MPs warn of UK “brain drain” without green skills investment

Investment in skills and businesses is vital if the UK is not to suffer a debilitating brain drain, a new report by the UK parliament’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee has stated.

The report cited that digital and green skills shortages are a major restraint to the UK’s chronic lack of productivity growth, calling on the government to revive the Green Skills Taskforce.  

MPs concluded that research and development funding had “fallen behind” competitors’, suggesting the government should work constructively with businesses on developing regulation. 

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Sector Response

Agata Nowakowska, AVP EMEA at Skillsoft: 

“As new green technologies emerge and businesses adapt to more sustainable practices, new green skills are becoming ever more necessary to fulfil new job roles. The rapid pace of the move towards sustainability is only contributing to an existing skills gap.

“The good news is that this is only another facet of an existing problem, which many businesses have already begun to solve. The rapid pace of digital transformation over the last few years has meant that most jobs are constantly evolving to require new skills. Few workers will have all the skills and knowledge they will need across their careers when they enter the workforce.

“The key to filling these ever-evolving gaps is for organisations to develop a culture of lifelong learning, where training is prioritised throughout their employees’ careers.