Andrew Eldred, Chief Operating Officer at the Electrical Contractors’ Association, warns that without urgent action to train and retain skilled electricians, Britain’s decarbonisation goals may slip beyond reach.
The United Kingdom’s net zero ambition is at risk – not due to a lack of technologies, but because of a lack of skilled electricians to install and maintain them. Electrical apprenticeship starts in England have fallen by 10% this year, and a projected shortfall of 15,000 electricians over the next five years signals that the workforce needed to deliver electrification is at risk of shrinking at the very moment it is needed most.
As the Government pushes forward its Clean Power Action Plan and sets out its strategic decision on decarbonising heat, it must address the reality that without a strong electrical workforce, these policies will falter.
A growing skills gap
The electrical industry is the backbone of the net zero transition, yet it struggles to train new talent at the required pace and scale. The problem extends beyond recent declines in apprenticeship numbers – there is a fundamental disconnect between education and employment.
Fewer than 8% of individuals completing government-funded, classroom-based electrical courses progress to apprenticeships within a year. This means thousands of aspiring electricians eager to enter the industry are unable to do so because the system doesn’t have the capacity to support them.
The growing shortage of qualified electricians risks delaying the rollout of key infrastructure projects and technologies, including EV charging stations, energy storage systems, and heat pumps – directly impacting the UK’s ability to meet ambitious net zero targets.
Without a stronger talent pipeline, labour costs for electrical installations will rise, making green technologies less accessible for businesses and consumers.
Fixing the skills pipeline
Recent apprenticeship reforms in England, including shorter minimum durations and increased flexibility over English and Maths requirements, may benefit lower skilled sectors. They do nothing, however, to help address the specific challenges faced by the electrical industry, where rigorous training, high academic standards, and extensive hands-on experience are non-negotiable.
If the UK is serious about meeting net zero targets, as well as ‘Breaking Down the Barriers to Opportunity’, it must prioritise commercial and residential green electrical skills training with the same urgency as large-scale clean energy generation. A coordinated effort between government, industry, and education providers is needed to break down these barriers.
The Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) has been leading efforts to close this gap through targeted initiatives; launching our Recharging Electrical Skills Charter in England in 2023, then our Electrical Skills Index and Welsh Recharging Electrical Skills Charter in 2024. However, broader systemic changes are still needed to secure the workforce of the future.
1. Scaling up apprenticeships and equivalent training routes
A key part of the solution is increasing apprentice numbers again, ensuring that young people eager to enter the profession have a clear and supported route into skilled employment. A lot of this is about funding levels, which currently differ significantly from one part of the UK to another. Better apprenticeship funding should in turn help to improve training providers’ ability to attract and retain high-calibre staff, as well as encouraging English FE colleges to move away from their current over-reliance on cheaper, ‘dead-end’ classroom-based electrical courses.
Other industry-recognised training routes, including adult NVQ and Experienced Worker Assessment, should also receive public funding to enable career changers and semi-skilled industry workers to transition into competent, fully qualified electricians.
All-ages state funding in Sweden means that 30% of new electricians qualify as adults in this way. In the UK, by contrast, inadequate adult education funding forces many to self-finance training – and in too many cases falling prey to unscrupulous commercial businesses, poor quality courses, and oppressive loan agreements.
2. Strengthening collaboration
The skills challenge cannot be solved in isolation. A more coordinated, inclusive approach is essential to align training with real-world needs and ensure apprenticeship opportunities are widely accessible. ECA is working in close partnership with key industry bodies – including TESP, NET, JIB, NICEIC, and Unite the Union – to help bridge this gap, but wider collaboration is needed.
The establishment of Skills England presents an opportunity for a unified skills strategy, bringing together employers, government, trade unions, and education providers to drive reform. This means addressing the various funding challenges, plus the disconnect between classroom-based qualifications and employment routes.
It also involves Skills England making a decisive break from the one-size-fits all mentality that has unfortunately characterised much of skills policy in England over many years and from governments of all complexions. Genuine co-creation, as promoted in Wales, where ECA already enjoys strong and productive relations with both Welsh Government and Medr, could be a beneficial model for England to follow.
With regional skills devolution gaining traction, collaboration between industry, education providers and combined authorities offers an additional opportunity to improve skills delivery and funding outcomes at a local level.
3. Fix the funding model for SMEs
Despite the urgent need for more apprentices, the current funding model fails to incentivise small businesses, who make up over 99% of the sector. While the Government covers 95% of training costs, it does not cover apprentice wages or compensate employers for the time and resources invested whilst supporting apprentices, particularly in the earlier years. This acts as a major disincentive for small firms.
As a result, many experienced electricians who could train the next generation simply cannot afford to take on apprentices, further restricting workforce growth. Recent increases in apprentice minimum wage rates (a 40% increase in two years) exacerbate the issue, meaning that this year’s downward trend in electrical apprentice starts might continue and even accelerate further in future. We now urgently require direct financial support for SME employers, whether through tax reliefs, wage subsidies, or additional funding for apprentice mentoring and support during the first two years.
Invest now, or fall later
Electricians have been overlooked for too long. Their expertise is essential to rolling out the technologies needed to reach net zero. Yet, unlike other sectors, electrical skills cannot be learned during a shorter duration apprenticeship or ‘bootcamp’; they require rigorous training and years of hands-on experience.
Young people want these careers – thousands enrol in government-funded electrical courses every year, yet only a fraction progress into apprenticeships. The demand is there, but the system fails to support them. Without urgent reform, the UK risks squandering a generation of talent at a time when it is needed most.
The Government has a choice: invest in the workforce now or face the consequences of stalled projects, rising costs, and missed climate targets.
