and unemployed workers are among the central features of the plan.
The UK is not alone in this approach. The United States, under its Inflation Reduction Act, has committed billions to similar job creation and reskilling initiatives, resulting in hundreds of thousands of new energy jobs announced since 2022. The European Union’s Green Deal Industrial Plan and Net-Zero Industry Act have set the framework for national skills academies and workforce incentives, while Australia and Canada continue to invest in retraining for former fossil fuel regions.
Experts and trade union leaders see the clean energy workforce as a cornerstone of both industrial renewal and climate policy. The UK government’s plan also introduces a new Fair Work Charter for the sector and promises stronger employment protections for offshore and supply chain workers, aiming to set a standard for “good jobs and high wages” across the industry.
The international green jobs competition is now focused on closing skills gaps, accelerating technical training, and ensuring job security as countries race to deliver the energy transition at scale.
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