Energy industry leaders have come up with a plan for the creation of an “energy skills passport” that would help offshore workers transition from the oil and gas and take up roles in the clean energy sector.
In an announcement this morning, the trade bodies representing the UK’s offshore wind and oil and gas sectors – RenewableUK and Offshore Energies UK – said they had “aligned on a roadmap” for a prototype energy skills passport that would allow “cross-sector recognition” of energy industry expertise and training.
The focus of the project is to better align technical qualifications and safety standards across the two industries, create clearer career pathways, and establish a mechanism for employers and employees to understand recognised standards.
Government, trade unions, and trade and skills bodies have contributed to the scheme, which is a cross-sector partnership being led by Offshore Energies UK, Renewable UK, non-profit skills body OPITO, and the Global Wind Organisation.
Jane Cooper, executive director of offshore wind at RenewableUK, said the trade body was “strongly committed to easing the transfer of workers from different parts of the energy sector into renewables”.
“Offshore wind companies need to attract oil and gas workers with valuable experience and transferable skills into our sector,” she said. “We will continue to work with a wide range of partners and colleagues from other organisations to achieve this, enabling highly skilled people to find new career opportunities in the transition to clean power”.
Plans to introduce an energy skills passport were set out in both the North Sea Transition Deal and Offshore Wind Sector Deal struck between the energy industry and UK government.
Energy industry leaders have argued a new framework for recognising specialist offshore infrastructure expertise is required to ensure jobs in the clean energy sector are filled by UK workers with relevant skills from a variety of sectors.
The number of jobs in the offshore wind industry is expected to grow from 32,000 today to more than 100,000 by the end of the decade as more clean power capacity is brought online. Meanwhile, oil and gas production in the UK has experienced a steady decline in recent years, with Scottish government data revealing that jobs in Scotland’s oil and gas sector dropped by 36 per cent between 2015 and 2021.
The current government has promised to try and maximise production by issuing new oil and gas drilling licenses. But Labour has said that if it wins the upcoming election it would bring a halt to the issuance of new licenses in line with recommendations from climate scientists and the international agreement to transition away from fossil fuels.
The partners said the skills passport project had already driven the launch of career pathway information for more than 30 roles in the oil and gas industry, as well as a number of entry routes for roles in the wind sector, including maintenance technicians, commissioning technicians, high-voltage senior authorised persons, and troubleshooting technicians.
OPITO and GWO plan to finalise career pathways for the “highest priority roles” in the offshore wind sector, which would enable workers to identify the qualifications and training they need to apply, the groups said.
The industry-led project is being funded by a £3.7m grant provided to OPITO by the Scottish government’s Just Transition Fund.
Scottish Climate Minister Gillian Martin welcomed the progress made by industry on the offshore skills passport. “Our valued and highly skilled offshore energy workforces play a vital role in the transition to renewable energy sources and the passport will play an important role in supporting this,” she said. “We urge industry partners to further develop and roll-out this initiative at pace.”
Katy Heidenreich, supply chain and people director at Offshore Energy UK, said the UK’s “exceptional” offshore workforce would be critical to delivering the energy transition.
“The creation of the skills passport will help take full advantage of worker experience and capabilities while ensuring the preservation of jobs and communities nationwide,” he said. “A skilled future, secure energy, and a sustainable journey to net zero – that is what our people represent. That is what our people can deliver with the right support and cross-sector mobility.”
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