Building a workforce for greener homes

The UK faces a major green skills shortage on the path to net zero. Research OVO commissioned with Energy & Utility Skills found that 362,000 workers would be needed by 2035 just to decarbonise our homes. Despite this huge demand, our consumer data revealed that fewer than 1 in 10 people in the UK had received any dedicated skills development, and less than 1 in 3 had even heard of green skills.

To bridge this gap, we launched a major policy report to outline exactly what was needed from businesses, educators, and the government to create a workforce capable of decarbonising UK homes.

We used our own operations to set a practical standard for the industry

We committed to upskilling 15,000 green roles across our own business, creating a trained workforce of energy advisors, tech surveyors, and low-carbon installers
We pledged to accelerate green home technology deployment by getting these trained specialists straight into communities to install heat pumps, solar panels, and EV smart chargers

Our recommendations to the decision-makers

Our report laid out a practical, data-backed blueprint to help UK decision-makers scale green skills nationwide. These policy recommendations included:

1. Boosting visibility of green roles in primary and secondary education through career conversations and fairs, so young people are aware of the different roles and paths available

2. Supporting better careers advice and guidance for young people by providing specialist training for careers advisors on green roles and access routes into green professions

3. Introducing green requirements into existing recertification assessments to make sure the workforce can successfully install emerging technology

4. Mapping out regional workforce and skills shortages, and addressing these gaps through partnerships with local education providers and businesses

5. Working with industry to ensure existing qualifications meet the needs people entering into the green skills sector, including reviewing the curriculum and assessment criteria

The appetite for this training was already clear. Our data showed that 61% of professionals believed developing green skills would make them more appealing to future employers, and 75% of young adults wished they had been given more information during their education. Our report mapped out the exact training pipelines needed to power the UK’s green transition and create thousands of sustainable trade careers.

Read the full Green Skills report

Discover how we're building a greener, fairer future for all

Building a workforce for greener homes

We used our own operations to set a practical standard for the industry

Our recommendations to the decision-makers

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