Heat networks industry calls for collaboration to map 35,000 new jobs
The Association for Decentralised Energy
As part of an initiative to support the creation of the estimated 35,000 jobs that will be required to enable heat networks to supply around a fifth of the UK’s heat by 2050 – the Heat Networks Industry Council has today announced a nationwide workforce skills survey.
According to the Committee on Climate Change, to meet net zero cost effectively, low carbon heat networks will need to supply around 20 per cent of heat by 2050. Growing the heat network sector to this level – from around the 2-3 per cent currently supplied – offers substantial economic opportunities both in job creation and some £60 – £80 billion of investment. To support the achievement of that ambition, a survey of the current skills within the sector has been commissioned by the Heat Networks Industry Council (HeatNIC), a joint industry and Government forum.
This work builds on a similar smaller survey that was carried out in 2022, but with key changes to the methodology and an expansion the pool of potential respondents to ensure that a greater proportion of the sector is represented.
Speaking at the ADE’s annual Heat Network Conference, Charlotte Large, director of strategy and decarbonisation, Bring Energy, a member of HeatNIC’s skills working group said: “Heat networks are expected to grow exponentially, but to develop at the pace required we need the skills, jobs, and knowledge to make it happen.
“By having a better understanding of the talent and skills available across the country, we can plan effectively and mobilise a workforce that is able to deliver low-carbon heating across towns and cities throughout the UK”.
This announcement comes at a time when the UK Government is preparing its plans for the creation of heat network zones in towns and cities from 2025, a measure that is set to further speed up the development of heat networks and utilise sources of waste heat inside the designated zones.
Toby Powell, operations director, Hemiko also a member of HeatNIC’s skills working group added: “We’re calling on our colleagues throughout the sector to respond to this survey as it’s imperative that we can fully assess the extent of the current workforce within our industry.”
“This isn’t just for those directly involved in constructing heat networks, we want to hear from all organisations participating in the sector – even if this isn’t their main activity. This could include local authorities, housing providers, investment companies and owner/operators of campus-based systems such as universities and hospital sites. The list is huge.
“If their organisation has one or hundreds of people involved in any aspect of heat networks, we really want to hear from them. It’s important to note that our survey has been streamlined to make it very quick and easy to complete and at no point will any personal information be needed as the skills survey element is anonymous.”
HeatNIC’s skills working group believes that in taking this collaborative approach to skills development, it will also help participating organisations grow and develop their own talent pools of future skills. Significant and rapid growth is expected and there needs to be a plethora of suitable skilled workers ready and willing to deliver in the heat network sector.
Survey WebinarFor any organisations wishing to find out more and participate in the survey, HeatNIC is hosting a short webinar that takes place via MS Teams at 11.00 am on Tuesday 14th May.
This one-hour event will contain a brief introduction into HeatNIC’s aims and why the survey is so important for the heat network sector; the headline findings from the 2022 survey and a quick run through what is required in order to easily complete the much-improved 2024 survey. There will also be time at the end of the session for any questions attendees may have.
To register for this event on the 14th of May 2024, please visit: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/294f6e73-4ebc-41ea-9665-3c9df681f0c4@cbac7005-02c1-43eb-b497-e6492d1b2dd8
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About the Heat Networks Industry Council
The Heat Networks Industry Council (HeatNIC) is a joint industry and Government forum that exists to grow the low-carbon heat network sector and help deliver long-term transformation of the UK energy system.
Industry members committed to investing in the growth of the sector have come together with representatives from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance to ensure that heat networks can play a pivotal role in meeting our net zero targets.
The HeatNIC board – which is co-chaired by Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance and John Marsh, Chief Operating Officer of BUUK Infrastructure – includes senior representatives from the leading organisations in the sector, Vattenfall Heat UK, Vital Energi, Switch2, SSE, Hemiko, E.ON, Bring Energy and the ADE.
The Heat Network Industry Council aims to: