Skills survey FAQs

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Following our webinar on the skills survey, we have compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions on the survey.

If you missed the webinar or want to recap, the link is here. If you need any further support or help, please don’t hesitate to reach out: matt.goody@nsar.co.uk and tim.ward@energysecurity.gov.uk

Why do we need this data? 

35,000 jobs will be required to enable heat networks to supply around a fifth of the UK’s heat by 2050 and this survey aims to help us understand the current position of skills across the sector.  

This will enable us to: 

  • Benchmark – help the industry and our individual organisations gain a better understanding of how the workforce benchmarks against the wider industry and other industries. 
  • Engage with government – build a picture of workforce demographics across the sector. Give us data to engage with government and other on the economic benefits of the sector. 
  • Base line performance – Understand the current position on skills, diversity and equality across the sector and help us monitor our performance over the years. 
  • Workforce planning – plan effectively to achieve a suitably skilled workforce that can deliver new, low-carbon heat networks in towns and cities throughout the UK. 
  • Identifying and developing responses to skill gaps such as funding for training and initiatives to attract people into the industry 
  • Identifying apprentice and training needs, developing industry wide initiative 

 

What will the data allow us to do? 

Once the survey closes on the 24th June and we analyse the data, we’ll publish the results later in the summer. The findings of the survey will: 

  • Help us engage with government to develop the workforce needed for our industry  
  • Help us identify and develop responses to skills gaps such as training funding and attracting people to the industry 
  • Identify apprenticeship and training needs 
  • Develop industry wide initiatives to develop our workforce 

 

Who do we want to hear from? 

Any organisations involved in heat networks – whether you have 1 or 100s of people working on heat networks. Including… 

  • Local authorities 
  • Housing providerss 
  • Investment companies 
  • Operators of campus systems – e.g., schools and universities 
  • Metering and billing providers  
  • Network operators 
  • Construction contractors 

 

How confidential is the data we share through the survey?  

  • It is completely anonymous – no personal data of employees is required – e.g., no names or ID numbers.  
  • When reported in statistics, the data will be aggregated. This means the data will be reported in such a way that no individual employees or organisations can be identified, even if you only have 1 or 2 employees in your response.  

 

What data do I need to submit for the survey?  

There are 2 parts to the survey which can be found in the Google Sheet on the Google Drive here. These include: 

  • Employee data collection sheet – this is a big blank template for you to put key employee data in such as job title, age, age band, work postcode, gender. You can even send us your own file if it includes this data in your own format. 
  • Three-part questionnaire – this is more qualitative information on your company, skills & training, and ED&I.  

 

What if I can’t fill out all fields? 

We’d like to have as much or as little as you can share. While the data doesn’t require any personal data and will be aggregated, if you only feel comfortable sharing some data, please still respond to the survey with the information you can.  

For the employee data collection sheet, the columns in orange are the minimum we ask for – job title, age, age band, work postcode, gender. The rest of the fields are optional.  

If you can share more this will really help improve the insights we are able to gain from the survey to help us develop our industry workforce.  

How do I get started? 

 

My organisation has submitted its response. Is there any other way I can get involved? 

Thank you for submitting your survey results. The more responses we get from different organisations across the industry the better so please share details of the survey with your network such as your supply chain, your clients and your partners. You can share this web page which has all the key details of the survey.  

Please remember to remind those in your network – this survey isn’t just for those directly involved in constructing heat networks. We want to hear from all organisations participating in the sector – even if this isn’t their main activity. Whether an organisation has just one or hundreds of people involved in any aspect of heat networks, we really want to hear from them. 

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