Business certainty is needed to build the net zero workforce of the future for The Humber: David Talbot

Much of this work is done on the banks of the Humber, and specifically in an industrial cluster second only to Germany’s Rhine Valley when it comes to carbon emissions.

Successful decarbonisation, not de-industrialisation, is the prize the region has in its sights.

Projects worth upwards of £15 billion are being eyed – jobs in the tens of thousands. Yet mechanical fitters, pipefitters, process engineers, project managers, designers, riggers and site managers are among the most difficult roles to fill, with research revealing three quarters of employers are already struggling, above the national average.

At CATCH (the Centre for Assessment for Technical Competence Humber), we’re looking to solve this part of the equation, while supporting the work to win over hearts and minds about the Humber’s case for hydrogen, carbon capture and storage and further skills investment.

We have our own grand plans too, for a National Net Zero Training Centre, building on incredible work achieved in the past 20 years at the heart of this vital cluster.

An element of this was delivering the Humber Industrial Cluster Plan - the roadmap to Net Zero - working with the public and private sector. It saw the carbon capture cluster sequencing projects Viking CCS and Humber Zero come together, and come to us, in what has now become quite a pivotal moment for CATCH; to ask what it would take to go from 100 apprentices a year to 1,000.

That was the headline message. And true to their word, that sponsorship from the key emitters - Viking CCS members, alongside funding from the Humber Freeport and the ECITB - has led to a whole phased expansion programme that will get us to that 1,000 figure.

The programme started with a welding hub, something we could achieve quickly, which saw a fabrication workshop refurbished, providing the largest capacity for such training in England, with 79 bays. It is a real game-changer in terms of the regional output for welding, fabrication and pipefitting trades.

Next is our Industrial Decarbonisation Centre. It is really exciting, it will help us to support inward investment, innovation, and widen our membership activity to deliver even more. Later a new build Renewable Energy Training Centre will support wind turbine technicians, but the mechanical skills on offer will benefit all energy intensive industries on Net Zero journey.

The final element is the national centre concept. That is the big prize. We’ve not stood still here, we can’t. We’ve already seen four phases of growth, and each time we have had a new phase, we have filled it and seen a need to expand further. For me that confirms our model is right.

The message has been clear for some time. The Humber is the biggest emitting industrial cluster in the UK, some 20 million tonnes of carbon are emitted every year, and we have got something like £15 billion of investment identified. You can’t build that infrastructure, operate it or maintain it, without the workforce.

We need 20,000 new engineering and construction trades people to build the infrastructure to get us to Net Zero. If we don’t build that workforce now, we can have the best projects in the world, but we won’t be able to build them, and that’s what we’re here to support.

There are great plans waiting for the green light. We are trying to pump prime the whole system here with that programme from industry, which is fantastic, but it is difficult and there are challenges. The employers need certainty it is going to happen before they commit.

I’ve banged the drum in Westminster and I’ll continue to do so. Viking CCS is a project now looking for that clarity to deliver, and it can unlock a lot of the ambition we have to ensure heavy industry has a harmonious relationship with our climate goals. For the economy, for the environment, and for our future, it is time to push on.

David Talbot is chief executive of CATCH