UK energy sector faces big leadership shortage

The biggest risk facing the UK energy sector is a shortage of senior leaders rather than the direction of net zero policy, executive search firm Newman Stewart has warned.

The warning comes as the Tony Blair Institute calls on Andy Burnham to scrap Labour’s flagship 2030 clean power target, arguing that “clean power 2030 must become cheaper power 2030”.

But whichever direction policy takes, Newman Stewart said employers are already struggling to secure the senior operational and technical leaders needed to deliver major infrastructure, generation and decarbonisation projects.

“The debate around net zero is increasingly becoming a discussion about cost, competitiveness and energy security. What receives far less attention is the workforce needed to deliver whichever strategy the UK ultimately pursues.,” said John Tilbrook, Managing Director of Newman Stewart.

“Regardless of whether energy policy focuses on renewables, nuclear, domestic oil and gas, or a combination of all three, projects do not succeed without experienced leadership.”

The firm said the industry’s leadership pipeline is under increasing strain as experienced professionals approach retirement, demand for specialist skills grows and competition for senior hires intensifies.

Industry data supports the picture: the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board found that 71% of engineering construction employers report hiring difficulties, up from 53% in 2021, rising to 91% in the nuclear sector.

Around 36,000 clean energy workers are expected to retire within the next five years.

The demographic squeeze extends beyond the UK. The International Energy Agency’s World Energy Employment 2025 report found that advanced economies have 2.4 energy workers nearing retirement for every new entrant under 25, with nuclear and grid professions facing the steepest imbalances.

National Grid estimates around 400,000 energy roles will need filling by 2050, with roughly 140,000 of the existing low-carbon workforce due to retire along the way.

For households, delayed grid, generation and decarbonisation projects feed through to energy bills and supply security, whichever mix of renewables, nuclear or North Sea oil and gas the government ultimately backs.

“There is a misconception that if the Government gets the policy right, delivery will naturally follow. In practice, there has to be sufficient leadership capability behind that ambition,” Tilbrook said.

“The risk is that the industry becomes focused on infrastructure, technology and investment while overlooking the people responsible for making those projects successful. Leadership capability should be viewed as critical infrastructure in its own right.”

Now read: Britain cannot win AI race with world’s highest energy prices