The Energy Secretary considers the renewable energy transition to be ‘unstoppable’ due to the economic benefits it will bring, and because people around the world are now dealing with the realities of the climate crisis every day. It also forms part of the UK’s broader commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. In the UK and around the world, meeting environmental targets will involve large-scale projects for energy generation, as well as in other areas such as industrial processes, transportation, housing and land use.

What is the current policy approach to achieving net zero from a labour market perspective?

As highlighted by the previous Green Jobs Taskforce, there are current and projected labour shortages in critical sectors such as engineering, technology, construction, project management, and technical maintenance. Workers will be needed to build energy-related infrastructure such as wind farms, solar panelling, e-vehicle charging networks, as well as to progress waste management, agriculture and land management projects. 

In its 2024 progress report to parliament, the Climate Change Committee highlighted that the UK is currently behind in reaching its 2030 target, and that only a third of the required emissions reductions are covered by credible plans. As one of its list of priority actions for the Government, the committee has recommended that a strategy to support skills is published. The purpose of this strategy will be to support workers in sectors that need to grow or transition, as well as communities that may be adversely impacted.

One initiative that is already underway is the introduction of an energy skills passport, with an initial version due to launch from January 2025. The passport will provide cross-sector recognition of training and experience, enabling workers from declining traditional energy sectors, such as oil and gas, to more easily transition into jobs in the growing offshore wind industry.  

At a more general level, the Government plans to develop a more structured evidence-based approach to the labour market, including how to identify and address skills gaps. This will be achieved through collaboration between Skills England, the Industrial Strategy Council, DWP and the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). 

Due to the urgency of the climate crisis and the ground that already needs to be made up to meet the UK’s net zero commitments, it seems clear that these groups will need to prioritise the question of how to meet labour shortfalls in the renewable energy sector as well as other sectors that will contribute to carbon emission reduction. This should mean close working with the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero.

How can the UK immigration system contribute to meeting net zero?

The MAC is currently working on a Government commission to understand why employers rely on international recruitment to fill IT, telecoms and engineering roles. The MAC is due to report in May 2025. 

It will be interesting to see to what extent the MAC’s conclusions reference the need to meet current and anticipated skills shortages in the renewable energy sector and other green jobs, since a substantial number of these jobs are likely to require expertise in the occupations being examined.

There is also a wider opportunity, within this commission, for the MAC to consider the role and functioning of the previous Shortage Occupation List and the current Immigration Salary List. A discussion of those tools will however be constrained by the Government’s overall ambition to reduce net migration and encourage recruitment from the domestic workforce. 

Looking further ahead, will the Government focus future MAC commissions on groups of occupations only? It may be beneficial for some commissions to be overlaid with a focus on how the immigration system might best contribute to meeting commitments in areas that are highest on the Government’s political agenda, such as global and national environmental sustainability. 

The Office for National Statistics is currently working on a statistical definition of green jobs, as well as a green jobs framework. These could provide useful datasets in the future for the MAC to be able to identify which jobs are in shortage and why.   

• Once the occupations in shortage have been identified, there are at least three areas the immigration system may be able to assist in addressing them:
• Increasing incentives for international students to train to fill these roles, whether in the UK or abroad;
• Increasing incentives for migrants working in the targeted occupations to come to the UK, or to stay in the UK; and
• Reducing barriers for businesses to progress initiatives that will contribute to meeting the net zero target or other environmental sustainability objectives.

These are discussed in turn below.

Incentives for international students to train in shortage occupations

In its rapid review of the Graduate route, published in May this year, the MAC confirmed that the Graduate route has broadly achieved the objectives set for it by the previous Government. These included assisting to increase the number of international students in higher education, and increasing the value of the UK’s education exports.

Changes to the Graduate route could be made in the future to encourage uptake of specific higher education qualifications, including to emphasise STEM and other qualifications that will equip students to obtain or develop a career in green jobs. This could include factors such as:

• Allowing for a three-year grant of Graduate route permission to those who complete priority qualifications (this is only currently available to those who complete a PhD or other doctoral qualification); and
• Allowing time spent on the Graduate route to count towards settlement in specific circumstances, for example where evidence is provided in the settlement application of having worked for a licenced Skilled Worker sponsor in a priority occupation during the validity of Graduate route permission (having a ‘licenced sponsor’ requirement could minimise the risk of fraudulent claims about work experience being made).

Direct changes to the Student route and/or inter-governmental agreements could also be considered to incentivise international students to consider studying priority courses in the UK before going on to fill green job roles abroad. 

Incentives for migrant workers to come to, or stay in the UK

Finding the workers to fill green jobs is already a global challenge. Aside from those with academic qualifications and professional experience, tradespeople and technicians are also critical for the creation of the infrastructure needed for a green transition. The UK’s messaging to those with the skills and willingness to do the required jobs should be inclusive, and its offer should be as attractive as possible. 

Some of the immigration-system factors that may incentivise individuals to choose the UK are:

• More competitive visa application fees, noting that the UK’s visa fees have risen substantially in recent years and are currently higher than competitor countries such as Canada, Germany, France and the USA;
• Quick processing times;
• Minimal bureaucracy in the application process; and
• Faster qualifying period for settlement, and/or allowing Graduate route work experience to count towards settlement, as discussed above.

Reducing barriers for businesses

The five point immigration plan introduced under the last Government aimed to suppress migration levels in the UK’s main work routes. The substantial increases to salary thresholds introduced under the policy have effectively priced-out many workers in occupations requiring skills below degree level, and workers towards the beginning of their career. This may significantly restrict the feasibility of sponsoring tradespeople and technicians to fill green jobs, as well dampening the offer of (and demand for) post-graduation sponsorship.

Measures that could reduce salary-based and other immigration system barriers for employers seeking to fill green jobs include:

• Introducing a reformed Shortage Occupation List or Priority Occupation List of occupations, with discounts or waiver of immigration-related application fees and/o the Immigration Skills Charge, and other benefits as recommended by the MAC;
• Reintroducing the offshore wind workers’ concession to assist with ramping up offshore wind generation facilities, by reducing the cost to international infrastructure providers of obtaining visas for their workers to install their equipment in the UK; 
• Introducing other industry-based visa concessions for international infrastructure, technology and other green industry businesses, to make concluding and executing partnership agreements and other contracts in the UK more financially viable. 

It is possible that any easing of immigration restrictions to boost the drive towards a greener economy could lead to tightening in others, due to the Government’s overarching aim to reduce net migration. Businesses sponsoring international workers may also be required to sign up to a workforce plan, fair pay agreement and/or workforce training commitments, in line with the Government’s stated plans for immigration system reform.

Where to for UK immigration after COP 29?

As the recent COP 29 summit illustrates, the world needs to accelerate progress on meeting net zero and other environmental objectives. The UK has ambitions to lead and work with other countries to achieve climate security. 

Immediately, and over the coming decades, more people will need to be adequately skilled and available fill a diverse and rapidly-evolving range of green jobs. They also should be as mobile as possible. 

The UK’s immigration system could be adjusted in various ways to prioritise students, workers and businesses capable of filling green jobs and advancing projects contributing to net zero and other environmental policies. However, policy changes in the last couple of years have placed an emphasis firmly on net migration reduction. 

It remains to be seen whether the planned combination of the MAC with Skills England, the Industrial Strategy Council, Department of Work and Pensions will provide evidence-based solutions that can accommodate the often-competing policy stances across Government. We should get a first glimpse of how the MAC grasps its expanded scope when its report on IT, telecoms and engineering occupations is published next May.

If you have any queries about the issues discussed in this article, please contact a member of our Immigration team.