The UK energy transition is often framed as a technology challenge: more renewables, more networks, more flexibility, more storage. All true. And at a faster pace than we’re currently doing it.
But the Energy UK / Young Energy Professionals (YEP) Forum report ‘Meeting the Challenge’ is a timely reminder that there’s another constraint that could decide whether we deliver at pace: people.
Not because young professionals aren’t interested. In fact, the opposite is true. The report finds the sector is largely meeting (or exceeding) with 95% of YEPs planning staying in the industry. It’s seen as purpose-driven, offering meaningful careers with genuine climate impact. And having been in energy for a decade, I can certainly see why they’re saying this.
So what’s the problem?
Navigation. Access. Structure.
Put simply: demand for energy careers is high but the route in (and route up) still isn’t clear or equal. How can you have a career in energy if you don’t know what opportunities it offers you?
Interest is high. Access isn’t.
One of the most striking messages is that the sector’s appeal is not the issue. The industry has the ingredients many people want: purpose, scale, innovation, stability.
Yet barriers to entry persist, especially for people who don’t already know the map. The report highlights:
- Unclear career pathways
- Limited visibility of routes into the sector
- A perception that jobs are concentrated in a few places
That’s a communications challenge as much as it is an HR one. If people can’t see themselves in the sector (or can’t see how to get in) they’ll choose something else, even if energy is exactly where they’d thrive.
This is where we need to speak to two groups at once:
- Those already considering energy, who need clearer signposting and confidence in progression
- Those who haven’t considered it, who need to understand just how broad “a job in energy” really is
Location, location, location
The report also surfaces a practical barrier that too often gets glossed over: geography.
Those outside of London were more than twice as likely to cite a lack of jobs in desirable locations. That reflects uneven job distribution and uneven awareness of opportunities that do exist regionally.
If we’re serious about building a workforce at the scale required, we can’t keep fishing in the same talent pools. Energy is a nationwide system. Our talent approach has to be nationwide too with opportunities, pathways and visibility that match. And more than that, some regions are energy rich. Humberside is playing a leading role in our offshore wind industry, for example.
Training is the risk line
The transition will require hundreds of thousands of additional roles by 2050. That’s not incremental hiring; it’s a structural workforce expansion.
The report is clear that current training pathways aren’t yet meeting that reality. Skills development is inconsistent across organisations, and training isn’t always structured around what the future system will need.
The recommendation is straightforward and urgent: targeted, flexible, role-specific training pathways, aligned to Net Zero skills.
From a communications perspective, this matters because training is part of the value proposition. People don’t just choose a job – they choose what they might become or even a boss that inspires them. We need to be better at showing what development looks like in practice, not just promising it.
Retention is strong
Once in the sector, employees tend to be pretty keen on staying. And that’s a real positive.
But it also flags how fragile that could be if the foundations don’t hold:
- Clear progression routes
- Ongoing development
- Feeling supported and valued
Retention is currently a strength. It won’t stay that way by accident.
The coordination issue
Another theme running through the report is the lack of a joined-up approach. Workforce planning can’t be left to individual organisations acting in isolation – not when the system-wide build-out requires shared foresight and shared capability.
The call is for better coordination across industry, government and regulators, using workforce data to predict skill needs and plan recruitment strategically. And a theme that came out of our event on Powering the Change, was the importance of talking about the energy sector, not solar, or wind, or any other technology in isolation. We all recognise the need to have a proper mix of technologies, so we should support access for all.
That’s the shift we need to make: from “we’re all hiring” to “we’re building a workforce”.
How to tell a better story
If we want to unlock the workforce we need, we have to communicate energy careers as mainstream roles for everyone.
We can’t be bound by just thinking about a narrow range of titles. We need engineering and field roles, yes, but also digital, data, cyber, customer operations, product, finance, policy, programme delivery, communications.
And it means broadening the “why”. Net Zero is vital but so is energy security. A stronger workforce doesn’t just decarbonise; it makes the system more resilient, more reliable, and better able to withstand shocks. That’s a public-good story people can feel. And more than that, if we really get progress right on this, bills come down. For all the headlines energy is creating today, it’s not inspiring action. It’s important we use its moment in the spotlight to tell a story that encourages more and more people to undertake a fulfilling, rewarding career in the sector.
Whether your communications challenge is on recruitment, or something else. Get in touch with one of our energy experts.
