The Characteristics of Energy Employment in a System-wide Context

Anticipated changes in energy provision over the next decades will likely have major implications on employment within energy activities. To understand the possible consequences, many studies have considered the level and types of employment in existing energy technologies. Using the hypothetical extraction approach for the UK, we explore the employment in and supported by energy activities - including across occupations and skills categories. We show that the impact on occupation and skills across the whole economy is more evenly spread than the employment in individual sectors. From the empirical results presented here, it is evident that the system-wide demands for skills - including not only the direct, but also knock-on effects across the economy - can change the pattern of labour market needs, which have implications for labour market planning in the low carbon transition.