Scottish Government refutes report of drop in offshore wind jobs

The Scottish Government has refuted a report that shows the number of new offshore wind jobs has dropped.

The latest data provided by ONS shows Scotland experienced a steep decline in the sector in 2018 as the number of businesses created in the sector stagnated.

Its five-year look across the renewable energy sector showed that while direct employment numbers had steadily increased in offshore wind between 2015 to 2017, from 400 to 2,000 jobs respectively, 2018 saw a drop of around 300 jobs.

The current direct job number in the offshore wind sector in Scotland is understood to be around 1,900.

Business operating in the offshore wind sector in Scotland has remained around 500 over the five-year period.

Scottish energy minister Paul Wheelhouse said that he “didn’t accept” the figures say definitively that the number of jobs in the offshore wind sector in Scotland has decreased – but he added that the Scottish Government was doing everything within its “existing, limited devolved powers to retain and boost job numbers”.

The figures come as the Scottish Government last week introduced a strict new rule change requiring offshore wind farm developers to set out how they plan to create local jobs.

A number of trade unions have accused the sector of shunning Scottish firms in an effort to cut costs.

Dave Moxham, deputy general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, claimed the numbers identified an “ongoing trend” and a “failure to capitalise on the potential supply change opportunities of offshore wind”.

He said the latest figures also suggest “that there is no effective strategy” in Scotland for businesses to make the required transition from offshore oil and gas to offshore wind.

Mr Wheelhouse said the Scottish Government was making efforts to “support the local supply chain”.