Energy & Utility Skills Group Sector Entry Programme
Help open up 1,000 routes into good jobs and strengthen the sector’s workforce pipeline
About the Sector Entry Programme
Energy & Utility Skills Group is working in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help at least 1,000 unemployed people access opportunities across energy and utilities.
The programme brings together employers with workforce demand and approved providers with the capability to support training and delivery, creating practical routes from unemployment into the sector.
Catch up on our Sector Entry launch webinar to learn more.
How could your organisation get involved?
Choose the route that’s relevant to your organisation:
Employers
Find out how Sector Entry could help you recruit and develop new talent.
Approved Providers
Find out how your organisation could support training and programme delivery.
How the programme works
The programme brings together employers, approved providers, Energy & Utility Skills Group, DWP and Jobcentres around clear employment opportunities in the sector.
Employers and approved providers register their interest
Employers with known or planned vacancies can contact DWP to discuss potential Sector Entry cohorts. Approved providers interested in supporting the training element can also register their interest in programme delivery.
Opportunities and delivery requirements are reviewed
Energy & Utility Skills Group and DWP work with employers to understand where vacancies exist and the support required. This includes identifying Jobcentre involvement, approved provider capacity and local delivery requirements.
Candidates are referred and prepared
Jobcentres identify people who are looking for work and may be suitable for sector entry roles through the programme. Candidates then receive relevant approved training, safety and work-readiness support to help prepare them for employment opportunities within the sector.
Employers connect with prepared candidates
Employers can invite candidates to assessment, interview or other recruitment activity linked to the available sector entry roles.
Successful candidates move into work
Following the Sector Entry programme and recruitment activity, successful candidates move into roles with participating employers or, where appropriate, supply chain organisations.
And for those who don’t secure a role? Candidates can continue to receive Jobcentre support and use their training and experience to pursue other opportunities.
A practical, employer-led model
The proposed Sector Entry model is a structured 10-day programme, bringing together approved training and direct employer experience:
- Five days of approved provider training
- Three days of employer immersion or workplace experience
- One day of interview preparation
- One day of interview activity
Approved providers support the training and preparation that helps participants become sector-ready, while employers provide the workplace exposure and employment opportunity that turns that preparation into a route towards work.
The model is designed to increase candidates’ exposure to the workplace while retaining recognised safety standards and structured interview preparation.
If your organisation has known or planned vacancies, the Sector Entry programme could potentially help you reach new sources of talent and create practical routes into roles across your organisation or supply chain. The programme is ideal for employers across energy, power, water, waste, environmental services and associated supply chains.
How could Sector Entry support your organisation?
- Access funded support for Sector Entry activity.
- Reach new sources of talent.
- Strengthen entry routes into current and future vacancies.
- Test new attraction and recruitment approaches.
- Support local employment and social value.
- Build a broader, more resilient workforce pipeline.
Have vacancies?
The Sector Entry programme is designed around real employment opportunities. If you have known or planned vacancies and are interested in running a Sector Entry cohort, email DWP to register your interest and discuss the next steps.
What happens next? DWP and Energy & Utility Skills Group will work with you to understand potential roles, locations, volumes and delivery requirements.
What is the opportunity for your training organisation?
- Support recognised training for new sector entrants.
- Apply your existing training capability to a major workforce programme.
- Work alongside employers and DWP to support delivery.
- Support safe, skilled and work-ready routes into energy and utilities.
- Contribute directly to growing the sector's future workforce.
Can you support training delivery?
Approved providers have an important role to play in supporting the training element of Sector Entry.
Get in touch to register your interest in supporting programme delivery and understand the next steps.
What happens next? Your interest will help build a picture of available training capacity, geographic coverage, relevant training capability and potential support for Sector Entry delivery. This information will support planning around employer demand, Jobcentre involvement, training capacity and local delivery.
Help build the sector’s future workforce
Whether you’re an employer with vacancies or an approved provider able to support delivery, there is an opportunity to play a part.