Government Renewable Energy Targets Skills Shortage
With under 10 years to go before the EU targets for the UK to cut emissions by 20% many experts say this may impossible to achieve because of a severe lack of skills in the renewable energy sector.
As for many years now youngster who go to university don’t study science topics preferring service related or to go into other areas such as teaching. Now experts are suggesting that there aren’t simply enough qualified engineers, physicists and mathematicians with the right skills to develop and install the machinery required.
Touch Measures for Renewable Sources
The main targets under the EU rules set out is for the UK to get 15% of it’s primary energy from renewable sources by 2020 and at the same time under another target it has a legal obligation to cut carbon emissions by 34% by 2020 under the 2008 climate change act.
These would be tough enough given the right amount of skilled workers available but with time running out the government now needs a serious plan to entice UK students to study these disciplines, retrain existing workers or import the talent from overseas.
So far in an attempt to address the issue the government has set up another quango entitled the National Skills Academy for Power but experts suggest that this is not nearly enough and in addition no one within government seems to want to own this project.
Even the head of the National Grid, Steve Holliday, mentioned in a recent speech that “Jobs in the energy industry lie at the heart of modern society. Yet they are still undervalued in our education system. We have to make engineering and science more attractive. Inventing and creating the future, not mending things, is what science and technology is all about”
No Physics Teacher in Schools
The actual problem lies in the most basic of teachings in that even now 1 in 4 secondary schools in the UK doesn’t have a physics teacher to teach the subject which backs up claims that sciences are no longer wanted as subjects by pupils. People see the massive bonuses paid in the financial services industry and want a part of that.
TV programmes perhaps also play a apart and many people want to start their own businesses – mainly in the service sector – after a raft of business related programmes have been aired over recent years.
No Plumbers and no Electricians Either
If you have ever tried to find a qualified plumber or electrician to undertake work on your house and does a great job you’ll know that they are hard to find. And this also goes with the plans for the government’s massive roll out of smart meters for every home in the UK over the next 10 years or so.
The meters are easy to make but there is now a shortage of qualified people to install them into homes. Billions are being invested into renewable energy sources such as wind farms and incentives for people to install solar panels and sell their electricity back to the grid via feed in tariffs but with the shortage of people to install everything and connect all the parts together this big government ambition may fall flat on its back unless radical educational changes are undertaken.
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