Apprenticeships and proper training are vital for the replacement of Scotland's ageing electrical industry workforce.

SELECT made the call as it welcomed the publication of the new Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) report issued by The Electrotechnical Skills Partnership (TESP) and funded by industry charity NET.

Carried out by research experts Pye Tait, the detailed study provides up-to-date information on the UK electrotechnical sector in terms of its size, workforce demography, and the challenges and opportunities that it faces.

As part of its dedicated regional focus, the LMI contained a 'snapshot report' for Scotland which showed that:

• 19,600 individuals currently work in Scotland as electricians and electrical fitters

• 54% of workers are in the 25-49 age bracket, compared to the UK figure of 50%

• 77% anticipate a demand for more qualified electricians, compared to the UK figure of 54%

• 70% believe that greater promotion of electrotechnical careers is needed to tackle recruitment problems, compared to the UK figure of 49%.

The LMI also showed that respondents in Scotland have a slightly more optimistic view of preparedness of job applicants, with 60% saying that have the skills they require to do the job well, compared to the UK figure of 58%.

Fiona Harper, Director of Employment & Skills at SELECT, said: "As always, this report provides a fascinating glimpse of current trends in the industry north of the Border, and also pinpoints the need to replace an ageing workforce with fully-skilled electricians.

"This recognition doesn't just lie with training bodies and trade associations, but also the contractors themselves, who believe we need to better promote the industry to attract the talent of tomorrow and equip them with the knowledge required to fill the skills gap."

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The LMI study also suggests that the current demand for renewable expertise is being met better in Scotland. Respondents said they have the necessary skills for EV charging equipment installation (59%), electrical energy storage systems (50%) and heat pump installation and design (46%), compared to 34%, 31% and 25% respectively across the UK. 

Looking to the future, some 89% of respondents in Scotland also anticipated demand for qualified electricians as a direct result of new technologies, compared to the UK-wide figure of 53%. 

Ms Harper, who is also The Secretary of the Scottish Joint Industry Board (SJIB), added: "These figures suggest that contractors north of the Border already see things slightly differently when it comes to renewables, both in terms of the skills they currently have and what will be required to meet demand going forward.

"It's pleasing to see contractors looking to the future and recognising the seismic shift that such technology will bring – and how vital it will be to have a suitably skilled workforce to navigate the many challenges and grasp the many opportunities that lay ahead."

In its findings across the UK as a whole, the TESP LMI showed an increased focus on low-carbon activities and a rise in expected demand for qualified electricians and apprentices.

With a total workforce of around 276,000, best case scenario calculations estimate around 33,000 additional workers are needed by 2027. Of those employers questioned, 54% and 49% respectively expect demand for qualified electricians and apprentices to increase over next two to three years.

There has been more work associated with net zero carbon agenda compared to 2020, with an increased number of businesses undertaking related activities such as heat pump installations (15% in 2023 vs 7% in 2020), micro renewables (18% vs 12%), grid-sized renewables (11% vs 6%) and electrical performance certification (23% vs 3%).

When looking at which technologies are likely to have most significant impact over the next three years, responses included energy efficiency management (38%), EV or vehicle to grid infrastructure (31%), automation (21%) and network/wi-fi enabled devices (20%).

Some 53% foresee no challenges in adopting new technology, up from 19% in 2018/19, indicating increased business confidence. However the hardest roles to fill were cited as supervisors (73%), apprentices (53%), and directors/managers (50%). The highest volumes of hard-to-fill roles are for skilled electricians and apprentices.

Main future challenges employers highlight included labour pool and skills shortages, new technologies, net zero targets and rising costs. Barriers to net zero technology adoption include lack of available training, upskilling costs and insufficient government guidance and funding.

Drawing together all findings in the report, Pye Tait state the two largest challenges the industry is currently facing are attracting a sufficient number of high-quality recruits and upskilling the existing workforce to meet changing technological needs.

The findings were derived from a telephone survey of employers. Of the 467 total respondents, 31 were based in Scotland.