The government has rubber-stamped a new scheme to help workers in areas such as oil and gas transition into new roles in renewable energy.
The energy skills passport, which will be launched in January, will enable workers and employers in the sector to easily identify which qualifications and training standards are needed for specific roles in offshore wind.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband, alongside Scottish cabinet secretary for net zero and energy Gillian Martin, has written to the heads of industry bodies Renewable UK and Offshore Energies UK stating that the passport will be an “important step” in the “transition to Net Zero as a society”.
“The department will help the project by convening stakeholders across different industries and sectors to come and work together on mutual recognition and career mapping to help the development of this passport.
Energy skills
“We will also provide our own project management advice upon request to help expedite the delivery of this passport in a timely manner,” the letter stated.
The energy skills passport will be jointly managed by Renewable UK and OEUK, and will be an interactive tool workers can use. It will map out potential career pathways for workers and ensure that training courses are not duplicated.
The initial version will focus on the transition to offshore wind energy, but future versions will expand into other parts of the sector.
Jane Cooper, executive director of offshore wind at RenewableUK, said: “The upsurge in offshore wind jobs over the course of this decade and beyond creates excellent opportunities for highly-skilled oil and gas workers to bring their valuable experience to the clean energy sector.
“The energy skills passport is a great example of what we can achieve together and we’ll continue to look for other potential areas of work that can further support the transition of workers between sectors.”
Katy Heidenreich, OEUK’s director of supply chain and people, said collaboration would be crucial if the sector was going to achieve its potential.
“This industry and its people have proven excellence and a broad range of transferable skills from engineering and construction to legal and commercial expertise.
“This is one way the UK can back its workforce to build a homegrown energy transition that leaves no one behind. It’s part of the toolkit this industry is assembling to partner with the government to solve the challenges and seize the opportunities of our energy future.”
The UK’s oil and gas sector supports over 200,000 jobs and the UK’s offshore wind industry already employs 32,000 people, but this is expected to rise to over 100,000 by 2030.
Research commissioned by OEUK shows that 90% per cent of oil and gas industry workers have skills which can be transferred to future offshore jobs in renewable energy.
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