Tenders

Invitation to Tender: Regional Clean Energy Skills Coordination and Action Planning

The CESRAP has identified the scale of the challenge in meeting increasing demand for ‘foundational Industrial skills’ in the Clean Energy sector[1] up to 2030 and beyond. We anticipate this demand will be through both upskilling of the existing workforce and through effective programmes to engage new entrants to the sector.

The North West Clean Energy Jobs Evidence Base Report, produced by Opergy* and commissioned by OCEJ alongside the CESRAP, models demand at SOC4 code level based on the future project pipeline. It suggests:

• Core clean energy workforce rising from 19,500 in 2025 to c. 30,300 in 2030.
• Retrofit demand expanding from 71,276 in 2025 to c. 94,364 in 2030, and a projected 105,218 in 2035.

The North West Clean Power Report forecasts 35,000 new clean energy jobs by 2028 and billions in regional investment driven by national energy policy. This could position the North West as a global leader in clean energy innovation and industrial decarbonisation. A strong pipeline across nuclear, offshore wind, solar, tidal, hydrogen, Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS), electricity networks and retrofit will require major investment in skills, supply chains, infrastructure and workforce planning.

Opergy* modelling used a bottom-up approach to estimate clean energy employment across the North West and North Wales. It identified 221 operational projects and 476 in planning, indicating a strong near-term pipeline. The modelling suggests delivery will require a rapid expansion of the clean energy workforce, with demand rising from a 2025 baseline and shifting between occupations as projects move from construction to operations. It also shows uneven growth by sub-region and technology, alongside rising demand for higher-skilled roles.

Replacement demand from an ageing workforce will also be critical. Opergy’s modelling excludes this factor, but meeting it is expected to require a further 30%–40% uplift in recruitment and retraining to replace those reaching retirement age.

Specification

The consultant/s will facilitate the implementation of the Clean Energy Skills Regional Action Plan (CESRAP). They will assume ownership of the plan and ensure that it is embedded within regional skills planning – working with sub-regional skills leads, industry, and training providers to enable workforce development in pursuit of clean power 2030 and industrial decarbonisation. 

The CESRAP will act as a ‘living document’, and brief will include responsibility for: monitoring plan delivery, regularly updating the plan, reviewing metrics and adjusting priorities within the plan, and ensuring it responds to the evolving skills landscape and the needs of employers.

Alongside this work there will also be a wider programme of funded skills interventions funded by DESNZ.  These are currently in a design phase, and delivery will be coterminous with this project, and is expected to run between September and the end of March 2027. These are being designed to support CESRAP implementation by filling evidence base gaps, providing clearer line-of-sight to opportunities to access clean energy careers for residents and up-/re-skilling of staff for employers, and supporting an expansion of apprenticeship opportunities across the region. The consultant/s appointed to deliver this Regional Clean Energy Skills Coordination and Action Planning tender will also take responsibility, with support from the ECW Net Zero Programme Manager, for commissioning and day-to-day management of these workstreams.

The Clean Energy Sector definition includes Offshore Wind; Onshore Wind; Solar; Nuclear fusion; Nuclear fission; Smart Systems and Flexibility; Electricity Networks; Hydrogen; Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage; Greenhouse Gas Removals; Domestic & Non-Domestic Heat Pumps; Heat Networks; Biomethane; Energy Efficiency and Retrofit.

Project management

Day to day project management will be provided by Mike Wolffe, Net Zero Programme Manager at Enterprise Cheshire Warrington, and other colleagues as required. A steering group, composed of North West sub-regional skills leads, employers, industry representative bodies, and training providers will support and monitor project delivery.

The appointed consultant(s) should make allowance for regular check-ins with the lead officer, and for chairing of regular working group, steering group, and senior stakeholder updates.

Budget

A budget of up to £80,000 excl. VAT is available. Suppliers should quote against each activity in the pricing form provided, which must also show the daily rates for key members of staff / key delivery roles. This tender is subject to final funding agreement with DESNZ and the North West Net Zero Hub, which is expected before the end of August.

Outputs

• Build on the existing stakeholder mapping to support the implementation of the CESRAP.
• Develop the CESRAP communication plan, to gives residents and local businesses interested in the supply chain clear lines of sight for access to programmes, that form part of the Clean Energy transition.
• Support procurement and manage delivery of funded projects on the North West footprint designed to support CESRAP delivery.
• Identify potential sources of funding to support long-term embedding of projects developed over the next 8 months to support CESRAP delivery and long-term ambitions on Clean Power.
• Establish long-term boards and fora for Clean Energy Skills to ensure long-term employer and training provider coordination on this agenda at North West level.
• Identify other near-term projects and those potentially in scope for future implementation.
• Facilitate workshops and meetings with stakeholders to create buy-in to interventions, including employers, training providers and industry bodies.
• Identify metrics through which to measure the progress of activities identified in the CESRAP and its impact.
• Update and review the CESRAP, by March 2027, including scoping further research activities to support the evidence base for the plan.
• Work with the recently established CETEC and wider network of TECs and ITPs across the region to identify more strategic interventions that need to be in place at a north-west level to support the implementation of the CESRAP– e.g. new facilities, emerging regional specialisms, regional new entrant programmes.

Closing Date & Submission 

The closing date and time for the receipt of submissions and all requested documentation relating to this stage is 17:00 hours on 25^th August 2026. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Submissions will only be accepted if they are returned via email to tenders@cheshireandwarrington.com Bidders should not send their completed submissions to/copy in any other email address.

Tenderers are advised that it is compulsory to complete and return all of the following documents in the format provided as per the instructions of this ITT. All questions must be answered, where a question does not apply please state “Not applicable”.  Failure to complete the documents in full and/or provide all documentation will result in a non-compliant tender submission and will mean that your tender is not considered.

1. Form of Tender Declaration (Appendix 1)
2. Pricing Schedule (Appendix 2)
3. Supplier Technical Questions & Answer Sheet (Appendix 3)

Tender Queries

If you have any specific questions concerning this document or the process for submission of your proposal, then please email through to: tenders@cheshireandwarrington.com no later than 2026. Only questions submitted to this email address will be answered.  Queries received after this date will not be accepted and will not be responded to.

It would be most helpful if queries could be submitted in one email rather than piecemeal. If any question or request for clarification is considered to be of material significance, both the question and the response may be issued for review by all potential providers in a suitably anonymous form. All communication received from potential providers will be treated in strict confidence but are subject to this paragraph.