Gerard Coyne calls for a new ‘Green Training Dividend’ to fund the Green Skills Revolution as he gears up for Unite General Secretary bid

#GreenSkillsWeek – @Gerard_Coyne, who will stand to be @UniteTheUnion’s next General Secretary in its forthcoming election, is pledging to kick start a #GreenSkills Revolution for Unite members to unlock regional growth, domestic jobs and opportunities across the country.

A Green Training Dividend would require any company closing or relocating its activity out of the UK to make a substantial contribution to the re-training of its workforce so they can get good jobs in the growing green economy.

As ‘Green Skills Week’ (5-9 April) looks to showcase the potential of green jobs for young people, the UK is facing up to a looming green skills gap across many industries that are set to power the UK’s path to net zero by 2050.

Speaking today, Gerard Coyne said:

’There’s a mismatch right now in this country between our ambitions for a Green Skills Revolution, and the practical steps we need to make this happen. 

On the one hand the government says it wants green growth to tackle climate change and create jobs. But it doesn’t have a proper plan to create the domestic skills that will underpin that ambition.

At the same time, we see companies such as GKN threatening to relocate abroad and walk away from their responsibilities, when this will increase carbon emissions and damage the UK’s industrial and skills base.

I will make Green Skills a top priority as General Secretary of Unite. This is the way to secure both our members’ jobs and the Union’s long-term future.

If a Green Training Dividend was placed on all production companies seeking to close and relocate – of 9 months full pay per employee coupled with a training surcharge – this would generate significant funds and the time needed to retrain for the green economy.”

Gerard Coyne’s intervention follows a meeting last month with Skills Minister Gillian Keegan to voice his concern over the cut to the Union Learning Fund – a programme that could have helped lead the green skills drive, and has supported millions of people to find new jobs, retrain and upskill since it began in 1998. 

Coyne is also calling for clarity and ambition from the government on domestic Electric Vehicle production and a UK-wide charging network, and believes this can create a route to skilled, domestic, green manufacturing jobs for workers into the future. The Institute of the Motor Industry has also identified a deficit in domestic EV production – with only 5% of car mechanics currently able to work on EVs, even with the 2030 phase out of diesel and petrol cars in place.

Coyne also believes green skills training is vital for other sectors transitioning away from fossil fuel into a new cleaner future. That includes the thousands of Unite-affiliated workers currently employed in the North Sea and the domestic construction industry. 

The race to be the next General Secretary of Unite is set to hot up in the weeks and months ahead, where Coyne is likely to face up against three candidates endorsed by the current General Secretary Len McCluskey. 

The UK Government took the decision to cut the Union Learning Fund in March 2021. The TUC estimates that there have been 2.5 million learners since the Union Learning Fund was launched in 1998. 

‘Green Skills Week’ – an initiative fronted by ‘Speakers for Schools’ (5-9 April 2021) – aims to bridge the ‘green skills gap’ by showcasing the potential of green jobs.