The offshore wind sector is growing in the UK, across Europe and around the world. At the end of last year there was 75 GW of installed capacity globally and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) predicts 487 GW by the end of 2033.

In staffing terms, the sector needs approximately one million people globally to join in the next decade. In the UK alone that figure is an additional 70,000 by 2030, which equates to around 40 people joining each day.

Many students are choosing offshore wind as a career for life. Given the growth of the sector for decades ahead that seems a healthy choice.

People are also transitioning from other sectors – notably, oil and gas, construction, rail and road, the Navy and many others. However, it is important to note that a good proportion of people start in the industry with no technical background and build excellent careers for themselves. The offshore wind industry doesn’t just need engineers.

I myself came across from BP in 2008 and found offshore wind to be so fascinating and fulfilling that I have had a happy and successful career since.

However, there is currently a shortage of talented and skilled people available to join offshore wind; and, with the forecast growth, the skills shortage is only going to get worse.

How do people transition across from the oil and gas sector?
So, what is transitioning into offshore wind like? My experience is that I thought wind power would be simple. In my first few months I learnt that doing wind power well is highly complex, with new challenges and new solutions needed every day.

Offshore wind is not like onshore wind. It is more similar to offshore oil and gas. The project lead times are comparable, as is the complexity of engineering. With projects of 1 GW scale, requiring $3-4bn of capital, the financing and procurement are also similar.

But there are differences, notably that the risk profile is lower. There are no dry wells, since measuring and predicting the wind is reliable. That lower risk translates into lower returns, but the power sector is used to that.

Another difference is technology, with development and innovation largely left to the supply chain. Competition drives performance and price, to get the levelised cost of energy down. Also, the commodity, electricity, is not traded on a global market but rather through long-term power purchase agreements in the country of origin.

Nevertheless, the UK Offshore Energy Workforce Transferability Review by Robert Gordon University said in May 2021: ‘Around 100,000 (around 50%) of the jobs in 2030 are projected to be filled by people transferring from existing oil and gas jobs to offshore renewable roles, new graduates and new recruitment from outside the existing UK offshore energy sector.’

Oil and gas executives, and project managers, already have 80% of the skills that offshore wind needs, I would estimate. They just need to learn offshore wind. For engineers, the skills are similar, with some variations, eg very large rotating machinery, high bending moments, project areas of 200 km², different logistics, etc – all topics which are trainable.

Technicians interested in transitioning could follow the Global Wind Organisation (GWO) Entry Level Wind Technician Framework. This starts with basic safety training before going on to further training particular to the role.

The basic safety training will be very familiar to oil and gas technicians – to support and care for themselves and others working in the industry by possessing the knowledge and skills of first aid, manual handling, fire awareness, working at heights, sea survival and, in case of an emergency, to be able to evacuate, rescue and provide appropriate first aid to casualties.

The one big issue is that salaries in offshore wind are lower than in oil and gas, I’d say approximately 20% lower. That hurts at first but, because of the sector’s growth the promotion prospects are better, so in my case I caught up after two years.

Oil and gas executives, and project managers, already have 80% of the skills that offshore wind needs, I would estimate.

How to aid getting a job in offshore wind
However, getting a job in offshore wind is not straightforward. I know of experienced people from oil and gas failing at interview because they didn’t know enough about offshore wind.

To help people transition into offshore wind, fellow co-founder Chris Lloyd and I have created online, self-paced, e-learning. It is called Offshore Wind Learning and can be found here, where there is a free trial lesson. The course now comprises 29 lessons, each approximately 30 minutes long. The content is informative, engaging and fun – with photos, schematics, videos, quizzes and 3D interactive models. At the end of the course there is an assessment and certificate, which qualifies for continuing professional development.

Founding partners for Offshore Wind Learning are the Energy Institute and IMarEST, both of which kindly reviewed and approved the content.

With the growth of offshore wind and, through the energy transition, the decline of oil and gas ahead, now might be a good time to take a look.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are strictly those of the author only and are not necessarily given or endorsed by or on behalf of the Energy Institute.

• Further reading: ‘Delivering our energy future – pathways to a ‘just and fair’ transition.’ Transforming the North Sea to a multi-energy basin is certainly possible, but action on employment and skills retention is needed now if the transition is to be in any way just or fair, argues Professor Paul de Leeuw, Director, Energy Transition Institute, Robert Gordon University.
• Find out why energy industry leaders from across the UK wind, oil and gas industries are backing a roadmap for a prototype ‘energy skills passport’ to enable cross-sector recognition of energy industry expertise and training.