Government to pivot to a positive water narrative to support skills and AMP8 delivery

The Government has signalled a reset moment in its relationship with the water sector; of drawing a line under the challenging political narrative of the past, in favour of looking to the future and actively supporting the successful delivery of £104bn of investment by 2030 – including recruiting 43,000 new workers.

The news came as the Government showed its serious intent by committing four ministers to speak at a Skills Summit hosted by Water UK on Tuesday.

Environment secretary Steve Reed was unequivocal in his opening keynote. He said: “Today is the start of a new partnership between the water sector and government. Turning the page on the past to begin a new chapter of growth and opportunity.”

He offered two reasons for the shift. First, that in the year since the general election, the Government has acted to address the “difficult” place water was in, including via the Water Special Measures Bill, by ring fencing customer money for infrastructure improvement, and by commissioning the Cunliffe Review to recommend fundamental changes to the regulatory framework and to rebuild public trust.

Second, because “the water sector is a priority for economic growth” – for new homes, data centres, tourism and much more – and “we must work together to make sure that £104bn is spent in the best way to secure the improvements we want to see, and in the timescales we want to see them.” Reed said: “We need to get spades in the ground in every region” and “It’s imperative we have the skilled workforce in place. Because without it, all this investment will not be possible. That’s why we’re here today. To work together to ensure the industry and supply chain have the capacity to meet our shared ambitions for a successful, growing water sector underpinning a successful, growing economy.”

He pledged: “We will work together to show people that a career in the water industry and its supply chain is something they can be proud of for a lifetime. Something that gives you new skills, exciting challenges and can set you up for life – wherever in this country you live. These are jobs that make a difference.”

Reed concluded: “This is a fresh start, a moment to build new partnerships and set the direction for the water sector of the future. We are working together to bring about the change that people in this country voted for last year. It’s an exciting time for the water industry, and I’m proud to stand alongside you as we chart the journey forwards to success.”

Pensions minister Torsten Bell then committed the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to support the water recruitment drive via its employment programmes.  “We are here to help” he said, noting there is no community that DWP isn’t part of.

Skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith explained how government strategies (including the Modern Industrial Strategy and Ten Year Infrastructure Strategy) and skills activities (including the creation of Skills England, new technical excellence colleges, a forthcoming post-16 strategy and various investment packages) would work in tandem to help. The water industry “will feature in our skills plans,” she said, be that through a specific initiative or via cross-sectoral activities to support, for instance, construction and technology skills. The Government is, Baroness Smith said, “realigning our entire skills system to support priority economic opportunities”.

Water minister Emma Hardy spoke passionately about the nature and quality of water sector job prospects – skilled and varied work, available across the entire country, in a growing industry that will see sustained long-term investment, and providing opportunity to deliver a high quality, essential service for friends and family “in your home town”. She added: “I can’t think of another industry where you’ve got that.”

Water companies and the Government announced a package of historic actions to coincide with the Summit to affirm their collaboration and support a huge increase in employment and skills (see below).

Water UK’s chief executive David Henderson described the Skills Summit and the associated commitments as a “starting point” for renewed collaboration and collective responsibility. “This is not just an HR issue, it’s the foundation of our economy,” he said.

Water UK chair Ruth Kelly reflected that the industry had been “waiting for this sort of moment” and was “completely thrilled” to hear the Government planned to turn the page on the past and move into a partnership space to support the skills mission.

Elsewhere at the Summit, three apprentices shared their experiences and views on how to boost the sector’s appeal to younger workers, and two expert panels featuring water companies and others discussed wider challenges and solutions. 

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Skills commitments from Government and industry

Government commitments: 

• Defra and DWP ministers signed the Water Skills Pledge – a Memorandum of Understanding outlining shared intent to collaborate on workforce development in the water sector and setting out the principles and commitments that will guide this partnership.

• Government will consider whether regulatory benchmarks for skilled frontline staff costs are sufficient to retain staff in the face of growing competition for skilled workers from other sectors and countries.

• DESNZ’s Office for Clean Energy Jobs will engage with the water sector to explore its needs in the broader clean energy agenda.

• Government committed to improve the public’s recognition of the efforts of the frontline workforce.

• Building on existing work with water companies, the Careers & Enterprise Company (the national body for careers education in England), and the National Careers Service will continue to explore further educational materials about the water industry, what it does and what roles are available within it. 

• Government will continue to encourage Skills Bootcamps (16-week courses for 19+) on water industry skills. These are co-designed with industry and offer a job interview for eligible participants on completion.

• DWP will examine funding for a specified number of places on their sector-based work academy programme (SWAP). 

Water company commitments: 

• Offering up to 5,000 high-quality apprenticeship placements by 2030 – a 25% increase since firms originally submitted their business plans to the regulator in October 2023.

• Helping over 100,000 ex-offenders, long-term unemployed and care leavers to join the sector, the supply chain and the local economy via targeted schemes like ‘learning employability and preparation’ programmes.

• Launching an annual £25,000 National Watershot Prize to be awarded to the most promising graduate researcher or team working on tackling the challenges relevant to advanced research and technology in the water industry.

• Taking immediate action to rapidly support unemployed people to join the sector. All suitable jobs will now be advertised via Job Centre Plus ‘by default’, and where there is the opportunity to do so companies will run a range of outreach and training events with job centres to reach those who are most in need. Charities and other organisations will also see companies collaborating with them to provide individual support and coaching. 

• Investing heavily in early career outreach. This will see individual companies offering work experience for up to 1,000 students a year and running education sessions in thousands of schools.

• Strengthening links with armed forces leavers. Companies will sign the Armed Forces Covenant, explore the creation of specific apprenticeship schemes for veterans, or ensure that applications are accessible and open to those leaving the armed forces.

• Signing up to the Disability Confident employer scheme. In addition, where there are regional opportunities to do so, some companies will find opportunities to work with neurodivergent young people to provide learning and support for joining the sector.

• Supporting the new government and Skills England-led needs assessments to identify the most urgent skills, define new occupation standards and work on new training schemes.