Hays Workforce Futures: Inside the North East’s green energy surge

Climate change is no longer a distant threat but a lived reality. Extreme weather events, poor air quality and disrupted supply chains are affecting local communities and global businesses alike. Moreover, these impacts are being exacerbated by a volatile geopolitical environment that’s placing an added premium on fossil fuels.

Climate policy is accelerating in response. The UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy is well under way, with the government committed to reaching net zero by 2050. The renewables sector is set to play a significant role in this ambition, with the Climate Change Committee citing renewables as a key driver of cost-savings and energy resilience.

Yet this ambition will only be realised if the green transition is matched by the right workforce and sustained innovation. Skills, infrastructure and expertise must scale at pace. For many, the North East is a rising ‘North Star’ of this transformation.

From industrial heartland to renewables hub

Long recognised for its industrial heritage and energy expertise, the North East is establishing itself as a critical hub for renewables, offshore wind and the infrastructure that underpins the green transition.

The region’s growing prominence in renewables is being driven by a convergence of policy, geography, investment and strong talent pool. Recent announcements from the Crown Estate confirmed the leasing of a significant new seabed off the North East coast, creating approximately 25,000 green jobs over the next decade and attracting an estimated £3 billion in private funding. The plans could generate six gigawatts of offshore wind – roughly 462 wind turbines, and enough clean energy to power almost a quarter of homes across England and Wales.

These announcements follow record-breaking offshore wind allocation rounds, with recent Contracts for Difference auctions awarding a significant share of projects across the North Sea, including off the North East coast

Beyond offshore wind, initiatives such as Net Zero Teesside and the Northern Endurance Partnership illustrate the breadth of technologies driving regional growth. From the world’s first gas-fired power station with carbon capture, to innovative C02 storage and transport solutions, the North East is becoming a focal point for industry-leading energy projects.

But to make the most of the region’s potential, employers will need to rethink the way they access in-demand skills, and how their operations fit into the bigger global picture.

Where renewables growth is colliding with workforce availability

The Office for National Statistics estimates there were 690,900 fulltime equivalent UK green jobs in 2023, with renewable energy – alongside waste and energy efficient products –accounting for over half of employment in green industries.

With this surge in demand comes a complex and evolving skills challenge. The renewables supply chain spans large multinational developers, utilities and consultancies, as well as tier-one suppliers, manufacturers, ports and specialist SMEs operating locally. Each faces distinct recruitment pressures, particularly in technical, engineering and managerial roles, alongside broader STEM fields.

The North East has a long and impressive engineering heritage, and a strong talent pool to match. However, due to the increasing demand for these skills, particularly in specific skill-sets such as high voltage electrical engineering, project control engineering, and management and leadership, the available talent pool isn’t keeping pace. Many of these roles cannot be filled through traditional advertising alone. Instead, employers are increasingly relying on proactive talent mapping, targeted attraction strategies and the responsible use of AI to identify transferable skills from adjacent sectors.

Compounding skills shortages is an ageing workforce, with many highly experienced professionals approaching retirement or seeking consultancy-based roles rather than permanent positions. Yet entrenched barriers into green jobs are locking talented young people out of the market, despite this generation having an even greater stake in sustainable futures.

Encouragingly, education and training providers across the region are investing heavily in the future pipeline. The announcement of Clean Energy Technical Colleges (including this one in the North East) and an improving pipeline of clean energy focused apprenticeship programmes, will help to bring new entrants into the sector, particularly at entry and technician levels. And more broadly, early careers hiring continues to gain traction across industries as a way of building long‑term capability.

From specialist roles to enterprise capability

The scale and diversity of investment flowing into the North East is also reshaping the structure of renewable energy workforces. Projects are larger, more interconnected and more reliant on integrated supply chains than in the past. Offshore wind developments, for example, depend not only on engineering expertise, but also on ports, logistics, operations and long‑term asset management. Projects such as Sofia, Dogger Bank and Norfolk Vanguard are already leveraging the Port of Blyth, Able Seaton Port in Hartlepool, Teesside Freeport and the Port of Tyne to support manufacturing, construction, installation and O&M activity.

As a result, demand is expanding beyond specialist technical roles to include finance, IT, HR and business operations professionals who can support project delivery at scale. Employers are therefore looking for specialist workforce partners that can balance deep sector knowledge with strength across professional and operational functions.

Equally, the international nature of the renewable supply chain means there’s a greater need for specialist workforce partners with a global footprint. For example, Hays’ global scale enables employers to access talent beyond borders, while still benefiting from local market insight.

Partnering for a sustainable energy transition

The UK is at a pivotal moment in its energy transition, and the North East is set to play an oversized role in this journey. Significant investment, policy momentum and industrial capability are aligning to position the region as a powerhouse for renewables and offshore wind.

As investment continues to accelerate, the competition for experienced leadership and specialist skills will intensify. Employers that succeed will be those that take a long-term view of workforce planning, embrace new attraction methodologies and work with partners who understand both the regional market and the global context in which it operates.

At Hays, we’re already supporting the North East’s transformation as a true green hub, helping organisations within and beyond the region build workforce capability, and deliver projects that will shape the UK’s energy future for decades to come.

Get in touch with one our specialist consultants to discuss your hiring requirements and workforce strategy