Page 33 - Swansea Skills Report 2024

Skills shortage in 4 key job roles and 3 sector challenges
holding back home decarbonisation - Energy Systems Catapult
Current Skill Requirements
Since 2018 Electrical, Heating and Plumbing jobs in
Swansea have seen a rapid decline (50% less in
2023). Also, a large decline in Civil Engineers (24%
less in 2023)
Job Posting intensity for construction roles has
intensified since 2021 especially for specialist
Engineers, Electricians, Plumbers and Elementary
construction roles. However, advertised wages have
only increased by around 10%
Within the last 12 months, the most advertised roles
are:
• Engineering Technicians
• Elementary Construction Occupations
• Electricians and Electrical Fitters
• Plumbers, Heating, ventilation Engineers
• Carpentry & Joiners
• Civil Engineers
• Quality Control, Surveying and Planning
Engineers
• Electrical and Electronic Trades
• Estimators, Valuers and Assessors
• Construction and Building Trades
The data is quite clear, Construction urgently require
a good through flow of electricians, plumbers and
engineers. This is of some concern as these are the
same transient skills Manufacturing and Energy
require.
Retrofit / Trust Mark
In the short term, there are skills gaps that need
prioritising to build a sustainable market and help
address existing latent demand, including roles in:
• Property pre & post retrofit assessment
• Advice and customer care
• Low carbon heating installation
• Technology integration
This challenge must be addressed collaboratively,
building on existing best practice, identifying gaps
and bringing together different elements of the
supply chain to create joined up solutions that will
work for customers and businesses alike
Construction
Geraldine Newton-Cross, Commercial
Director at Energy Systems Catapult,
“Decarbonising our homes is an urgent
challenge. If consumers are to welcome
changes to their heating systems at the
pace required to meet our carbon budget,
they need professionals who can hold
their hand as they retrofit their homes,
not just provide piecemeal
recommendations about favoured
technologies.”
“Consumers need support to understand
the cost and performance trade-offs of
different approaches. This requires a new
approach to be adopted across the energy
services sector – requiring new jobs and
new skills, including in digital
technologies and data – to implement
decarbonisation measures at the pace and
scale demanded.”
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