Tay Cities Clean Growth Skills Study – September 2023

Scottish Enterprise appointed Ekosgen to undertake an independent assessment to deliver a skills report of the Tay Cities Region Clean Growth Sector to Scottish Enterprise. To identify and map out current education availability vs. local business/industry/academia skills and labour requirements. To pinpoint any intersections and gaps and make recommendations on improvement, next steps, costs and create a roadmap. To comment on terminologies commonly used in these sectors.

Ekosgen conducted desk research, structured online interviews with key stakeholders (including industry, public sector, education providers) and online survey. They assessed the current Scottish skills strategy landscape and reviewed previous publications.

Within the Tay Cities Region, Clean Growth sectors are defined as: Circular Economy, Clean Energy, Green AgriTech, Sustainable Mobility, Data and Digital Solutions. Rapid decarbonisation and the pursuit of a Net Zero economy represents a fundamental socio-economic shift. There are courses and micro-credentials to address these, however, the demand for skills amongst employers operating in Clean Growth sectors is not being met. The current volume of skills demanded is considerable and is anticipated to scale up in future, and this volume of skills required across all Tay Cities Clean Growth sectors is a critical challenge. The nature of skills demanded means that workers are required at all levels, and at all points of each sectoral value chain. Demand is typically less about specific Clean Growth roles or skills, and more about skilled individuals able to apply their knowledge, capabilities and expertise in Clean Growth areas. Employers value base knowledge, meta skills, adaptability and resilience more – durable skills supplemented by Clean Growth or sustainability know-how, and an ability to engage in systems thinking. These wrap-around skills are considered to be critical be employers and must not be ignored. There is a need for growing capacity in the region’s education and training system. This is not just for volume, but for effectiveness, responsiveness and connectivity between education and training providers and the Clean Growth business base. There remains a significant challenge in fully understanding skills demand across the region, by sector and for Clean Growth as a whole. Business engagement is a critical factor here.

The paper makes 9 defined recommendations and sets out a proposed roadmap around funding, segmented skills approach, aggregation of skills demand / availability and employment opportunities, creation of micro-credentials and short courses which can address meta skills and climate literacy. These recommendations are now to be further considered with major stakeholders to design a regional action plan.