Growing our own: A smarter approach to Scotland’s energy skills gap
One message came through clearly at All-Energy 2026 in Glasgow: delivering Scotland’s energy ambitions depends not just on what we build, but on whether we have the people and skills to deliver it.
With workforce capacity now a key constraint on delivery, the sector must move beyond reactive recruitment and take a more deliberate approach to developing talent.
The energy skills gap is not new. But how we respond to it will determine whether Scotland can deliver its energy ambitions.
Right now, recruitment alone is not keeping pace with the scale required. Across renewables and grid infrastructure, demand for skills is increasing, roles are becoming more complex, and organisations are competing for the same limited talent pool. Estimates suggest the energy transition could require almost 50,000 jobs in Scotland by 2050, highlighting the scale of the challenge.
But this is not just a recruitment challenge. The real issue starts upstream: are enough young people developing the skills needed for the green transition? If not, no amount of recruitment activity will close the gap fast enough.
What’s needed is a shift – from relying solely on sourcing talent to placing greater focus on developing it. It’s an approach that is already delivering results, and one I spoke about at All-Energy 2026 in Glasgow.
Growing talent in-house – particularly through apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships – offers a more sustainable and scalable way forward as part of a broader response. Working in Scotland’s energy sector, I’ve seen firsthand how this is helping to build the capability teams need.
These pathways are not only bringing people into the industry – they are developing the skills and experience needed to contribute to live projects and support delivery from an early stage.
I’ve seen apprentices join teams with limited experience and quickly start contributing to real project work. Many of those individuals go on to develop some of the most in-demand skillsets across our teams.
We currently have five apprentices across our energy teams, all of whom are developing strong technical expertise while continuing to strengthen their communication, problem-solving and collaborative delivery skills.
Following the success of our Scottish civil engineering graduate apprentices within our energy business, we are now extending our hiring to include electrical engineering apprentices.
Our apprentices are currently contributing to a range of significant energy projects across the UK, including OnPath Energy’s Lethans and Lethans Extension Wind Farm, Statera Energy’s Exeter battery energy storage project, and National Grid’s Great Grid Upgrade. Apprenticeships combine academic learning with real project experience, enabling people to contribute to delivery earlier in their careers. They embed safety, standards and culture from the outset, while developing skills in the environments where they are actually needed.
They also widen access to the sector for people who may not see traditional higher education as financially viable or accessible. By enabling people to earn while they learn, graduate apprenticeships create alternative entry routes that bring in talent from a wider range of backgrounds.
That diversity strengthens outcomes. In complex, multidisciplinary environments, a broader mix of perspectives supports better problem-solving, stronger collaboration and more innovative thinking.
At the same time, the nature of skills is changing. Technical expertise remains critical, but it now sits alongside capabilities in communication, leadership, emotional intelligence, collaboration and data analysis. Building this mix of skills takes time – and it cannot be achieved through hiring alone.
This has implications for how success should be measured, too. Hiring targets do not reflect whether organisations are building the capability they need for the long term. Greater focus is needed on retention, progression and how people develop within teams.
At AECOM, we are already seeing the value of that approach: over the past six years, we have seen no voluntary apprentice leavers within our energy business – a strong indicator of the long-term value that investing in early careers can create.
Scotland is well placed to take this further. Graduate apprenticeship programmes are already established and supported, but wider uptake across the sector is needed – and needs to happen at pace.
This matters not just for delivery, but for the role the sector plays more broadly. As a provider of critical national infrastructure, there is a clear moral and social imperative to invest in people and communities – creating accessible pathways into meaningful, long-term careers.
No single intervention will close the skills gap. But apprenticeships and early careers pathways are already showing what works, and how the sector can continue to close the gap. If we are serious about delivering Scotland’s energy transition, we cannot rely on competing for existing talent alone. We need to take responsibility for building the workforce it depends on.
Explore more from All-Energy 2026: read our related insight from a fellow speaker on why integrating generation, grid and storage through more coordinated energy networks is the next challenge for Scotland.