UK Solar Skills Shortage – Helping Break Down the Barrier
- Scott Burrows
- Sep 23, 2024
- 3 min read
The UK became the first G7 country to sign into law a commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To this end, in 2023, the Rt Hon Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Review highlighted the need for 70GW of Solar by 2035 and, with this, a UK Government Solar Taskforce to help achieve it and overcome key barriers.
A lack of relevant skills was identified as one of these barriers and so the Solar Taskforce, administered by Solar Energy UK, includes a skills subgroup. Tracey Elliott, Eden Sustainable’s fantastic Director and Head of People has been a real driving force within the subgroup.
Youth Empowerment and Skills – Eden's Track Record
Over the years, Eden has taken every opportunity to empower young people with work experience opportunities, many going on to provide key roles within Eden. Back in 2015, Eden signed up a Spanish university student, Pedro, as an intern. Pedro became Eden’s first employee and is now successfully building solar farms in Spain.
In 2021 Eden recruited a young talented team of 3 young people via the UK Government’s Kickstart scheme to join our Sales and Design teams. The Kickstart scheme helped young unemployed people into work. One of these, Rudi, worked hard at Eden and ended up receiving the coveted Young Energy Professional at the Award Solar and Storage Awards. A proud moment for us all!
Luke, The Engineer
In the summer of 2024, Eden was delighted to welcome Luke Stapleton to our North Devon office for work experience. Luke was hoping to build some experience to go with his forthcoming university applications. Luke is a student at West Buckland School, one of Eden’s solar customers and on meeting Luke we were very impressed – so jumped at the chance to offer him some work experience. It was clear he was going to be an asset in the short time he was with us. Turning up fresh from the passing his driving test on the first morning at Eden, Luke then spent some time with different teams including Design, Sales and our Operations and Maintenance teams. Despite the undoubted glamour of helping the O&M team, the most fun was had with the marketing team!
“Hi, I’m Luke, and this is my school. The UK’s Largest Solar School”
Having already learned about solar and the benefits for organisations such as schools, Luke proved to be a natural in front of the camera as we went back to site over a few days and Luke told us all about the schools very own, Eden installed, solar arrays. This was particularly interesting as we now believe West Buckland has more solar powering it than any other individual school in the UK! At over 500kW it takes the crown from Manchester’s Wellacre Academy (which has 430kW) which, you’ve guessed it, Eden Funded and Constructed in 2016!
Eden and Solar Energy UK at Solar and Storage Live
We are very excited to be taking some talented young students to the NEC to work with Solar Energy UK where we will be interviewing the industry about the Skills Barrier. Watch this space as no doubt we will be writing another blog on this!
And finally: a reminder - why chose solar power?
By choosing our Solar PPA solutions, you are not only investing in the success of your business but also contributing to a cleaner, greener planet for generations to come. With a solar panel PPA you can:
Save Money
Protect your business from soaring energy bills and enjoy significant long-term cost savings with predictable, competitive energy rates. Furthermore, with no upfront cost and no debt on your balance sheet – we call it the ‘Zero Capital’ solution.
Drive Impact
You will immediately be reducing your carbon footprint and will enhance your organisations' sustainability credentials.
Be a part of the solution - get involved!
Ready to take the next step towards a more sustainable future? Contact us today to learn more about our Solar PPA solutions and how they can benefit your business. Let's work together to power a brighter tomorrow.
Stay tuned for more updates and insights from Eden Sustainable as we continue to lead the charge towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.
