Low carbon industries rely on foreigners coming to work in UK

August 13 2009 by Rebekah Nahai

Energy sector needs workers to move to UK

A leading green recruitment specialist says the UK low carbon industry is suffering serious skills shortages and will increasingly rely on foreign workers.

Acre Resources claims that existing skills shortages will worsen as the government expands its Low Carbon Transition Plan.

The UK government says it wants to create 1.2 million low-carbon jobs over the next ten years. But many claim it will not achieve this without focusing education on engineering skills at a time when enrolment numbers are dropping in university engineering programs.

Ben Cartland of Acre Recruitment says the skills will have to be found among foreign nationals who want to work in the UK.

He says, "If you are looking to recruit people with technical skills, there is without a doubt a serious skills shortage across the board, and we are having to look further afield to fill vacancies.”

Cartland explains that technically trained people looking to move to the UK to work in the renewable energy sector will have no trouble obtaining a work visa.

A recent survey of 1,000 climate change professionals around the world found that 37% of those who work in the UK are not British citizens.

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