Windfall for the wind sector!

MORE than 40,000 jobs and £60 billion of private investment is forecast for the UK offshore wind industry in the next five years.

New research from the Offshore Wind Industry Council underlines the business response to government commitments as the green industrial revolution takes shape.

The organisation forecasts that the number of people working in direct and indirect jobs linked to the sector will rise significantly, from 26,000 to over 69,800 by 2026.

The Humber, North East, East Anglia and Scotland are flagged as those to benefit the most. Former Grimsby MP Melanie Onn, now RenewableUK’s deputy chief executive, leads on OWIC’s People and Skills work. She said: “We’ll see a surge of tens of thousands of new jobs over the next five years as offshore wind will put the rocket boosters under the UK’s green economic recovery.

“By investing over £60 billion of private capital between now and 2026, this industry is helping to kickstart our economy after the pandemic “Renewables are creating new opportunities for people across the UK, from school-leavers and graduates to workers leaving fossil fuel industries, and we want to ensure the right training and support is in place to harness all the talent and expertise we’ll need.” Roles range across engineers, project managers, software designers, component manufacturers, turbine technicians, welders, deep sea divers, boat crews and helicopter pilots. 79 per cent are classed as highly skilled, technical and management roles. Apprenticeships make up 1.8 per cent of the UK workforce, half of which are in this region. The industry has committed to raising this to 2.5 per cent.