Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support the development of solar skills training programmes delivered through further education institutions based in Buckinghamshire.

The government is committed to the UK becoming a clean energy superpower, achieving clean power by 2030 and net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Skills have a crucial role to play in achieving this mission. The department is working to ensure the English skills system supports learners, workers, and employers to prepare for jobs in renewable energy.

The department has provided over £500,000 to support the development of a brand-new Green Skills Energy Hub at the Aylesbury campus of the Buckinghamshire College Group. This facility will increase the number of people entering the construction sector and develop the skills of the workforce, closing the green skills gap within Buckinghamshire. The project includes capital funding for specialist, industry standard equipment, supporting training in renewables including solar power, electric vehicle chargers and heat pump engineering.