RenewableUK has entered into a partnership with Energy and Utility Skills to create training and assessment standards for the UK’s renewable energy workforce.
This is hoped to provide means to develop national occupational and apprenticeship standards as well as short course and modular training to upskill workers already in employment.
The partnership between the skills organisation for UK energy and utilities industries and RenewableUK – representing roughly 500 organisations within the renewable sector – will allow both organisations to represent a wide variety of skills governance groups.
RenewableUK put a specific emphasis on supporting the wind sector, stating that the partnership will support the delivery of strategic priorities for people and skills outlined within the Offshore Wind Industry’s skills strategy which is due to be published in 2024.
According to the trade association, the offshore wind industry will require an additional 70,000 skilled workers by 2030, particularly in electrical and mechanical engineering.
Both organisations have assured that existing standards developed by the Global Wind Organisation at an international scale will “remain central” in the creating of a UK-specific approach.
Working alongside government and other industry bodies, RenewableUK alongside Energy and Utility Skills will also work towards developing a Green Skills Action Plan to maximise job creation in a green economy.
Chief executive of Energy and Utility Skills, Phil Beach, called the partnership “timely and critical.”
“We face a strategic workforce and skills challenge, as the competition for talent increases to meet the demands of delivering net zero, environmental improvement and wider infrastructure projects,” continued Beach.
“Against this backdrop, we are committed to ensuring that we attract and retain the people we need to join this exciting industry. And we are equally determined to ensure the development of high-quality qualifications, apprenticeships and industry schemes that enable a diverse range of talent to enjoy a career with real purpose. I very much look forward to working with RenewableUK and industry to make this a reality.”
RenewableUK’s chief executive Dan McGrail added: “The renewable energy sector is crying out for thousands of new people to join our growing industry. But to achieve this, we need the qualifications and training, entry routes and career pathways to attract and then retain and develop the workforce, whether from our schools and colleges or from carbon intensive sectors like oil and gas. This exciting partnership provides the sector with a means of delivering these interventions through Energy & Utility Skills’ considerable experience and expertise across the energy and utilities sector.”