Marine renewables and offshore wind skills in the south west
An essential part of the supply chain for any industry is personnel. A recent report commissioned by the South West Regional Employment and Skills Board has, for the first time, considered the future skills requirements for offshore renewables for the south west and conducted an analysis of the potential gaps.
The study was conducted by Emb Consultants and used both previous reports on skills and consultation with key offshore renewables industry employers. It is worth remembering that local offshore renewables projects such as the two round three offshore wind farms, Atlantic Array and West of the Isle of Wight, will provide a demand for skills in the south west but there will also be demand in other parts of the UK and internationally where skills can be exported.
Skills demand
The south west region has several strengths with regards to the skills requirement for offshore renewables, including the two offshore wind farms planned and the Wave Hub project. There are already leading research and development, environmental and technical consultancies located in the south west. It is estimated that the Atlantic Array could require up to 100 full time employees and the West of Isle of Wight project up to 75 full time employees during the operation and maintenance stage of the projects.
The analysis on the skills requirement in the south west highlights that the skills opportunities for employment in the offshore wind industry exist from planning and development, design and manufacture, construction and installation through to operation and maintenance and the financial and technical services required throughout. For the marine renewables sector before 2020, the majority of the skills requirements comes from the research and development of the technology.
The study has identified a few issues with both the demand and supply side of offshore renewables skills including:
• A shortage of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) associated skills in the next 10 years and 11 roles have been identified that are top priority risks and 17 that are high priority
• A gap in skills at high project management and leadership level
• Lack of provision for skills development in the south west and UK wide
