The Greater South East Net Zero Hub has appointed Opergy and Whole Life Consultants (WLC) to deliver a major new piece of work on clean energy jobs and skills across the region.
The commission will help build a stronger regional picture of where clean energy workforce demand is emerging, what skills challenges are likely to matter most, and where better evidence can support action. The work will inform future delivery of the Government’s Clean Energy Jobs Plan and support the Hub’s collaboration with the Office for Clean Energy Jobs within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
Covering one of the largest and most diverse geographies in England, the work will bring together existing evidence from across the Greater South East to identify the sectors, projects and places shaping demand for clean energy jobs. It will also help create a clearer basis for regional discussion about workforce priorities, skills provision and future collaboration.
A key part of the project will be focused stakeholder engagement. By working with regional partners throughout the study, the team aims to test emerging findings, identify where local insight adds most value, and support a more joined-up conversation about clean energy jobs and skills across the Greater South East.
Opergy and WLC were appointed on the strength of their combined experience in clean energy workforce analysis, regional skills planning and major infrastructure programmes. Opergy, headquartered in the East of England, brings deep experience from its work across offshore and onshore renewables, nuclear, grid connectivity, and the emerging hydrogen sector.
WLC adds long-established expertise in labour and skills forecasting, with methods shaped through major national programmes and analytical work linked to projects and bodies such as the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB).
Opergy and WLC work closely to support major energy and infrastructure projects through detailed workforce modelling, including the Sizewell C new nuclear project in Suffolk.
Maxine Narburgh, Regional Manager for the GSE Net Zero Hub, said: “This is an important piece of work for the Greater South East and for the partners helping to deliver clean energy ambitions on the ground.
We want this project to give us a stronger shared understanding of where jobs and skills demand is emerging, while also making engagement with stakeholders action-focused and to support the creation of opportunities across the sector.”
Johnathan Reynolds, Managing Director of Opergy, said: “We’re delighted to have been appointed, alongside our partners at Whole Life Consultants, by the Greater South East Net Zero Hub.
This is ultimately about helping turn national ambition into practical regional action — bringing the evidence together in a way that helps people see where the opportunities are, where the pressures are building, and where collaboration will matter most.”
Doug Forbes, Director at Whole Life Consultants, said: “This commission is about making a complex picture clearer and more usable for the region.
By combining regional insight with robust analysis, we want to help create an evidence base that gives partners confidence in where to focus attention and how to engage constructively.”
The work will now begin with evidence gathering and targeted stakeholder engagement across the region. Over the coming weeks, partners will be invited to share relevant intelligence, studies or local insight to help ensure the work reflects the breadth of clean energy activity and workforce opportunity across the Greater South East.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive updates
