What the National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline 2021 means for energy and utilities - EU Skills

What the National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline 2021 means for energy and utilities

Nearly £650bn of public and private investment is planned across all sectors over the next 10 years

Electrical engineer women

Following the recent publication of the government’s National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline policy paper, Energy & Utility Skills today issues a report that discusses what this pipeline holds for our sector.

The headlines:

  • Of the procurements in the current financial year (2021/22), none relate to the energy and utilities sector (outside of nuclear decommissioning)
  • Of the known/planned investments from 2021/22 onwards, the wider energy sector (including all forms of generation, nuclear decommissioning and oil & gas) account for 51% – £202bn
    • £151bn of this investment sits within wind energy, energy from waste, photovoltaics and other generation technologies
  • From 2021/22 onwards, there is at least £43bn of investment in the utilities (electricity, gas and water distribution)
    • However, as the values of the next price control reviews is currently unknown, the exact amount to be invested through to 2030/31 is unknown
    • The value of the currently unknown regulatory investments is estimated to be around £54.3m in the 10-year projections
  • Over the next four years (2021/22 to 2024/25) an average of at least 425,000 people will be required to deliver the £200bn of planned investments
    • Delivering these investments will mean bringing more workers into the infrastructure workforce, through new apprentices, technicians and graduates and attracting skilled workers from other industries. It will also mean retraining and up-skilling the existing workforce to support improved productivity and performance.

For more detail, including breakdowns of future investments, a regional analysis of where construction activity will be taking place and a workforce demand analysis, please view the National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline Summary Report.

For further information on the data contained in the summary, or to discuss how the labour market may affect your organisation’s talent attraction and retention strategies, please contact Rob Murphy, Workforce Planning Consultant on rob.murphy@euskills.co.uk or 07834 751608.