The research, conducted by the Centre for Postdoctoral Development in Infrastructure, Cities and Energy (C-DICE), explores how better alignment between postdoctoral training and industry needs could help close critical skill gaps in sectors driving the UK’s 2050 net-zero target. 'Aligning postdoctoral talent with net-zero skills demands: Insights from industry stakeholders in the UK' is authored by Dr Swathi Mukundan, Dr Lennie Foster, Sharon Henson, Dr Kathryn North, and Dr Vivien Chow.
Drawing on insights from focus groups with industry stakeholders in renewable energy, manufacturing, construction, and technical consultancy, the research highlights both the potential and the challenges of integrating postdoctoral talent into net-zero industries. Employers express strong willingness to recruit postdocs, but misalignments between academic training and industry needs, particularly in leadership, communication, and interdisciplinary skills, pose significant barriers. These gaps limit postdoctoral researchers’ ability to transition into roles requiring strategic thinking, stakeholder engagement, and systems-level innovation.
The study calls for structural changes in training and career pathways, including stronger academic-industry collaboration, work-integrated learning, and reconfigured postdoctoral development to equip researchers with applied and leadership skills.
Dr Swathi Mukundan, C-DICE Impact Officer and Chemical Engineering Postdoctoral Researcher, commented: “While postdoctoral researchers are not the sole solution to high-level skill shortages, they represent a highly skilled, existing workforce that can contribute meaningfully to sustainable innovation if systemic barriers are addressed.”
She added: “We are grateful to the focus group participants for their invaluable input. Their perspectives from sectors at the forefront of decarbonisation have been critical in shaping our understanding of the skill challenges that extend across the wider economy.”
Dr Kathryn North, Director of C-DICE and Loughborough University Research Academy, concluded: “Harnessing the UK’s research base will require coordinated action from universities, funders, and employers to break down disciplinary silos and prepare postdoctoral talent for leadership in sustainable innovation. These changes are essential not only for postdocs themselves, but for the success of the UK’s transition to a resilient, low-carbon future.”
This research was supported by the Research England Development Fund and forms part of the outputs from the C-DICE Grand Challenge: High-Level Skills for Net Zero, a landmark event held in London on 6 December 2023. Alongside this study, the Grand Challenge delivered two additional outputs. The first was a sprint to design a regional network using a scenario-based systems approach, which led to the creation of the NetZero Digital Twin Alliance. The second was a Turing Institute Data Study Group, in partnership with the Alan Turing Institute, which developed a strategic roadmap for managing the UK’s energy infrastructure transition – balancing energy demand, cost efficiency, and workforce capacity over the next 25 years.
The open access research paper 'Aligning postdoctoral talent with net-zero skills demands: Insights from industry stakeholders in the UK' is available online.