The number of skilled electricians could drop by a third by 2038 unless “urgent action” is taken, a report by one of the UK’s biggest training providers has claimed.
The research by charity JTL, which trains 8,000 apprentices every year, reveals a dramatic decline in the UK’s electrical workforce that could threaten essential services, from housebuilding to transport.
In the Powering the Future: Securing a Skilled Electrical Workforce to Deliver Growth report, published today (Thursday, 15 May), industry experts fear the sector could shrink by another 32 per cent by 2038, “significantly impairing the UK’s ability to meet net zero goals and national infrastructure targets”, it said.
The electrical workforce has declined by more than a quarter since 2018, falling from 214,200 to just 158,000 electricians in 2024.
To address the critical workforce shortage, JTL is calling for national apprenticeship targets to be introduced, as well as funding reform and a boost to achievement rates.
“We are at a tipping point. The demand for skilled electricians is rising but the workforce is shrinking,” JTL chief executive Chris Claydon said.
“If we don’t act now, the UK will struggle to meet its housing, clean energy and infrastructure goals. Apprenticeships remain the gold standard for training competent electricians, but we need a comprehensive policy shift – better funding, stronger employer incentives and coordinated leadership – to reverse the trend.”
The report says that despite a recent uptick in apprenticeship starts, currently at 7,540 per year, the number is insufficient to replace those leaving.
To stabilise electrical workforce numbers and maintain competence, more than 10,500 apprenticeship starts are needed annually.
The report highlights that current workforce planning and policy are misaligned with future demand.
It says government strategies do not yet reflect the scale of skilled labour needed to deliver planned housing, infrastructure and clean energy projects.
JTL said that without an urgent policy shift and systemic investment, the sector could face worsening skill shortages, cost escalation and missed targets.
The report also calls for financial incentives and tax reliefs for SMEs, which account for 80 per cent of apprenticeships, and urges the government to monitor training programmes to ensure resources are better aligned, based on the impact for industry.
JTL has developed a national projection model for the electrical industry to offer long-term, data-driven insight into workforce size, skill levels and sector resilience over a 15-year period.
Developed in partnership with the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), The Electrotechnical Skills Partnership, Joint Industry Board and National Electrotechnical Training, the forecasting model in the report is the first of its kind to assess not only workforce numbers but also competence.
It enables users to model how different policy interventions would impact both workforce size and skilled person density over time, while offering a clearer roadmap to reversing the decline and securing a skilled electrical workforce for the future.
ECA deputy chief executive Andrew Eldred said the projection model would be “extremely useful”.
“Electricians are essential for the transition to cleaner energy, installing new technologies like energy-storage systems and solar panels, and need to be front and centre of planning for the skills pipeline,” he said.
“JTL’s projection model is an extremely useful tool for the electrical industry and should also be utilised by policymakers as a priority.
“Only by targeting available funding to where it has the most impact – away from classroom-only theory courses and towards apprenticeships and other industry-recognised training routes – can we increase the size of the active electrical workforce and maintain competence to ensure the safety and reliability of net zero and other electrotechnical systems.”
Read More
Nicola Harley