Cheshire’s world-class clean energy sector spearheads regional action plan designed to fuel 35,000 jobs

Cheshire’s world leading clean energy sector will play a pivotal role in the creation of 35,000 jobs as leaders backed a shared plan to fuel industrial decarbonisation across the North West and North Wales.

The newly published Clean Energy Skills Regional Action Plan and accompanying North West Clean Energy Jobs Evidence Base Final Report set out how industry, education providers and local government can work together to build the workforce needed to deliver the UK's clean energy ambitions while creating new opportunities for residents, businesses and communities.

The evidence shows demand for clean energy workers across the North West and North Wales is expected to grow significantly over the next decade, driven by investment in nuclear power, offshore wind, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, electricity networks, home retrofit programmes and other clean energy technologies.

The region's clean energy workforce is forecast to grow from around 19,500 workers today to more than 30,000 by 2030, peaking at almost 35,000 jobs in 2028. The research also identifies a requirement for at least 16,000 additional workers over the next four to five years.

Cheshire and Warrington is at the forefront of this amid the region's national strengths in clean energy, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and innovation such as ORIGIN at Ellesmere Port - one of the UK's most significant clean energy and industrial decarbonisation opportunities.

The reports were commissioned by Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington, in partnership with Net Zero North West and the North West Net Zero Hub, with funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's Office for Clean Energy Jobs. The work brought together employers, colleges, universities, training providers, industry bodies and local authorities from Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Liverpool City Region and North Wales.

The action plan identifies practical interventions to help address future workforce challenges, including new pre-apprenticeship programmes, targeted support for people returning to work, enhanced collaboration between employers and training providers, and new approaches to careers advice and industry engagement.

Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority and Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “The action plan recognises the significant role that Cheshire and Warrington will play in delivering on the Government’s Clean Power Mission and reflects our determination as a combined authority to work with our partners to build on the region's national strengths in clean energy, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and innovation such as ORIGIN at Ellesmere Port to fuel economic growth and create thousands of jobs, many of which will be right here in Cheshire and Warrington.

“Today’s action plan complements the CWCA-approved Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Strategy (SIES), a blueprint to deliver the highest rate of economic and productivity growth in the north and slash carbon emissions by 4.5 million tonnes annually by 2030 and also builds on the early findings from Cheshire West and Chester’s delivery in the DESNZ funded Regional Skills Pilot which identified a demand for more than 35,000 workers in clean energy jobs across the North West and North Wales by 2028/9.”

Local Energy and Jobs Minister Martin McCluskey said:

“We are putting power back into every postcode – and this regional action plan is proof of how local places can lead the way in seizing the opportunities to reindustrialise.

“Jobs in clean energy are growing fast, including work that AI simply can’t do – and the North West and North Wales is in prime position to reap these benefits, from offshore wind to carbon capture and storage.”

James Johnson, Head of Regional Programme at the North West Net Zero Hub, said:

"This work demonstrates both the scale of the opportunity facing our region and the importance of acting now to prepare our workforce for the future.

"The North West already has world-leading strengths in engineering, manufacturing, construction and industrial innovation. By working together across regional boundaries, we can ensure local people are equipped with the skills needed to access these opportunities, while helping businesses secure the workforce they need to grow and invest."

The North West Net Zero Hub will now move into the delivery phase of the action plan. Following a competitive tender process, Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington has appointed Caladail Skills Ltd, working in partnership with Seahorse Futures Ltd, to coordinate delivery over the next six months and help establish the collaborative infrastructure needed to embed the plan across the region.

Andy Brown, Director of Caladail Skills Ltd and partnership lead, said:

"The North West is uniquely placed to play a leading role in delivering the UK's clean energy ambitions, with major opportunities spanning energy generation, transmission, advanced manufacturing, carbon capture, retrofit and infrastructure investment.

"The challenge now is ensuring the workforce and skills system can keep pace with demand. The Clean Energy Skills Regional Action Plan provides a strong foundation for coordinated action, and we look forward to working with partners across the region to turn ambition into delivery."

Michael Wolffe, Net Zero Programme Manager at Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington, Clean Energy Skills Lead at the North West Net Zero Hub said: “Since January 2025, Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington have worked with partners across the North West to develop a clear picture of regional skills needs. This report highlights how the Foundational Industrial Skills essential to the energy transition are also vital to the Defence, Advanced Manufacturing, and Construction Industries - meaning investment to support one area can drive economic growth across all.

“We look forward to the next phase of this work, strengthening regional collaboration, and ensuring that local people and businesses benefit from these opportunities while building the workforce needed to support regional ambitions on economic growth and Net Zero.”