Social landlords find ‘major opportunity’ to employ tenants in retrofit jobs

The report focused on jobs and skills which support the development of new green homes and the retrofit of existing homes, such as heat pump installers, retrofit co-ordinators and associated administrative and managerial roles.

It gathered responses from 16 social housing providers who are committed to building 67,500 new homes and retrofitting 70,000 existing homes over the next five years.

Survey respondents representing 800,000 homes reported supporting 14,000 residents into employment and training in the last year alone, achieving nearly 12,000 positive outcomes.

Almost all provide apprenticeships, work placements and construction-related training, alongside wraparound support for those facing barriers to work.

Social landlords and their employability partners reported that many residents face barriers to employment including health conditions, caring responsibilities, low confidence, poor transport links and limited access to training routes.

“Without co-ordinated investment, residents risk being excluded from the economic opportunity created by retrofit and new green homes,” the report said.

The report urged the government to learn from and extend the the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)-funded JobsPlus scheme to design a “long-term, scalable approach” to green skills and employability.

JobsPlus was launched in 2024 with 10 pilot schemes for housing associations and their residents in England. The schemes provide employment support such as CV writing, free workshops and training, support with IT, confidence building, money and benefits advice, help with childcare and into-work bonuses.

An interim evaluation published in June 2025 found that 18% of JobsPlus participants secured employment.

The authors welcomed the government’s Warm Homes Plan, which includes a pledge to create a new national Warm Homes Agency to standardise the retrofit landscape and act as an interface between the industry and residents. It said the Warm Homes Agency must work across government departments whose responsibilities overlap with retrofit, skills, employment and welfare.

The report called for funding windows to be at least five years to support apprenticeship planning and for funding to prioritise “whole-home solutions”. The Warm Homes Plan currently sets out funding intentions for four years, to 2029-30.

The authors also urged government to strengthen pathways into green construction careers and address low course completion rates. They called for employability support funding to be “safeguarded, long-term and enable hands-on support”. Driving local employment outcomes should be a “core measure of success” of both the Warm Homes Plan and the Warm Homes Agency, they added.

Lynsey Sweeney, managing director of Communities that Work and lead spokesperson for the Housing, Growth and Green Jobs Alliance, said: “Social housing is uniquely placed to drive the UK’s green transition in a way that delivers real, lasting benefits for communities.

“This report shows that with the right long-term investment and co-ordination we can make a genuine impact, delivering warmer, more energy-efficient homes, thousands of skilled green jobs and clear career pathways for residents.”

A government spokesperson said: “We’re delivering the biggest ever public investment in home upgrades through our Warm Homes Plan, so millions more families can benefit from technologies like solar panels and heat pumps to bring down their bills and cut fuel poverty.

“This will create 240,000 high-quality, well-paid, future-proofed jobs in energy efficiency and clean heating by 2030.”