Cautious welcome for Clean Energy Jobs Plan — but questions remain on delivery and skills capacity
Industry Wales has given a cautious welcome to the UK Government’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan, recognising the ambition to create up to 20,000 new clean energy jobs in Wales by 2030 and establish a Technical Excellence College in Pembrokeshire.
While supportive of the intent and investment, Industry Wales warns that questions remain around delivery, particularly how Wales will find the people, training capacity and resources to meet the scale of demand.
Dr Jenifer Baxter, Chief Executive of Industry Wales, said:
“This is a welcome and forward-looking plan that aligns with Wales’s industrial strengths, but we must now turn strategy into action. The challenge is one of capacity at every level — not only finding people to fill new roles, but also ensuring we have enough qualified instructors, assessors and training providers to deliver them.”
“Wales’s economy is built on SMEs, and their voice must be central to delivery. These businesses need access to funding, flexible training routes and partnerships that enable them to participate in and benefit from the clean energy transition.”
“We urgently need clear data on the nature of these ‘green jobs’ — what skills are required, what courses already exist, and where the gaps are. Training programmes for electricians, welders and plumbers typically take years; we must find ways to upskill and retrain at scale and pace.”
“There are strong foundations to build on. Medr – the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research – is well placed to coordinate a Wales-wide Green Skills Framework aligning UK and Welsh Government policy with industry needs. But this can only work through genuine collaboration and long-term investment.”
“Wales already has many of the components of a green skills framework within its existing apprenticeship structures, but with the closure of Industry Wales, there is a risk of losing the expertise that connects these systems and ensures they respond to real industrial demand.”
“We have an opportunity to lead the UK in clean energy capability — yet delivery will depend on coordinated investment, agile frameworks and practical partnerships that close the gap between policy ambition and industrial reality.”
Industry Wales calls for urgent action in four areas
Framework and coordination
A Wales-focused Green Skills Framework, co-developed by industry, Medr, Welsh and UK Governments, and the FE/HE sector to define responsibilities, funding and measurable outcomes.Immediate priorities
Expand clean energy courses; fast-track upskilling; enable SMEs to form training partnerships; and recruit experienced engineers and technicians — including retirees — into teaching roles.Teaching and training capacity
Introduce incentives to attract industry experts into education and build shared teaching resources and digital learning platforms to overcome current staff shortages.Data and workforce analysis
Develop a unified approach to skills data — mapping current provision, future needs and training outcomes to inform evidence-based workforce planning.
Policy alignment
This announcement builds on ongoing commitments, including the Welsh Government’s Net Zero Skills Action Plan, the UK’s Clean Power 2030 Mission, and regional initiatives such as Floating Offshore Wind in North Wales, hydrogen developments in Deeside and South Wales, and the Celtic Freeport.
Industry Wales emphasises the need for these programmes to be strategically joined up, with shared objectives, consistent data and a coordinated delivery framework.
Background
On 19 October 2025, the UK Government announced its Clean Energy Jobs Plan, projecting up to 860,000 UK-wide clean energy roles by 2030. Wales is expected to see an increase of up to 15,000 additional jobs compared with 2023.
A new Technical Excellence College in Pembrokeshire will form part of a £2.5 million pilot to expand regional clean energy training.
Industry Wales represents Wales’s advanced manufacturing, technology and net zero sectors, working with industry, academia and government to align policy with industrial delivery.