Offshore wind increasingly hot ticket for apprentices

Offshore wind is fast becoming the hottest industry to be in if you’re an aspiring, lowcarbon energy apprentice looking for adventure.

RenewableUK (RUK) calculates that, out of the 30,000 new offshore wind jobs by 2030 forecast for these islands, 3,000 or so will be apprentices.

Celia Anderson, people and skills director at RUK, leads on the delivery of a skilled and diverse offshore wind workforce, supporting its expansion to 2030 and overseeing the new accreditation framework for apprentices and workers, as agreed in the Offshore Wind Sector Deal.

A core commitment of that deal is to triple the number of full-time roles in the UK-based renewables industry over the next decade.

Her mission includes ensuring that the offshore wind industry becomes the number one choice, not oil and gas.

That mission also includes trying achieve gender balance, challenging though that is. Encouraging girls leaving school into renewables apprenticeships is one way of helping.

Big Wind operators are not only significant sponsors of apprenticeships, they have helped colleges gain a foothold in offshore renewables-related training. Orsted has partnered with Grimsby Institute and Furness College to offer offshore wind turbine technician apprenticeships.

In England, if companies are not using their apprenticeship levy they can transfer it to others within the supply chain, which provides valuable flexibility. This is not a system used in Scotland.

“As per oil and gas, with offshore wind projects it depends where you are in the development as to whether you’re in a position to take on apprentices,” says Anderson.

“If a project is earlystage and the developer has unused levy, it is very useful that they can hand over to others who can make good use of it.

“Another current focus for us is the apprenticeship providers framework – identifying the top 10 and then reviewing them to discover whether they’re meeting existing needs.

“However, during the four-year lifespan of many apprenticeships, the industry will have advanced a lot by the time these people qualify.

“Just look at the difference in the size of turbines over the past four years. Today we’re talking about 15 megawatt machines which, four years ago, was in the future. Four years ago we weren’t talking much about floating wind turbine farms.”

Celia Anderson, people and skills director at RUK.