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New Energy World
New Energy World embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low carbon technologies.
Who is going to do the work?
12/6/2024
10 min read
Skills take the longest to develop but are the most valuable in the whole supply chain, according to Matthew Knight, Head of Market and Government Affairs at Siemens, who spoke at the All-Energy conference and exhibition in Glasgow 15–16 May. Work to prepare for 2050, the UK’s net zero target, must start now, as the workers who will be in their professional prime by then are still at school. Many recent reports analyse skills needs (with some specifically focused on developing Scotland’s growing offshore wind sector). New educational initiatives are starting up nationwide, reports New Energy World Senior Editor Will Dalrymple.
In June, one of four policy priorities recommended to the next Parliament by the National Engineering Policy Centre, of which the Energy Institute is a member, is to deliver a national engineering and technology workforce strategy to ‘equip the UK with the skilled workforce needed to meet the challenges of sustainability and technological advancement by delivering a long-term holistic plan encompassing all education stages, reskilling and upskilling’. While that report covers industry generally, the picture is similar in renewables.
The Scottish onshore wind workforce needs to quadruple to meet 2030 ambition, from 6,900 people to 20,500, according to an April 2024 Optimat/ITP Energised study commissioned by Climate Exchange. Although most of these roles are in construction and installation, operations and maintenance roles need to grow two and a half times by 2030. Significant shortages exist in technical roles, particularly high-voltage engineers and wind turbine technicians.
These figures broadly agree with a September 2023 report from Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University (RGU) study about offshore skills. It states that the workforce is expected to increase by 50% to 225,000, to meet UK energy security strategy targets. Barriers to growth include competing demand from skills from other industries, as well as negative perceptions of fossil fuels and climate concerns.