6
| 14TH - 20TH FEBRUARY 2020 | UTILITY WEEK
Utility of the Future: Business models and skills
W
hatever your viewpoint on Brexit, the pre-
recorded Big Ben bongs followed by pallid illu-
minations on to No 10 Downing Street seemed
an unceremonious end to a long UK union with its Euro-
pean partners.
But immediately the promised policy announcements
started, even though their full impact will become appar-
ent only once the Budget outcome and Cabinet restruc-
ture is clear.
Even before then, we know that infrastructure is
being cited as a golden egg for the economy, and "skills"
have immediately taken centre stage with political ƒ g-
ures weighing in.
Home secretary Priti Patel said employers have
become "far too reliant" on cheap labour from the Euro-
pean Union, and that ministers will prioritise migration
of high-skilled workers. Prime minister Boris Johnson
The problem: a skills crisis
Where are we going to fi nd
the workers of the future?
echoed these sentiments, seeking to restrict access to
lower skilled migrant workers earlier than stated, to
stimulate British jobs for British workers.
The newly planned "Global Talent Visa" was
announced, seeking to make the UK open to fast-track
access from the best global talent.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson briefed the
New Statesman on "environmentally led learning" and
his job to "make sure that we meet our environmental
obligations by equipping our workforce with the right
skills".
"People need to learn about environmental sustain-
ability and prepare for a greener future. Green industries
that will be the employers of tomorrow are rapidly evolv-
ing," he was quoted saying.
Immediately the counterpoints appeared, with the
ƒ rst minister for Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, explaining
The utilities sector was heading for a skills shortage even before
the challenge of meeting net zero emerged. In the fi rst part of this
report, EU Skills' Nick Ellins sets the scale of the problem – and in
the following pages we suggest some solutions.
