Future skills for quantum technologies in energy, telecoms and transport

This report sets out the findings of a Workforce Foresighting cycle focused on building sectoral quantum expertise to support decarbonisation and enable resilient, efficient networks. The study was sponsored by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and led by Digital Catapult, in collaboration with the Workforce Foresighting Hub, an Innovate UK initiative.

Why workforce foresighting matters

Workforce foresighting is a systemic approach to forward planning that helps industry, educators and policymakers anticipate how emerging technologies will reshape workforce demand. It identifies the future skills and capabilities required to support innovation, enabling training and education systems to adapt ahead of time.

By moving skills development from a reactive to a proactive footing, workforce foresighting ensures that the UK workforce is prepared to adopt new technologies, support industrial growth and remain globally competitive.

In this study, foresighting has been applied to one of the most transformative technological opportunities of the next decade: the adoption of quantum computing across critical infrastructure sectors.

Strategic context

The UK has made a major national commitment to quantum technologies through programmes such as the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme and the National Quantum Strategy, supported by significant long-term investment.

Recent government announcements have committed up to £2 billion to strengthen the UK’s leadership in quantum, spanning research, skills and innovation.

Quantum technologies have the potential to significantly enhance productivity and enable new capabilities in complex systems such as energy networks, telecommunications infrastructure and transport optimisation. However, realising this potential requires a workforce equipped to translate emerging technologies into practical applications.

This study focuses on the near-term (2–5 year) capabilities required to support the adoption and deployment of quantum solutions in these sectors.

Implications for the workforce

Seven clear themes emerged from this foresighting cycle.

Shift from roles creation to roles transformation
The primary workforce challenge is not the creation of new job roles, but the evolution of existing roles, with quantum capabilities progressively integrated into engineering, digital and leadership functions.

Significant expansion of capability requirements combined with system gaps
While the foresighting cycle identified a substantial set of future capabilities and occupational profiles, there is a clear misalignment between these emerging needs and current education and training provision.

Early-stage technology driving a focus on experimentation and deployment skills
The current maturity of quantum technologies is creating demand for skills centred on experimentation, integration and real-world deployment, rather than large-scale operational optimisation.

Interdisciplinary capability as a defining workforce requirement
Future workforce effectiveness will depend on combining deep technical expertise with broader systems, data, governance and innovation capabilities, enabling individuals to translate complex technologies into practical applications.

A defined set of critical capabilities enabling adoption
Successful adoption of quantum technologies will rely on a core group of capabilities spanning use case identification, hybrid systems integration, optimisation, strategic decision-making, and ethical and regulatory alignment.

Existing roles becoming critical enablers of transformation
A subset of existing professional and leadership roles will play a pivotal role in translating quantum innovation into deployable, secure and scalable solutions across sectors.

Persistent and structural gaps in education and training provision
Current education and training systems are not yet sufficiently aligned to future capability needs, with gaps in accessibility, applied learning, and integration of quantum-specific knowledge into existing programmes.

Quantum adoption is likely to be constrained by workforce readiness than by technology availability. Without active transforming of existing roles, building interdisciplinary capability, and embedding quantum-specific skills into mainstream education and training, organisations may struggle to move from experimentation to real-world deployment. This creates a real risk that the UK captures the scientific potential of quantum technologies but fails to translate this into industrial and economic impact. To avoid this, workforce development must shift from passive alignment to active system coordination, ensuring that skills, roles and learning pathways evolve in parallel with technology—otherwise quantum will remain a niche capability rather than a scalable enabler of sector transformation.

What needs to happen next

To address these challenges and accelerate workforce readiness, the study highlights several priority actions:

• Establish a centralised repository of quantum education and training resources to improve access and navigation
• Develop sector-specific learning pathways, including short courses and CPD to support targeted upskilling
• Strengthen collaboration between industry and academia to ensure training aligns with real-world use cases
• Embed interdisciplinary and ethical training, supporting responsible innovation and deployment
• Support leadership capability development to enable strategic adoption of quantum technologies

Looking ahead

Quantum computing represents a significant long-term opportunity for the UK, particularly in enabling more efficient, resilient and decarbonised systems across critical infrastructure sectors.

However, the pace and scale of adoption will depend as much on workforce capability as on technological advancement.

By aligning workforce development with emerging technology needs—and investing early in skills, partnerships and capability building—the UK can position itself to lead in the adoption of quantum technologies and unlock their full economic and societal value.