Yesterday at Education Questions I asked the Minister for Skills how the Government plans to point young people towards green jobs. There are so many opportunities for young people – from retrofitting houses to restoring wetlands – and they will be a vital part of achieving the transition to Net Zero. But young people aren’t often made aware of the skills or qualifications needed to equip them for these roles. In many cases, they simply don’t know these opportunities exist.

In my role as shadow Minister for Climate Change I have regular meetings with businesses and agencies involved in delivering on net zero; the lack of a skills strategy is raised time and time again. Without proper forward planning we risk missing out on a generation of talent. We need clear pathways into work with apprenticeships, training courses, and a guarantee that there is a job waiting at the end.

Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan will put £28bn a year of investment into tackling climate change, leading to the creation of hundreds of thousands of new green jobs. We want young people to be ready to seize the opportunities ahead of them. As Government ministers themselves take up new jobs this week, I hope a skills strategy for green jobs will be top of their agenda.

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