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Four in five construction professionals say net zero training ‘inadequate’
CM Staff
A Construction Manager survey indicates there is a huge shortfall in net zero skills training provision across the industry
The scale of the built environment’s net zero skills challenge has been laid bare by Construction Manager research which found that 86% of industry professionals consider current training provision ‘inadequate’.
The research follows a CITB study which shows the sector needs the equivalent of 350,000 new roles in the next seven years to deliver the government’s promise of net zero emissions by 2050.
But some 79% of those polled said it was ‘not easy’ to find suitable net zero training, and of those that had taken courses, almost two-thirds said they did not deliver the skills required.
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“We need formally recognised qualifications following rigorous training on what net zero means in practice,” said one respondent.
“Everyone is waiting for legislation/technical standards to use as justification for training”
Courses on traditional (pre-1919) buildings and retrofit were seen as the weakest, with 35% and 29% respectively of respondents describing training they had taken as ‘not useful’.
Specialist or private training providers are the course deliverers of choice (72% of those surveyed), with product manufacturers (41%) a distant second.
One respondent said “This type of training rarely delves deeply enough into the subject to get a full understanding” while another complained “There does not seem to be consistency across the provider market”.
“There are plenty of tools online and CPD sessions if you are interested in finding them”
Another said they would be more likely to book net zero training if it “works for all, not just the big boys”.
More positively, almost half (49%) of respondents said their employers are “supportive” of equipping staff with net zero skills.
One said: “My company is fully focused on sustainability, net zero emissions and the environment as a whole.”
Another commented: “There are plenty of tools online and CPD sessions if you are interested in finding them.”
“This type of training rarely delves deeply enough into the subject to get a full understanding”
Some two-thirds of those polled said that if clients required net zero on projects, their employers would be more likely to invest in training.
“At the moment the schemes we are involved in do not require it,” said one.
Over 150 construction professionals responded to the survey last month on CM’s website.
The November/December 2025 issue of Construction Management magazine is now available to read in digital format.
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