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How to address the skills gap in a future UK hydrogen economy
8/10/2025
8 min read
Feature
The energy transition faces a serious challenge on the skills front. In October 2024, the UK government released the ‘Invest 2035’ industrial strategy. This green paper allocated £21.7bn over 25 years to position the UK as a global leader in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and the hydrogen sector. However, a significant skills deficit poses a barrier to investment. A new Energy Systems Catapult position paper suggests mapping the required roles, upskilling and attracting talent to the hydrogen workforce and developing targeted training programmes. Here, Energy Institute (EI) Energy Transition Technical Officer Chimwemwe Kamwela AMEI provides an edited version of the paper.
The UK government has committed to deploy 10 GW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, for use in flexible power generation, storage, and green steel and other ‘hard to abate’ industries, with at least half coming from electrolytic hydrogen. The plan involves significant investments, including £500mn for green hydrogen and £1bn for CCUS.
However, there is a notable shortage of workers with necessary STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills, exacerbated by the rapid acceleration of the energy transition to meet government targets. A recent publication by the Hydrogen Skills Alliance (HSA) identified a need to grow the UK hydrogen workforce to more than 25,000 by 2030.
Reskilling those from more mature industries can prevent loss of experience. Furthermore, specialised courses and training programmes tailored to the hydrogen sector must be developed. Without investment, the UK risks a skills shortage that could hinder the development of hydrogen infrastructure and delay progress towards net zero targets. Collaboration between government, industry and educational institutions is essential to align efforts and resources, ensuring that the workforce is prepared for the demands of the transition to hydrogen.